Ulema and philosophers: faith vs. reason in Islamic Arabia
between the ulema, or doctors of the law, and the philosophers, who saw reason as an equal to divine enlightenment. The contributions of key figures
Transcript: senses, enlightened by reason. For the ulema, this was sacrilegious. Philosophy was going too far in proposing that human reason could give direct
The Empire of Reason: Science and Islam—The Golden Age
In this program physics professor Jim Al-Khalili provides evidence that medieval Islamic scientists were among the first to insist that scholarly theories be backed up by experimental observation. Traveling throughout Syria and Egypt, Al-Khalili pro...
Transcript: MATHEMATICAL REASONING TO EXTEND HUMANITY'S REACH. HE REALLY PUSHES THE IDEA THAT ABSTRACT GEOMETRICAL RULES GOVERNING IDEALIZED SHAPES LIKE PERFECT CIRCLES AND
Is Reason the Source of Knowledge?: Descartes' Corpuscular Theory
Descartes wants to prove that knowledge of the physical world can be acquired through reason, an explanation that eventually relies on the
Transcript: little argument from the empiricists. but descartes also wanted to prove that knowledge about the physical world... could be acquired through pure reason
Is Reason the Source of Knowledge?: Necessary Truths
Descartes argues that the senses can perceive only the changing surfaces of things, but the mind can go deeper to find necessary truths. Empiricist who argue that all knowledge must come from the senses disagree.
Subject: reason
Transcript: [ narrator ] it was descartes' ambition to develop a method of reasoning... that could make knowledge in the physical sciences... as indisputable
Is Reason the Source of Knowledge?: Sentiment of Rationality
"sentiment of rationality" that calls for reason to explain whatever you investigate.
Transcript: whatever you investigate, there should be a reason To explain it. When i think of rationalism, I usually think of that first of all, Because that led some
Is Reason the Source of Knowledge?: Religious Conviction of Rationalists
through the power of reason. Both Descartes and Leibniz take the view that the human mind is made in the image of God.
Transcript: underlying order... that can be grasped through the power of reason. [ stephen toulmin ] galileo had this famous remark about how... The book of nature was
What Justifies the State?: Call for Reasoned Public Debate, A
minorities. For communitarians, such problems can be solved by reasoned public debate, as long as the subject is the common good rather than individual self
Subject: reasoned public debate
Transcript: can be solved... by reasoned public debate. [ sandel ] the republican tradition Doesn't aim at agreement, Or even consensus. It aims at a certain kind
Thinking and Language: How Pre-existing Beliefs Distort Logical Reasoning
Pre-existing beliefs can distort logical reasoning as demonstrated in an experiment related to attitudes toward homosexuality. Both sides of the
Transcript: [narrator:] in which pre-existing beliefs can distort logical reasoning. take this experiment related to attitudes toward homosexualitym [ditto:] we
Humans As Rational Animals
Philosopher Daniel Dennet talks about the argument that humans are unique because we are rational. Professor Dennett points out examples of other animals which are also capable of taking actions based on rationality. The difference, he notes, is tha...
Subject: reason
Transcript: in their head. Of course, that's not the way we reason most of the time either.
What is Human Nature?: Traditional Greek View of Human Nature, The
specific purpose of man involves the part of his soul that belongs to reason.
Subject: reason
Transcript: to reason. Suppose you were aristotle, Living 400 years before christ, any, many, many centuries... Before the emergence of modern science. You looked