1/ So I chuckled at this @SMBCComics today:
http://t.co/6uxuBlOqDA
But I realized that some of it was off because of our modern myths.
— Alex Knapp (@TheAlexKnapp) March 21, 2015
2/ The comic points to our idea that our ancestors saw being the center of the universe as a sign of exaltation or being special.
— Alex Knapp (@TheAlexKnapp) March 21, 2015
3/ Funny thing, though – this wasn't the case!
In Aristotle-influenced Medieval philosophy (Islamic and Christian), this was bad!
— Alex Knapp (@TheAlexKnapp) March 21, 2015
4/ As Mano Singham noted awhile back (http://t.co/flHO2oiXbo), they thought it was the worst part of the universe.
— Alex Knapp (@TheAlexKnapp) March 21, 2015
5/ And they thought it was the worst part of the universe because in the Aristotelian physics, the center is where all the muck collects.
— Alex Knapp (@TheAlexKnapp) March 21, 2015
6/ And that's an idea that fits in nicely with a picture of a world Fallen from glory after Adam and Eve committed Original Sin.
— Alex Knapp (@TheAlexKnapp) March 21, 2015
7/ The upshot being, geocentrism isn't arrogance by putting humanity at the head of the table, but humility by sticking it in the garbage!
— Alex Knapp (@TheAlexKnapp) March 21, 2015
8/ It's fascinating to me how much of the folklore about history of science gets promoted by pro-science folks despite having no validity.
— Alex Knapp (@TheAlexKnapp) March 21, 2015
9/ There is, for whatever reason, a need to see our ancestors as deluded dunces arrogant in their ignorance. But this wasn't the case!
— Alex Knapp (@TheAlexKnapp) March 21, 2015
10/ The real story about resistance to heliocentrism is much more interesting, b/c it was less about philosophy and more about EVIDENCE.
— Alex Knapp (@TheAlexKnapp) March 21, 2015
11/ Namely, that until Kepler came along, the Copernican model just didn't predict stuff as well as Ptolemaic ones!
— Alex Knapp (@TheAlexKnapp) March 21, 2015
12/ The folk history of science is all about lone geniuses who find the truth and fight ignorant superstitions.
— Alex Knapp (@TheAlexKnapp) March 21, 2015
13/ But the real history of science is about collaborations, rivalries, serendipity and debate. And its interaction with religion complex.
— Alex Knapp (@TheAlexKnapp) March 21, 2015
14/ To me, it's a shame that so many in the skeptical/science community uncritically accept the "lone genius vs superstition" narrative.
— Alex Knapp (@TheAlexKnapp) March 21, 2015
15/ Because not only is it historically inaccurate, it paints a false picture of how science works!
Fin (for now)
— Alex Knapp (@TheAlexKnapp) March 21, 2015
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9 Responses to The Historical Intersection of Religion and Science
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That fat guy has a goatee, so I can’t tell he is fat.
Hey, it may not erase the purge, but it can still have a positive effect!
My comment was censored Over There.
Indeed it was.
Who is Alex Knapp & why should I care about his tweets?
Former OT and OTB contributor and I thought they were interesting.
Actually, kind of a fun fact for OT readers: Knapp almost named the site. When the discussions to rename OT from League of Ordinary Gentlemen were under way, Knapp had a suggestion (“Publicke House”)that was in the top three and for two or three days it looked like it was the route we were going to go.
Ah, OK, fair enough.
Seems like all sorts of Alum popping up this week.
I´ve been out of town (and still am….in Spain on my honeymoon….my wife and I are at a cybercafe), but I just wanted to say I have a lot of sympathy for Knapp´s argument here.