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The Development Of Cosmology

The Development Of Cosmology. Pre-Socratic Philosophers. Thales sixth century BC All matter can be reduced to water Heraclitus Everything is in a state of flux and therefore everything is subject to change Democritus fifth century BC Atomism

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The Development Of Cosmology

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  1. The Development Of Cosmology

  2. Pre-Socratic Philosophers • Thales sixth century BC • All matter can be reduced to water • Heraclitus • Everything is in a state of flux and therefore everything is subject to change • Democritus fifth century BC • Atomism • All matter is made up of very small particles

  3. Plato • All that we see and experience are copies of unseen realities • Forms and Universals • Implications for religious belief and science: the real is beyond what we experience in this world and is hidden in the eternal

  4. Aristotle 384–322BC • A turn towards experience • Metaphysics • Four Causes Material Cause Formal Cause Efficient Cause Final Cause • Profound influence on Christian thought through St Thomas Aquinas

  5. Aristotle continued • Unmoved movers • What causes something to move? • Is this an infinite series? • An uncaused cause? • St Thomas Aquinas – Cosmological Argument: God is the uncaused cause of the world!

  6. Ptolemy of Alexandria second century BC • Medieval Christian Cosmology Mixture of Biblical imagery, Plato, Aristotle and Ptolemy • Ptolemy • Earth is centre of the universe • Surrounded by glass spheres on which planets and stars moved • Ten spheres: seven for the planets, eighth was for stars, ninth was invisible and moved others, and tenth was the dwelling of God

  7. Ptolemy continued • The Earth made of four elements • Earth • Water • Air • Fire • Movement was a result of the tendency of the elements • Movement of heavens is perfect and followed the perfect form, a circle • Implications for later scientific theories!

  8. St Augustine of Hippo (354–430) • God is reflected in his creation • The highest feature of creation is the human person • God is reflected in the human person • Wonder at the splendour of creation should lead us to acknowledge the existence of God • Precursor of the Argument from Design

  9. The Kalam Argument • Kalam (Arabic): to argue or discuss • Two Muslim scholars – al-Kindi (ninth century AD) and al Ghazali (1058–1111 AD) • Cosmological – Seeks to prove God is the creator of the universe

  10. Kalam argument continued • The present exists because at some point it began to exist • The universe began to exist and must be finite • Because the universe exists, it must have a cause for its existence • Therefore the universe has a first cause of its existence • That first cause is God

  11. St Thomas Aquinas 1224–1274 • Brilliant philosophical and theological mind • Developed a synthesis between Aristotle’s metaphysics and Christian theology • Basis of his Five Ways into exploring the existence of God • Natural philosophy and religion naturally open up into each other • Aristotle’s Prime Mover/First Cause becomes central to the Christian view of the world

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