evaluate your ability to distinguish scientific, philosophical, religious, and speculative aspects in Pre-Socratic thought as well as your your ability to identify and explain the main characteristics of scientific understanding in Pre-Socratic philosophy
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to evaluate your ability to distinguish scientific,
philosophical, religious, and speculative aspects in Pre-Socratic thought as well as your
your ability to identify and explain the main characteristics of scientific understanding in
Pre-Socratic philosophy.
Directions
1. Create a document in the word processing program of your choice, but bear in
mind that you finalized document MUST be in Microsoft Word format (file
extension .doc or .docx) or rich text format.
2. Write an essay, in which you do the following:
a. Carefully explain in your own words the difference between scientific,
philosophical, religious, and speculative claims or explanations. Make sure to
be precise, thorough, and detailed. Your explanations should allow a reader
unfamiliar with the topic to fully understand both the similarities and the
differences between these types of claims or explanations (2-4 paragraphs,
approx. 200-300+ words).
b. For each type of explanation (scientific, philosophical, religious, and
speculative), provide one Pre-Socratic example and one original example of
your own (in contemporary thinking, for instance). For each example, carefully
explain the characteristics that make it a scientific, philosophical, religious, or
speculative claim or explanation (2-4 paragraphs, approx. 200-300+ words).
c. Carefully explain in your own words the notions of materialism, determinism,
reductionism, and empiricism (i.e. the characteristics of scientific inquiry).
Make sure to be precise, thorough, and detailed. You explanations should
allow a reader unfamiliar with the topic to fully understand these concepts
