Notes for TOK presentation

 Among scitensts it is taken for granted that a theory should be

acceoted if and only if it is true to be true means in this context
to be in agreement with the observable facts that can be
logically derived from the theory. Every influence of moral
religious or political considerations upon the acceptance of a
theory is regarded as illegitimate by the so-called community of
scientists
 It has never happened that all the conclusions drawn froma
theory have agreed with the observable facts
 People who have grown up in a mathematical atmosphere that
is saturate with ideas about invariants will find that einstein’s
theory of gravitation is of incredible beauty and simplicity.
However the situation becomes much more complex if we man
by simplicity not only simplicity of the whole discourse by
which the theory is formulated. We may start from the most
familiar instance the decision between the
Copernican( heliocentric) and the Ptolemaic(geocentric)
theories. Both parties, the Roman Church and the followers of
Copernicus agreed that Copernicus’ system from the purelt
mathematical angle was simpler than Ptolemy’s. in the first one
the orbits of planets were plotted as a system of concentric
circles with the sun as center wheras in the geocentric system
the planetry orbits were sequences of loops. Even though the
thoeories were the same the acceptance did not happen before
a long period of doubt we see clearly that the criterions
agreement with observed facts and mathematical simplicity
were not the only criterions that were considered as reasons
for the acceptance of a theory.
 There were 3 reasons for being against Copernican system
 First is the incompatibility of Copernican system with the
traditional interpretation of the Bible
 Second was the prevailing philosophy of that period the
philosophy of Aristotle as it was interpreted by the Catholic
Schoolmen.
 Third, there was the objection that the mobility of the earth as
a real physical fact is incompatible with the common-sense
interpretation of nature flagrant
 Should we adopt a simple mathematical description and a
complicated mathematical descrption and a simple natural
interpretation of the biblical text?
 The most important reason for the acceptance of a theory
beyond the scientific criterions in thenarrower sense is the
fitness of a theory to be generalized to be the basis of a new
theory that does not logically follow from the original one and
to allow prediction of more observable facts.. this property is
often called the dynamical character or the fertility of a theory
 One of the reasons for the acceptance of a theory has
frequently been the compatibility of this theory with daily life
experience or in other woeds the possibility of expressing the
theory in common-sense language. Another requirments that
are not scientific.
 As a result in the 20th century physics the theory of relativity
and the quantum theory were regarded by many as
incompatible with common sense these theories were
regarded as absurd or at least unnatural lenard in Germany
bouse in France O’Rahilly in Ireland and Timiryaseff in Russia
rejected the theory of relativity as Francis ABcon had rejected
the theory of relativity.
 Looking at historical record we notice that the requirement of
compatibility with common sense and the rejection of
 unnatural theories have been advocated with a highly
emotional undertone and it is reasonable to raise the question:
what is the source of heat in those fights against new and
absurd theories? Surveying these battles we easily find one
common feature the apprehension that a disagreement with
common sense may deprive scientific theories of their value as
incentives for a desirable human behaviour.
 In other words, by becoming incompatabile with common
sense scintfic theories lose their fitness to support desirable
attitudes in the domain of ethics, politics and religion.