theoretical+explanation
121Europe, history of — Introduction history of European peoples and cultures from prehistoric times to the present. Europe is a more ambiguous term than most geographic expressions. Its etymology is doubtful, as is the physical extent of the area it designates.… …
122nature, philosophy of — Introduction the discipline that investigates substantive issues regarding the actual features of nature as a reality. The discussion here is divided into two parts: the philosophy of physics and the philosophy of biology. In this… …
123Comte and positivism — Robert Brown COMTE’S AIMS The chief aim of all of Auguste Comte’s publications, and the constant mission of his entire working life, was the improvement of human character through the perfecting of human society. He was convinced that the… …
124Hermeneutics — Gadamer and Ricoeur G.B.Madison THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: ROMANTIC HERMENEUTICS Although the term ‘hermeneutics’ (hermeneutica) is, in its current usage, of early modern origin,1 the practice it refers to is as old as western civilization itself …
125Philosophy of science — is the study of assumptions, foundations, and implications of science. The field is defined by an interest in one of a set of traditional problems or an interest in central or foundational concerns in science. In addition to these central… …
126Reductionism — Descartes held that non human animals could be reductively explained as automata De homine, 1662. Reductionism can mean either (a) an approach to understanding the nature of complex things by reducing them to the interactions of their parts, or… …
127Islam — Islamic /is lam ik, lah mik, iz /, Islamitic /is leuh mit ik, iz /, adj. /is lahm , iz , is leuhm, iz /, n. 1. the religious faith of Muslims, based on the words and religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by the Koran, the… …
128physical science — physical scientist. 1. any of the natural sciences dealing with inanimate matter or with energy, as physics, chemistry, and astronomy. 2. these sciences collectively. [1835 45] * * * Introduction the systematic study of the inorganic world …
