Scientific Pioneers, Contribution of Newton and Aristotle - Term Paper Example

? Topic: Pioneers Lecturer presentation Introduction Much of today’s scientific, mathematical and philosophical knowledge originates from early abstract thinkers, whose contribution to humanity remains priceless. In the course of history, man has developed on these ideas resulting to an enhanced technological development better understanding of natural phenomena and an enhanced sense of awareness about the relationship between the universe and all it components. The contributions of early pioneers are the foundations of the current academic development where academicians have criticized, refined and modified on their originals ideas, to develop a better society today. Westfall (1971) notes that most of the early pioneers’ works were multidisciplinary, seeking to establish relationship between various subjects such as religions, mathematics and science. This paper is a critical analysis of contributions of Isaac Newton and Aristotle, some of the most distinguished scientific pioneers in the history of humanity. Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton, a distinguished English philosopher is considered as the most creative and prominent scientific theorist of all times. His most remarkable contribution in mathematical and scientific fields includes the discovery of infinitesimal calculus and pioneering theories in the study of light and color. Moreover, Isaac Newton revolutionalized physical science by the discovery of the three laws of motion and the law of gravitational pull (Westfall, 1971). His contribution in science and mathematics resulted to development of classical mechanics, a very influential scientific discipline. Though Isaac Newton is considered to be one of the most original thinkers, he collaborated the works and ideas of other scientists in the 17 century and before such as Kepler, Galileo, Descartes and Copernicus among others. Isaac Newton asserted this fact by acknowledging in one of his most famous quote that if he had seen further, it was by standing on the shoulders of giants (Alexandre, 1965). He distinguished himself as a brilliant physicist, astronomer, mathematician, alchemist and as a natural philosopher. According to Westfall (1971), Isaac Newton was born in January 4, 1643 to Hannah Ayscough and Isaac Newton. His actual place of birth was at Woolsthorpe, a rural town in Lincolnshire County. During his birth, the Gregorian calendar was not used in England then and hence his birth date was recorded using the Julian calendar as 25 December 1642. The Gregorian calendar, which is the modern style, was adopted in 1752 in England and it was ten days ahead of the Julian style (Westfall, 1971). Isaac Newton was born prematurely and his father had died three months prior to his birth. Later, his mother Hannah remarried when the boy was just three years old, an incident that most Newtonian biographers consider as traumatic to his childhood and adulthood. Soon after his mother remarried, Isaac Newton was left under the care of his maternal grandmother Margery Asycough (Westfall, 1971). Isaac Newton was separated from his mother until 1653, when she returned to her motherland after the death of her second husband. He enrolled at King’s school after refusing her mothers attempt of dropping him out of school to train him become a farmer. Isaac Newton’s early academic life was lackluster, but he later, he discovered his abilities after joining Cambridge University from Woolsthorpe in 1661 (Hall, 1980). Cambridge University is a renowned institution of higher learning but at the time of Isaac Newton admission, the centre had not yet grasped emerging scientific changes in its curriculum (Hall, 1980). In this regard, Ackrill (1981) noted that the curriculum was based on ancient works of Aristotle and other classical authors. In this respect, most biographers affirm that Isaac Newton’s undergraduate studies involved a lot of Aristotle, resulting to his undistinguishable academic performance. However during this time, Isaac Newton concentrated and mustered the works of renowned modern thinkers such as Rene Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, Pierre Gassendi in additional to other academic pioneers such as Galileo and Copernicus. His academic sojourn from 1661 until completion of his undergraduate studies in 1665 was the most influential and it formed the basis of his later achievements. Though he graduated without a distinction or honors, Isaac Newton demonstrated mastery of mathematic far beyond the Euclid Elements but mathematics professors who taught him did not discover his early academic talent. Following a temporary closure of Cambridge University for two years from 1665 to 1666 as a precautionary measure against the plague outbreak, he returned to Woolsthorpe. It was during this period that he engaged in serious private studies in mathematic and philosophy. According to Alexandre (1965), Newton developed infinitesimal calculus in mathematics and began establishment of theories on light and color, which he later referred as optics. In addition, Newton explained the planetary motions and laid the foundations of the laws of gravity. Isaac Newton published these findings in a book titled Principia in 1687 (Alexandre, 1965). Following the reopening of Cambridge University in 1667, Isaac Newton was elected as a minor fellow at trinity and after acquiring his Master of Arts degree in 1668, he was promoted to a senior fellow. In the following year, he became the Lucasian professor of mathematics where he remained as a lecturer until 1696. This appointment granted him an opportunity of reviewing and refining his previous research in optics and mathematics. He moved to London in the same year as warden of the Royal Mint and in 1699, he was elected as the master of the Mint a position he held until his death in 1727. In 1671, Isaac Newton was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and in 1703, he become its president. He maintained the leadership position of the Royal Society of London until his death (Alexandre, 1965). In 1704, Isaac published his major work Opticks and in 1705, he received his knighthood in Cambridge. The following decade witnessed popularity of Newtonian scientific and mathematical ideals and Isaac Newton became a highly respected philosopher in the European continent. During his last period of his life, Isaac Newton was engaged in refining his previous works and defending them against critics. Westfall (1971) noted that he carried his duties with dedication as the president of Royal society of London. He died in March 31, 1727 in his sleep without ever having married and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Isaac Newton made immense contribution in optics, mathematics, mechanics and gravitation in addition to alchemy. He was a self-taught mathematician advancing his knowledge from the work of other seasoned academicians, such as William Oughtred, Descartes, and John Wallis. Newton’s major contributions in mathematics include analytical geometry, algebra and calculus where he founded integration and differentiation methods (Hall 1980). According to Hall (1980), Newton was able to establish relationship between integration and differentiation in curves in addition to calculating areas bounded by curves. Newton referred differentiation and integration as ‘method of fluxions’ and ‘inverse method of fluxions’ respectively (Hall, 1980). This discovery enabled future mathematicians to work on problems related to circular motion. However, the main weakness of Newton’s method was that it lacked originality from Leibniz method of differential and integral calculus. According to Hall (1980), Isaac Newton was accused of plagiarizing Wilhelm Leibniz work on differential and integral calculus. Though it was later decided that both mathematicians discovered their methods independently, the dispute adversely affected Newton to an extent that he delayed the publication of his work until the death of Leibniz. However, Newton’s most creative years in mathematics extended from 1664 to 1696, where he refined the contributions of his predecessors and discovered methods that are more meticulous. Newton made insightful discoveries in the field of optics. In particular, he established that white light is heterogeneous comprising of primary colored components. He proved this discovery experimentally in 1665 to 1666 by splitting a beam of light with a glass prism into a spectrum. Through the experiment, he disapproved Aristotle’s assumption that prisms modify but do not separate light. The optical experiment also established that the colors of spectrum had specific refractory properties and did not split when subjected onto another prism. Equally important, Newton established the dual nature of light, that it was both particle and a wave (Ackrill, 1981). Though the optical discovery elicited a lot of controversy from critics such as Robert Hook, it has been developed into wide applications including photovoltaic technology. In mechanics and gravitation, Newton played significant role in defining the role of gravitational pull on objects on earth and in planetary motions. Moreover, he established the force required to maintain the moon in its orbit and compared it with the force that pulls objects to the ground. However, the Newton’s three laws of motion are some of the most important discoveries in mechanics. The first law states that a body continues in a state of uniform motion or rest in a straight line, unless an external force compels it to change. The second law states that the change in motion of an object is equivalent to the force applied in a straight-line relative to its position. The third law holds that for every action, there is always an equal and opposite reaction (Alexandre, 1965). The major strength of these laws is that they are universally applicable to all bodies in motion both is space and on earth. In this case, physicists apply them in various fields, especially in aerospace technology. Aristotle Born in 384 BC, Aristotle was one of the earliest Greek thinkers, philosopher and scientist of his time. According Ackrill (1981), Aristotle was born in a family of physicians and his father, Nicomachus was the family doctor of King Amyntas of Macedonia. However, his father died while Aristotle was just three years, leaving the little boy under the care of a guardian. Aristotle was one of the most illustrious students of Plato and he later taught Alexander the Great. His academic life commenced when he was seventeen years. According to Benjamin (2002), Aristotle’s guardian, Proxenus enrolled him in Plato’s Academy that was situated in Athens. He spent over twenty years in the academy until the demise of Plato in 347BC (Benjamin, 2002). Though Aristotle was one of the brightest students, he was independent minded, opposing and questioning most of Plato’s philosophies and teachings. Soon after leaving the academy, Aristotle went to live in Mysia and married. He soon relocated to Mytilene after Persians conquered Mysia. It was while at Mytilene that King Amyntas recruited him to teach his thirteen-year-old son, Alexander the Great. He tutored Alexander for five years, until the king died and Alexander assumed the throne. To show appreciation for his services, King Alexander gave Aristotle limitless access to scientific materials and opportunities to pursue his scientific interests (Ackrill, 1981). Aristotle returned to Athens in 335BC where he established his own academy called Lyceum. It was at Lyceum that Aristotle devoted most of his time in writing about diverse subjects, including logic, metaphysics, science, politics and ethics. He ran the school for twelve years and established it as one the leading scientific institutions in the ancient Greece for the next 2000 years. Following the death of Alexander the Great in 323BC, the Athenian government collapsed and new form of governance took over. Aristotle was forced to flee to his birthplace where he died a year later from natural causes (Ackrill, 1981). Benjamin (2002) notes that most of Aristotle’s writings were destroyed and his student Theophrastus at Lyceum preserved considerable volumes. However, by the time the preserved copies were discovered by Apellicon in 100BC, most of them had had been destroyed and hence most of Aristotle recorded works is just a portion of his initial input. The works of Aristotle are divided into four classes, including logic, theoretical philosophy, practical philosophy and poetic philosophy. Theoretical philosophy includes metaphysics, mathematics and physics. Practical philosophy comprises of disciplines such as politics and ethics. Finally, poetical philosophy is the final class of Aristotle contribution and it comprises of poetry and fine arts (Benjamin, 2002). Aristotle’s intention of developing logic was to formulate a universally acceptable method of thinking that could enable people know about everything in real life. In this regard, he proposed and worked on a classification that described specific objects in respect to their activities, physical characteristics and their properties. Aristotle contributed to development of the current categorical logic that applies a system of deductive conclusion. In theoretical philosophy, he applied physics to explain the inherent nature of things in the universe and the role of probability in determining existentialism. Aristotle used metaphysics to validate nature by affirming that every substance had an eternal existence. This influenced the ideologies of early religions including Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Moreover, Aristotle established ethics that were founded on the premise that life of human beings depend on their moral conduct. In this regard, he argued that human beings should behave like human beings and that happiness resulted from being virtuous (Ackrill, 1981). The major weakness of Aristotle contributions is that they effectively slowed down early development of science, because he made some errors that slowed down the scientific progress of the succeeding scientists. However, Aristotle made valuable contribution especially in the development of the current zoological discipline by introducing classification, based on physical characteristics of organisms. Conclusion It is apparent that Isaac Newton and Aristotle made phenomenal contribution to humanity and their legacies are immortalized worldwide. Though their contributions were made many years ahead of time, they have shaped the current scientific, economic, social and political state of the world. However, the philosophers had their own peculiarities that shaped their work to some extent. Isaac Newton for instance lacked parental love from his parents from his childhood. Consequently, he spent most of his time in seclusion and was very sensitive to criticism. In addition, Isaac Newton’s life is replete with incidences of nervous breakdowns following loss of friendship and loved ones. However, his contributions have been applied in diverse scientific applications and they are important foundation for present and future generations. References Ackrill, J. (1981). Aristotle the philosopher. Oxford: OUP. Alexandre, K. (1965). Newtonian studies. New York: Harvard University Press. Benjamin, M. (2002). On location: Aristotle concept of place: Oxford: OUP Hall, A. (1980). Philosophers at war: the quarrel between Newton and Leibniz. Cambridge: Cambridge University press. Westfall, R. (1971). Never at rest: a biography of Isaac Newton. Cambridge: CUP. Read More