Volker Peckhaus
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195137316
- eISBN:
- 9780199867912
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195137316.003.0018
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics
This chapter discusses the complex conditions for the emergence of 19th-century symbolic logic. The main scope will be on the mathematical motives leading to the interest in logic; the philosophical ...
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This chapter discusses the complex conditions for the emergence of 19th-century symbolic logic. The main scope will be on the mathematical motives leading to the interest in logic; the philosophical context will be dealt with only in passing. The main object of study will be the algebra of logic in its British and German versions. Special emphasis will be laid on the systems of George Boole (1815–1864) and above all of his German follower Ernst Schröder (1841–1902).Less
This chapter discusses the complex conditions for the emergence of 19th-century symbolic logic. The main scope will be on the mathematical motives leading to the interest in logic; the philosophical context will be dealt with only in passing. The main object of study will be the algebra of logic in its British and German versions. Special emphasis will be laid on the systems of George Boole (1815–1864) and above all of his German follower Ernst Schröder (1841–1902).
Paul J. Nahin
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691176000
- eISBN:
- 9781400844654
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691176000.003.0003
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This chapter presents brief biographical sketches of George Boole and Claude Shannon. George was born in Lincoln, a town in the north of England, on November 2, 1815. His father John, while simple ...
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This chapter presents brief biographical sketches of George Boole and Claude Shannon. George was born in Lincoln, a town in the north of England, on November 2, 1815. His father John, while simple tradesman (a cobbler), taught George geometry and trigonometry, subjects John had found of great aid in his optical studies. Boole was essentially self-taught, with a formal education that stopped at what today would be a junior in high school. Eventually he became a master mathematician (who succeeded in merging algebra with logic), one held in the highest esteem by talented, highly educated men who had graduated from Cambridge and Oxford. Claude was born on April 30, 1916, in Petoskey, Michigan. He enrolled at the University of Michigan, from which he graduated in 1936 with double bachelor's degrees in mathematics and electrical engineering. It was in a class there that he was introduced to Boole's algebra of logic.Less
This chapter presents brief biographical sketches of George Boole and Claude Shannon. George was born in Lincoln, a town in the north of England, on November 2, 1815. His father John, while simple tradesman (a cobbler), taught George geometry and trigonometry, subjects John had found of great aid in his optical studies. Boole was essentially self-taught, with a formal education that stopped at what today would be a junior in high school. Eventually he became a master mathematician (who succeeded in merging algebra with logic), one held in the highest esteem by talented, highly educated men who had graduated from Cambridge and Oxford. Claude was born on April 30, 1916, in Petoskey, Michigan. He enrolled at the University of Michigan, from which he graduated in 1936 with double bachelor's degrees in mathematics and electrical engineering. It was in a class there that he was introduced to Boole's algebra of logic.
Brendan Dooley (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780262535007
- eISBN:
- 9780262345576
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262535007.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the life and work of George Boole. Boole is known for developing the system of algebraic logic, which eventually found an unexpected engineering ...
More
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the life and work of George Boole. Boole is known for developing the system of algebraic logic, which eventually found an unexpected engineering application in the design of switching circuits. He was also an early advocate of the mass distribution of knowledge, using the methods at his disposal in early Victorian times. In the classroom and lecture hall, he interpreted the results of recent discoveries and debates originating among specialists in numerous fields—history, psychology, ethnography, and much else—and communicated them to a broad audience. Less known and therefore less appreciated is Boole's role in the history of the making and organization of knowledge. A better understanding of this feature, may eventually provoke a more thoroughgoing reappraisal of the whole figure.Less
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the life and work of George Boole. Boole is known for developing the system of algebraic logic, which eventually found an unexpected engineering application in the design of switching circuits. He was also an early advocate of the mass distribution of knowledge, using the methods at his disposal in early Victorian times. In the classroom and lecture hall, he interpreted the results of recent discoveries and debates originating among specialists in numerous fields—history, psychology, ethnography, and much else—and communicated them to a broad audience. Less known and therefore less appreciated is Boole's role in the history of the making and organization of knowledge. A better understanding of this feature, may eventually provoke a more thoroughgoing reappraisal of the whole figure.
L. Jonathan Cohen
- Published in print:
- 1977
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198244127
- eISBN:
- 9780191680748
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198244127.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology, Philosophy of Science
This chapter examines the difficulty about corroboration and convergence. It begins by addressing the common structure of testimonial corroboration and circumstantial convergence. The chapter also ...
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This chapter examines the difficulty about corroboration and convergence. It begins by addressing the common structure of testimonial corroboration and circumstantial convergence. The chapter also considers the traditional, Bernoullian analysis. The elucidation that has been most commonly proposed is at least as old as James Bernoulli's Ars Conjectandi. The chapter describes it in the admirably perspicuous form in which it was expounded by George Boole. In addition, the need to take prior probabilities into account is shown. Moreover, a demonstrably adequate analysis of corroboration and convergence in terms of mathematical probability is presented. It then reports the legal inadmissibility of positive prior probabilities. The method of contraposition is elaborated as well.Less
This chapter examines the difficulty about corroboration and convergence. It begins by addressing the common structure of testimonial corroboration and circumstantial convergence. The chapter also considers the traditional, Bernoullian analysis. The elucidation that has been most commonly proposed is at least as old as James Bernoulli's Ars Conjectandi. The chapter describes it in the admirably perspicuous form in which it was expounded by George Boole. In addition, the need to take prior probabilities into account is shown. Moreover, a demonstrably adequate analysis of corroboration and convergence in terms of mathematical probability is presented. It then reports the legal inadmissibility of positive prior probabilities. The method of contraposition is elaborated as well.
Paul J. Nahin
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691176000
- eISBN:
- 9781400844654
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691176000.001.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
Boolean algebra, also called Boolean logic, is at the heart of the electronic circuitry in everything we use—from our computers and cars, to home appliances. How did a system of mathematics ...
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Boolean algebra, also called Boolean logic, is at the heart of the electronic circuitry in everything we use—from our computers and cars, to home appliances. How did a system of mathematics established in the Victorian era become the basis for such incredible technological achievements a century later? This book combines engaging problems and a colorful historical narrative to tell the remarkable story of how two men in different eras—mathematician and philosopher George Boole and electrical engineer and pioneering information theorist Claude Shannon—advanced Boolean logic and became founding fathers of the electronic communications age. The book takes readers from fundamental concepts to a deeper and more sophisticated understanding of modern digital machines, in order to explore computing and its possible limitations in the twenty-first century and beyond.Less
Boolean algebra, also called Boolean logic, is at the heart of the electronic circuitry in everything we use—from our computers and cars, to home appliances. How did a system of mathematics established in the Victorian era become the basis for such incredible technological achievements a century later? This book combines engaging problems and a colorful historical narrative to tell the remarkable story of how two men in different eras—mathematician and philosopher George Boole and electrical engineer and pioneering information theorist Claude Shannon—advanced Boolean logic and became founding fathers of the electronic communications age. The book takes readers from fundamental concepts to a deeper and more sophisticated understanding of modern digital machines, in order to explore computing and its possible limitations in the twenty-first century and beyond.
Paul J. Nahin
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691176000
- eISBN:
- 9781400844654
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691176000.003.0004
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This chapter discusses how Boole cast logic into algebraic form. Boole was interested in symbolic analysis years before he wrote his Laws of Thought. In fact, others before him—in particular, the ...
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This chapter discusses how Boole cast logic into algebraic form. Boole was interested in symbolic analysis years before he wrote his Laws of Thought. In fact, others before him—in particular, the German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716)—had pursued a similar goal of reducing logic to algebra, but it was Boole who finally succeeded. What Boole described in his books is not exactly what modern users call Boolean algebra, but nevertheless it is from Boole that the modern presentation springs. The chapter first describes the essence of what Boole did using the language of sets. It then discusses Boole's algebra of sets, examples of Boolean analysis, and visualizing Boolean functions.Less
This chapter discusses how Boole cast logic into algebraic form. Boole was interested in symbolic analysis years before he wrote his Laws of Thought. In fact, others before him—in particular, the German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716)—had pursued a similar goal of reducing logic to algebra, but it was Boole who finally succeeded. What Boole described in his books is not exactly what modern users call Boolean algebra, but nevertheless it is from Boole that the modern presentation springs. The chapter first describes the essence of what Boole did using the language of sets. It then discusses Boole's algebra of sets, examples of Boolean analysis, and visualizing Boolean functions.
Andrea Henderson
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198809982
- eISBN:
- 9780191860140
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198809982.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century Literature and Romanticism
The difference between the transcendent Coleridgean symbol and the unreliable conventional symbol was of explicit concern in Victorian mathematics, where the former was aligned with Euclidean ...
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The difference between the transcendent Coleridgean symbol and the unreliable conventional symbol was of explicit concern in Victorian mathematics, where the former was aligned with Euclidean geometry and the latter with algebra. Rather than trying to bridge this divide, practitioners of modern algebra and the pioneers of symbolic logic made it the founding principle of their work. Regarding the content of claims as a matter of “indifference,” they concerned themselves solely with the formal interrelations of the symbolic systems devised to represent those claims. In its celebration of artificial algorithmic structures, symbolic logician Lewis Carroll’s Sylvie and Bruno dramatizes the power of this new formalist ideal not only to revitalize the moribund field of Aristotelian logic but also to redeem symbolism itself, conceived by Carroll and his mathematical, philosophical, and symbolist contemporaries as a set of harmonious associative networks rather than singular organic correspondences.Less
The difference between the transcendent Coleridgean symbol and the unreliable conventional symbol was of explicit concern in Victorian mathematics, where the former was aligned with Euclidean geometry and the latter with algebra. Rather than trying to bridge this divide, practitioners of modern algebra and the pioneers of symbolic logic made it the founding principle of their work. Regarding the content of claims as a matter of “indifference,” they concerned themselves solely with the formal interrelations of the symbolic systems devised to represent those claims. In its celebration of artificial algorithmic structures, symbolic logician Lewis Carroll’s Sylvie and Bruno dramatizes the power of this new formalist ideal not only to revitalize the moribund field of Aristotelian logic but also to redeem symbolism itself, conceived by Carroll and his mathematical, philosophical, and symbolist contemporaries as a set of harmonious associative networks rather than singular organic correspondences.
Brendan Dooley (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780262535007
- eISBN:
- 9780262345576
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262535007.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
George Boole (1815–1864), remembered by history as the developer of an eponymous form of algebraic logic, can be considered a pioneer of the information age not only because of the application of ...
More
George Boole (1815–1864), remembered by history as the developer of an eponymous form of algebraic logic, can be considered a pioneer of the information age not only because of the application of Boolean logic to the design of switching circuits but also because of his contributions to the mass distribution of knowledge. In the classroom and the lecture hall, Boole interpreted recent discoveries and debates in a wide range of fields for a general audience. This collection of lectures, many never before published, offers insights into the early thinking of an innovative mathematician and intellectual polymath. Bertrand Russell claimed that “pure mathematics was discovered by Boole,” but before Boole joined a university faculty as professor of mathematics in 1849, advocacy for science and education occupied much of his time. He was deeply committed to the Victorian ideals of social improvement and cooperation, arguing that “the continued exercise of reason” joined all disciplines in a common endeavor. In these talks, Boole discusses the genius of Isaac Newton; ancient mythologies and forms of worship; the possibility of other inhabited planets in the universe; the virtues of free and open access to knowledge; the benefits of leisure; the quality of education; the origin of scientific knowledge; and the fellowship of intellectual culture. The lectures are accompanied by a substantive introduction that supplies biographical and historical context.Less
George Boole (1815–1864), remembered by history as the developer of an eponymous form of algebraic logic, can be considered a pioneer of the information age not only because of the application of Boolean logic to the design of switching circuits but also because of his contributions to the mass distribution of knowledge. In the classroom and the lecture hall, Boole interpreted recent discoveries and debates in a wide range of fields for a general audience. This collection of lectures, many never before published, offers insights into the early thinking of an innovative mathematician and intellectual polymath. Bertrand Russell claimed that “pure mathematics was discovered by Boole,” but before Boole joined a university faculty as professor of mathematics in 1849, advocacy for science and education occupied much of his time. He was deeply committed to the Victorian ideals of social improvement and cooperation, arguing that “the continued exercise of reason” joined all disciplines in a common endeavor. In these talks, Boole discusses the genius of Isaac Newton; ancient mythologies and forms of worship; the possibility of other inhabited planets in the universe; the virtues of free and open access to knowledge; the benefits of leisure; the quality of education; the origin of scientific knowledge; and the fellowship of intellectual culture. The lectures are accompanied by a substantive introduction that supplies biographical and historical context.
Eric Schliesser
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199857142
- eISBN:
- 9780199345427
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199857142.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This paper argues that historians of philosophy must coin concepts that disclose the near or distant past and create a shared horizon for our philosophical future. Two concepts are introduced: ...
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This paper argues that historians of philosophy must coin concepts that disclose the near or distant past and create a shared horizon for our philosophical future. Two concepts are introduced: “Newton’s challenge to philosophy” and “philosophic prophecy.” “Newton’s challenge to philosophy” explains that from about 1700 onward, “natural science” is increasingly taken to be authoritative in settling debates within philosophy. “Philosophic prophecy,” comprises the structured ways in which concept formation by philosophers can shape possible futures, including that of philosophy. The second half of the paper offers a fresh narrative about the shared origins of analytical philosophy and analytical history of philosophy in the anti-Spinozistic writings of George Boole and Bertrand Russell. Ernest Nagel is treated as the philosophic prophet of analytical philosophy his views are compared to those of Moritz Schlick.Less
This paper argues that historians of philosophy must coin concepts that disclose the near or distant past and create a shared horizon for our philosophical future. Two concepts are introduced: “Newton’s challenge to philosophy” and “philosophic prophecy.” “Newton’s challenge to philosophy” explains that from about 1700 onward, “natural science” is increasingly taken to be authoritative in settling debates within philosophy. “Philosophic prophecy,” comprises the structured ways in which concept formation by philosophers can shape possible futures, including that of philosophy. The second half of the paper offers a fresh narrative about the shared origins of analytical philosophy and analytical history of philosophy in the anti-Spinozistic writings of George Boole and Bertrand Russell. Ernest Nagel is treated as the philosophic prophet of analytical philosophy his views are compared to those of Moritz Schlick.
Paul J. Nahin
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691176000
- eISBN:
- 9781400844654
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691176000.003.0006
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
George Boole and Claude Shannon shared a deep interest in the mathematics of probability. Boole's interest was, of course, not related to the theory of computation—he was a century too early for ...
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George Boole and Claude Shannon shared a deep interest in the mathematics of probability. Boole's interest was, of course, not related to the theory of computation—he was a century too early for that—while Shannon's mathematical theory of communication and information processing is replete with probabilistic analyses. There is, nevertheless, an important intersection between what the two men did, which is shown in this chapter. The aim is to provide a flavor of how they reasoned and of the sort of probabilistic problem that caught their attention. Once we have finished with Boole's problem, the reader will see that it uses mathematics that will play a crucial role in answering Shannon's concern about “crummy” relays.Less
George Boole and Claude Shannon shared a deep interest in the mathematics of probability. Boole's interest was, of course, not related to the theory of computation—he was a century too early for that—while Shannon's mathematical theory of communication and information processing is replete with probabilistic analyses. There is, nevertheless, an important intersection between what the two men did, which is shown in this chapter. The aim is to provide a flavor of how they reasoned and of the sort of probabilistic problem that caught their attention. Once we have finished with Boole's problem, the reader will see that it uses mathematics that will play a crucial role in answering Shannon's concern about “crummy” relays.
Jan von Plato
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691174174
- eISBN:
- 9781400885039
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691174174.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter explores how algebraic logic began in 1847 when George Boole presented his “calculus of deductive reasoning” in a short book titled The Mathematical Analysis of Logic. His calculus ...
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This chapter explores how algebraic logic began in 1847 when George Boole presented his “calculus of deductive reasoning” in a short book titled The Mathematical Analysis of Logic. His calculus reduced known ways of logical reasoning into the solution of algebraic equations. The known ways of logical reasoning were not just accounted for but were extended to full classical propositional logic. Boole reduced Aristotelian syllogistic reasoning to calculation, which was a wonderful achievement. Encouraged by the success, he wrote a book with the bold title An Investigation of the Laws of Thought (1854). However, his logic was not able to treat relations but just one-place predicates.Less
This chapter explores how algebraic logic began in 1847 when George Boole presented his “calculus of deductive reasoning” in a short book titled The Mathematical Analysis of Logic. His calculus reduced known ways of logical reasoning into the solution of algebraic equations. The known ways of logical reasoning were not just accounted for but were extended to full classical propositional logic. Boole reduced Aristotelian syllogistic reasoning to calculation, which was a wonderful achievement. Encouraged by the success, he wrote a book with the bold title An Investigation of the Laws of Thought (1854). However, his logic was not able to treat relations but just one-place predicates.
Paul J. Nahin
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691176000
- eISBN:
- 9781400844654
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691176000.003.0002
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This introductory chapter considers the work of mathematician George Boole (1815–1864), whose book An Investigation of the Laws of Thought (1854) would have a huge impact on humanity. Boole's ...
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This introductory chapter considers the work of mathematician George Boole (1815–1864), whose book An Investigation of the Laws of Thought (1854) would have a huge impact on humanity. Boole's mathematics, the basis for what is now called Boolean algebra, is the subject of this book. It is also called mathematical logic, and today it is a routine analytical tool of the logic-design engineers who create the electronic circuitry that we now cannot live without, from computers to automobiles to home appliances. Boolean algebra is not traditional or classical Aristotelian logic, a subject generally taught in college by the philosophy department. Boolean algebra, by contrast, is generally in the hands of electrical engineering professors and/or the mathematics faculty.Less
This introductory chapter considers the work of mathematician George Boole (1815–1864), whose book An Investigation of the Laws of Thought (1854) would have a huge impact on humanity. Boole's mathematics, the basis for what is now called Boolean algebra, is the subject of this book. It is also called mathematical logic, and today it is a routine analytical tool of the logic-design engineers who create the electronic circuitry that we now cannot live without, from computers to automobiles to home appliances. Boolean algebra is not traditional or classical Aristotelian logic, a subject generally taught in college by the philosophy department. Boolean algebra, by contrast, is generally in the hands of electrical engineering professors and/or the mathematics faculty.
Paul J. Nahin
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691176000
- eISBN:
- 9781400844654
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691176000.003.0010
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
Boole and Shannon never studied the physics of computation. Obviously Boole simply could not have, as none of the required physics was even known in his day, and Shannon was nearing the end of his ...
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Boole and Shannon never studied the physics of computation. Obviously Boole simply could not have, as none of the required physics was even known in his day, and Shannon was nearing the end of his career when such considerations were just beginning. And yet, both Boole's algebra and Shannon's information concepts to make many of our calculations. This chapter touches on how fundamental physics—the uncertainty principle from quantum mechanics, and thermodynamics, for example—constrain what is possible, in principle, for the computers of the far future. It argues that while there are indeed finite limitations, present-day technology falls so far short of those limits that there will be good employment for computer technologists for a very long time to come.Less
Boole and Shannon never studied the physics of computation. Obviously Boole simply could not have, as none of the required physics was even known in his day, and Shannon was nearing the end of his career when such considerations were just beginning. And yet, both Boole's algebra and Shannon's information concepts to make many of our calculations. This chapter touches on how fundamental physics—the uncertainty principle from quantum mechanics, and thermodynamics, for example—constrain what is possible, in principle, for the computers of the far future. It argues that while there are indeed finite limitations, present-day technology falls so far short of those limits that there will be good employment for computer technologists for a very long time to come.
Vincent G. Potter
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780823216154
- eISBN:
- 9780823284832
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823216154.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, American Philosophy
This chapter provides an overview of the life of Charles Sander Peirce—philosopher, logician, scientist, and father of American pragmatism. This man, unappreciated in his lifetime, virtually ignored ...
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This chapter provides an overview of the life of Charles Sander Peirce—philosopher, logician, scientist, and father of American pragmatism. This man, unappreciated in his lifetime, virtually ignored by the academic world of his day, is now recognized as perhaps America's most original philosopher and her greatest logician. Indeed, on the latter score, he is surely one of the logical giants of the nineteenth century, which produced such geniuses as Georg Cantor, Gottlob Frege, George Boole, Augustus De Morgan, Bertrand Russell, and Alfred North Whitehead. Today, more than eighty years after his death, another generation of scholars is beginning to pay him the attention he deserves. The chapter shows the brilliant and tragic career of Peirce. Though he never published a book on philosophy, his articles and drafts fill volumes.Less
This chapter provides an overview of the life of Charles Sander Peirce—philosopher, logician, scientist, and father of American pragmatism. This man, unappreciated in his lifetime, virtually ignored by the academic world of his day, is now recognized as perhaps America's most original philosopher and her greatest logician. Indeed, on the latter score, he is surely one of the logical giants of the nineteenth century, which produced such geniuses as Georg Cantor, Gottlob Frege, George Boole, Augustus De Morgan, Bertrand Russell, and Alfred North Whitehead. Today, more than eighty years after his death, another generation of scholars is beginning to pay him the attention he deserves. The chapter shows the brilliant and tragic career of Peirce. Though he never published a book on philosophy, his articles and drafts fill volumes.
Brendan Dooley (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780262535007
- eISBN:
- 9780262345576
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262535007.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on the claims of the pursuit of science, He says that like all other claims with which we are concerned, these must ultimately rest upon some intrinsic ...
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This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on the claims of the pursuit of science, He says that like all other claims with which we are concerned, these must ultimately rest upon some intrinsic excellency or special suitableness of the object. Qualities such as these can alone give to it an enduring title to our regard. He draws attention to the ground of those claims, in the immediate or implied relations of science to human nature; in its relations, namely, as an answer to some of the distinctive wants of the human mind, an exercise to its faculties, a discipline of the character and habits, and an instrument of conquest and dominion over the powers of surrounding Nature.Less
This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on the claims of the pursuit of science, He says that like all other claims with which we are concerned, these must ultimately rest upon some intrinsic excellency or special suitableness of the object. Qualities such as these can alone give to it an enduring title to our regard. He draws attention to the ground of those claims, in the immediate or implied relations of science to human nature; in its relations, namely, as an answer to some of the distinctive wants of the human mind, an exercise to its faculties, a discipline of the character and habits, and an instrument of conquest and dominion over the powers of surrounding Nature.
Brendan Dooley (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780262535007
- eISBN:
- 9780262345576
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262535007.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on the social aspect of intellectual culture. He says that within proper limits and under proper conditions, intellectual tastes are not only compatible ...
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This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on the social aspect of intellectual culture. He says that within proper limits and under proper conditions, intellectual tastes are not only compatible with social enjoyment, but tend to refine and enlarge that enjoyment. An interest in the progress of the arts and sciences and in the researches of the antiquary and the scholar is calculated not to destroy but to deepen our interest in humanity. He further says that the connection between intellectual discovery and the progressive history of our race gives to every stage of the former a deep human interest. Each new revelation, whether of the laws of the physical universe, of the principles of art, or of the great truths of morals and of politics, is a step not only in the progress of knowledge, but also in the history of our species.Less
This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on the social aspect of intellectual culture. He says that within proper limits and under proper conditions, intellectual tastes are not only compatible with social enjoyment, but tend to refine and enlarge that enjoyment. An interest in the progress of the arts and sciences and in the researches of the antiquary and the scholar is calculated not to destroy but to deepen our interest in humanity. He further says that the connection between intellectual discovery and the progressive history of our race gives to every stage of the former a deep human interest. Each new revelation, whether of the laws of the physical universe, of the principles of art, or of the great truths of morals and of politics, is a step not only in the progress of knowledge, but also in the history of our species.
Brendan Dooley (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780262535007
- eISBN:
- 9780262345576
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262535007.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on the origin of ancient mythologies. Very few ancient writers agree in the representations on this subject despite living in the country whose opinions ...
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This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on the origin of ancient mythologies. Very few ancient writers agree in the representations on this subject despite living in the country whose opinions they profess to relate. Comparison of the statements transmitted by Greek and Roman writers on the religious opinions of nations with which they were less immediately connected show discrepancies so great that the attempt to reconcile them is a hopeless task. Those who have written much on the subject generally started with some theory of their own to which they have endeavored to bend the facts they met with. The attempt to reduce to some single principle the various and discordant relations of mythology is, however, unlikely to meet with any success judging from the past.Less
This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on the origin of ancient mythologies. Very few ancient writers agree in the representations on this subject despite living in the country whose opinions they profess to relate. Comparison of the statements transmitted by Greek and Roman writers on the religious opinions of nations with which they were less immediately connected show discrepancies so great that the attempt to reconcile them is a hopeless task. Those who have written much on the subject generally started with some theory of their own to which they have endeavored to bend the facts they met with. The attempt to reduce to some single principle the various and discordant relations of mythology is, however, unlikely to meet with any success judging from the past.
Brendan Dooley (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780262535007
- eISBN:
- 9780262345576
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262535007.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on whether the planets are inhabited. He first considers the general conditions to which life here has manifested; second, the adaptations of the earth as ...
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This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on whether the planets are inhabited. He first considers the general conditions to which life here has manifested; second, the adaptations of the earth as the abode of life; and third, the presumptions in favor of such adaptation on the part of the remaining orbs of the planetary system. He says that if it is granted that the Author of nature acts consistently in all his works, that he accomplishes the purposes of his will by special means and adaptations, that his purpose with respect to the earth is that it should be an abode of life, and that the mass and adaptations by which that purpose is accomplished are employed in other worlds, then it appears that other worlds are also intended to be habitations of life.Less
This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on whether the planets are inhabited. He first considers the general conditions to which life here has manifested; second, the adaptations of the earth as the abode of life; and third, the presumptions in favor of such adaptation on the part of the remaining orbs of the planetary system. He says that if it is granted that the Author of nature acts consistently in all his works, that he accomplishes the purposes of his will by special means and adaptations, that his purpose with respect to the earth is that it should be an abode of life, and that the mass and adaptations by which that purpose is accomplished are employed in other worlds, then it appears that other worlds are also intended to be habitations of life.
Brendan Dooley (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780262535007
- eISBN:
- 9780262345576
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262535007.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on the right use of leisure. He says that every right involves a responsibility. The greater our freedom from external restrictions, the more we become ...
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This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on the right use of leisure. He says that every right involves a responsibility. The greater our freedom from external restrictions, the more we become the rightful subjects of the moral law within us. The less our accountability to man, the greater our accountability to a higher power. Such a thing as irresponsible right has no existence in this world. Even in the formation of opinion, which is of all things the most free from human control, and for which something like irresponsible right has been claimed, we are deeply answerable for the use we make of our reason, our means of information, and our various opportunities of arriving at a correct judgment.Less
This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on the right use of leisure. He says that every right involves a responsibility. The greater our freedom from external restrictions, the more we become the rightful subjects of the moral law within us. The less our accountability to man, the greater our accountability to a higher power. Such a thing as irresponsible right has no existence in this world. Even in the formation of opinion, which is of all things the most free from human control, and for which something like irresponsible right has been claimed, we are deeply answerable for the use we make of our reason, our means of information, and our various opportunities of arriving at a correct judgment.
Brendan Dooley (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780262535007
- eISBN:
- 9780262345576
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262535007.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on education. He identifies three things to which the attention of the teacher must be chiefly directed: the imparting of knowledge, the production of a ...
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This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on education. He identifies three things to which the attention of the teacher must be chiefly directed: the imparting of knowledge, the production of a ready command and application of such knowledge by art and practice, and the formation of habits. In the accomplishment of each of these objects, he holds that the order of Nature is to be imitated and obeyed. The order of Nature as manifested both in the discovery and the acquisition of knowledge is an ascending and never a descending order. In imparting knowledge, we must not begin with words. As far as possible, we must acquaint the child with things, and it will then feel the want, and understand the use, of words as markers and tokens of the ideas which from things it has acquired.Less
This chapter presents George Boole's lecture on education. He identifies three things to which the attention of the teacher must be chiefly directed: the imparting of knowledge, the production of a ready command and application of such knowledge by art and practice, and the formation of habits. In the accomplishment of each of these objects, he holds that the order of Nature is to be imitated and obeyed. The order of Nature as manifested both in the discovery and the acquisition of knowledge is an ascending and never a descending order. In imparting knowledge, we must not begin with words. As far as possible, we must acquaint the child with things, and it will then feel the want, and understand the use, of words as markers and tokens of the ideas which from things it has acquired.
