I have attached a word file. Please select first  question 1 to make an essay. Please do the best work.1500 words

EssayQuestions 2021:

Due 5

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PM 16th April submit to Moodle page.

Changing Perceptions of Nature

STS 112 (1500 words 30%)

Essay to be written in continuous prose: please refer to STS 112 Moodle learning site for referencing conventions: eg: Harvard.

At least 3 references from the STS 112 Tutorial /Subject Guide Readings must be used.

Please avoid Wikipedia.

Avoid Plagiarism. This will be detected by Turn-it-in and your tutor. Penalties Apply.

Avoid using long direct quotations which will not be considered as part of your word count.

THE ESSAY TOPIC CHOSEN MUST BE DIFFERENT TO YOUR TUTORIAL WRITE UP (If in doubt consult with your tutor)

Answer One Question Only

QUESTION 1

Through careful scientific observations Copernicus determined that the earth experiences a variety of motions and is not at the centre of the universe. These observations challenged the long-standing mystical world views of Ptolemy and Aristotle and religious authorities. For these reasons Copernicus’s publication in 1543 of the De Revolutionibus, which provided a detailed explanation of these observations, is often considered as representing the symbolic birth of modern science.

Do you agree/disagree with parts of/or all of the above statement. Justify your viewpoint with examples and argument

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Points to consider when writing the essay:

(a) Does the statement display Whig tendencies?

(b) What were the main features of Copernicus’s theories? Did they simply rely on making new observations?

(c) What were the main features of the Ptolemaic/ Aristotelian world-view, were they mystical?

(d) Did Copernicus think the earth moved around the Sun for the same reasons we think it does today?

(e) What role did Neo-Platonist and Religious beliefs play in Copernicus’s work, were they mystical by modern standards?

QUESTION 2

The theory of Tycho Brahe represented much more than a mystical/religiously influenced timid compromise between the Ptolemaic and Copernican systems and is better thought of as a bold rational synthesis based on the best high tech observational data, astronomical technology and rigorous analysis, available at that time.

Do you agree/disagree with parts of/or all of the above statement. Justify your viewpoint with examples and argument.

Points to consider when writing the essay

(a) The basic features of Tycho’s astronomy and natural philosophy

(b) The role of observation in Tycho’s work

(c) Theory loading

(d) Whig History

(e) Is the view about Tycho’s work as timid shaped by later developments in astronomy and natural philosophy or the possibility that many histories of science would prefer to emphasise the importance of bold new discoveries rather than clever compromises?

 QUESTION  3

Kepler was obsessed with using accurate observational data and making sense of it in geometric and mathematical terms. In using such methods much of Kepler’s work looks distinctively like modern science. It is important to remember that despite these rather modern looking aspects of his work his methods actually more strongly reflected ideas more specific to his own time, such as mystical Neo-Platonism and religious speculation.

Do you agree/disagree with parts of/or all of the above statement. Justify your viewpoint with examples and argument.

Points to consider when writing the essay

(a) Metaphysics

(b) Kepler’s belief that God’s had a mathematical blue-print for the universe

(c) Neo-Platonism

(d) The relationship between observational evidence and prior assumptions and models (theory loading)

(e) Kepler’s obsession with making accurate observations

QUESTION 4

As a result of Galileo’s views that we should rely on facts linked to experiments, explained mathematically and based on observations generated by devices such as the telescope, he has sometimes been given the title of ‘the father of modern science’. But it was also the case that Galileo couldn’t explain exactly how devices like the telescope worked, sometimes justified why he believed nature had an underlying mathematical order by references to religion, and held views about things like the actual shape of the orbits of the planets we no longer believe to be true. Keeping these above points in mind it is a mistake to grant Galileo with this title.

Do you agree/disagree with parts of/or all of the above statement. Justify your viewpoint with examples and argument

Points to consider when writing the essay

(a) Galileo’s claims

(b) Arguments of his opponents

(c) Whig History

eg: what do we mean by ‘modern-science’ vs. natural philosophy

(b) Theory loading of Observation.

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QUESTION 5

“The Galileo Affair” is the most frequently discussed case of the conflict between science and religion. An oversimplified and false view of it is that Galileo became a martyr of science because the Roman Catholic Church’s opposition to science, but it is now commonly agreed the facts are quite otherwise” Robert Blackwell 2002 ‘Galileo Galilei’ in G.B. Ferngren (ed.) Science and Religion: A Historical Introduction p.105.

What do you think Blackwell means by ‘the conflict between science and religion’ and Galileo as ‘a martyr for science’? What are the facts Blackwell is referring to back up his claims? Do you find Blackwell’s view convincing? Are there other factors Blackwell should have considered?

Points to consider when writing the essay

(a) The conflict thesis

(b) The trial of Galileo

(c) Whig History

(d) How does Blackwell construct his argument?

(e) Does Blackwell miss anything in his analysis?

Assessment Criteria

At least 3 sources from the tutorial/subject readings must be used

Content – accuracy in presentation of content and texts covered in the subject readings and lectures.

Argumentation and Relevance – selection of appropriate content sources in research indicating ability to tailor your response to the demands of the question, points under discussion must be logically structured to lead up to the conclusion you are trying to defend

Expression of ideas – including attention to grammar, spelling, referencing and other points of presentation

Format

Clearly mark your name, tutorial time and the

full-text of the essay question, on the cover page of your essay

All assessments must be page numbered.

All sources must be properly referenced (Harvard Author/Date system) see subject Moodle site for full details.

Assessments must be laid out in 1.5 line spacing (minimum) or in double spacing.

Use one style of font consistently throughout the assignment.

12 to 14 point fonts for headings, 11 to 12 point fonts for text, 10 point fonts for

end-notes/bibliographies