Chapter 14, the beginning of Part Four, describes the Scientific Revolution.
Harari states that prior to AD
1500, technology had remained relatively stagnant. While minor advances were made, he argues that
someone could fall asleep for 500 years and wake up in a relatively similar world. This changed,
however, when leaders began to invest significantly in scientific research, realizing that it could yield
better technology and thus more resources at their disposal. Some of those resources were reinvested
in research, continuing the cycle. Modern science is based on ignorance. Scientists admit that we do not
know everything about the universe and might be wrong about the things we do claim to know. Thus we
should be willing to change our views if counter-evidence emerges. Previously, religion and religious
texts provided answers to all the important questions. Further, any answers that religion did not provide
were deemed...
hi i'm jam galang from ged0104 section
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14
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and in this presentation i'll be
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discussing part four
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the scientific revolution of yuval
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harar's book entitled
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sapiens just a quick note before i start
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there are seven chapters in part four of
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harrar's book
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but in this video i'll be only focusing
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on chapter 14 the discovery of
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ignorance to begin with
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what do we mean by scientific revolution
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scientific revolution was a time period
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in which major scientific and
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technological
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advancements were made it was
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a series of events that marked the
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emergence of modern science during the
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early modern period
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in very generic terms scientific
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revolution refers to the resurrection of
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modern day science
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what is modern science modern science is
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more dynamic systematic
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malleable and inquisitive approach to
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science compared to old
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or pre-modern science harare the author
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of the book
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states that modern science is different
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from pre-modern science and from all
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previous traditions of knowledge in
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three critical ways
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first is willingness to admit ignorance
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modern science is based on the latin
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injunction
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ignoramus which means we do not know
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this suggests that modern science emerge
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from our willingness to admit our
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ignorance
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or our lack of knowledge or wisdom with
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the things that surround
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us so according to harare the great
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discovery that launched the scientific
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revolution was a discovery that humans
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do not know the answers to their most
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important questions
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there's two kinds of ignorance behind
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this statement according to him
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first is ignorance towards something
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important and next is
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ignorance towards something unimportant
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often times when we do not know
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something we recognize that we are
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ignorant of
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it hence we try to challenge ourselves
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even more
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by adding more questions to the problems
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that we have and by also trying to find
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answers for them
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so that's one of the advantages of using
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scientific method in the present period
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of science where we are in
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second centrality of observation in
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mathematics
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modern science obtains knowledge through
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gathering observations and using
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mathematical tools
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so by first admitting that we are
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ignorant of something we believe that we
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can find ways in order to solve any
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problem that we have
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like what i mentioned earlier the
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centrality of observation in mathematics
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plays a fundamental role in the actual
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resolution of the problems that we have
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third the acquisition of new powers
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modern science is also dependent in
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acquiring new powers
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in this context new powers mean new
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knowledge
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new developments new discoveries new
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theories
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new inventions and new technologies
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acquisition of new powers in modern
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science
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means investing resources in scientific
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research
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according to how i understand what i've
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read humans have developed their skills
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even more by engaging themselves deeply
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into their studies with the new
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resources they acquired
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astonishing achievements were made
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possible through the help of huge
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investments
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in scientific research harari mentions
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that knowledge
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is equal to the theory that enables us
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to do new things
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so knowledge is about utility and it is
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not about truth according to him
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as a matter of fact the name of francis
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bacon
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is mentioned in his book to justify what
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harare means by that
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it says that francis bacon argued that
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knowledge
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is power that the real test with
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knowledge
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is that whether it is true but whether
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it empowers us
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meaning to say scientists usually assume
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that no theory is a hundred percent
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correct
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consequently truth is a poor test for
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knowledge
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the real test is utility meaning to say
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a theory that enables us to do new
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things constitutes knowledge
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yuval harari also mentioned the name of
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isaac newton to further elaborate how
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theory
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and knowledge are interrelated he said
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that mere observations
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are not considered as knowledge in order
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to understand the universe
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we need to connect observations into
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comprehensive theories
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this is exactly what scientists seek to
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accomplish
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in 1687 isaac newton published
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the mathematical principles of natural
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philosophy
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which is arguably the most important
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book in modern history
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newton presented a general theory of
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movement and change
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there are three mathematical laws that
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newton came up with
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the first law states that the body at
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rest will remain at rest
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and a body in motion will remain in
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motion unless it is acted upon by an
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external force
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the second law states that the force
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acting on an object is equal to the mass
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of that object
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times its acceleration the third law
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states that for every action there is an
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equal but opposite reaction
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meaning to say if object a exerts a
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force on object b
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then object b will exert an equal but
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opposite force on object a
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these are the three laws mentioned in
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the book to conclude
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the greatness of newton's theory
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according to harare
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was its ability to explain and predict
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the movements of all bodies in the
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universe
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from falling apples to shooting stars by
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using three very simple mathematical
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laws
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moving on yuval harari also believed
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that science is also shaped by economic
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political and religious interests as a
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matter of fact
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he mentioned this in his book saying how
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science is related to economics politics
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and religion
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here are some examples regarding what he
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said in his book
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but harari emphasizes that science is
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not inherently leaning more
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on moral and spiritual it is definitely
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not heading towards that
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rather it is shaped more by economic and
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political interests
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however yuval harari ended the chapter
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by saying that religion economics and
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politics
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have a great influence on the field of
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science
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lastly he ended by saying these two
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statements
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in short scientific research can
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flourish only
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in alliance with some religion or
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ideology
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the ideology justifies the costs of the
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research in exchange
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the ideology influences the scientific
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agenda
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and determines what to do with the
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discoveries
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in the last one we have to take into
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account the ideological
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political and economic forces achieve
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physics
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biology and sociology pushing them in
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certain directions
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while neglecting others
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thank you
