Philosophy Science Common sense

Author: Chen Jiaying
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-02-01
Features: A thrilling and engaging philosophical work like an adventure novel
Philosophy initially sought truth and understanding of the world we inhabit. The "principles" of philosophical theory derive from common sense (or common understanding) and organize them into coherent systems. Philosophers constructed theoretical frameworks using natural language, believing they could explain all phenomena. However, when looking back at philosophy, all efforts to seek universality over thousands of years have failed. Perhaps this is precisely because philosophy relies so heavily on common sense (common understanding); philosophical systems are built upon common sense and natural concepts.
Scientists, on the other hand, first reduce everyday experience to "experiments" and shape a new, rigorous logic—mathematical language—with precise definitions. This language transcends the diverse and complex world of life, and precisely because of this, a powerful and universally explanatory theoretical system becomes truly possible. Science also seeks truth, but it is not satisfied with the truth of the world we passively experience. Through instruments and experiments, it interrogates nature, forcing it to reveal deeper secrets. To explain these secrets, the ancient wisdom and methods gradually prove insufficient. Common-sense rationality is no longer enough, and people learn to rely on mathematical rationality.
The year 1642 may be particularly meaningful—Galileo died that year, and Newton was born the same year. Russell once recommended this fact to readers who believed in the reincarnation of souls. Galileo and Newton can be said to have "collaborated" to create modern science—one came first, the other followed. Galileo was a giant, introducing modern scientific concepts and methods to a wide range of fields, and Newton was also a giant, giving modern science its complete form.
In the book, Chen Jiaying quotes Westfall, who summarized that the entire Western world began transforming from a culture centered on Christianity to one centered on science starting in the 17th century. From Newton onward, we gained a scientific worldview that "replaced a qualitative, tangible world in which we live, love, and die with a quantitative, geometrically materialized world, where everything has its place, except for humans" (Quine's words).
Human knowledge accumulation begins with "common sense," and it is also common sense that provides the background framework for the theoretical and systematic development of knowledge (i.e., science and philosophy). However, on one hand, the development of modern and contemporary science has increasingly distanced itself from common-sense experience, and the explanatory power of scientific theories no longer relies on common sense or intuitive understanding. On the other hand, philosophy's efforts to organize and reconstruct common sense to achieve universal explanation have been in vain. Thus, we face the division between two worlds: one is the loose and fragmented world of common sense, and the other is the rigorous and systematic world of science.
The question is, how can these two worlds communicate with each other? Philosophy, Science, and Common Sense suggests that this may be the task of philosophy today. This book is neither a beginning nor a conclusion. It is merely a collection of fragmented thoughts by the author, somewhat organized around a theme for publication. The theme is the relationship between philosophy and science, as well as their respective relationships with common sense or natural understanding.
Following this main thread, the first part briefly reviews the shift from the holistic explanatory approach of philosophy to the scientific approach. The second part discusses empirical science's relationship with experience, the characteristics of scientific concepts, the mathematical nature of science, prediction, hypothesis, and the problem of reality. The final chapter focuses on the relationship among common sense, science, and philosophy, somewhat like a conclusion.
This book draws heavily on the research findings of the philosophy of science but is not a treatise on the philosophy of science and does not offer any new insights into the internal theoretical structure of science. The author is concerned with the fate of philosophy—or the fate of thought. This book is the first of two, with the second still in progress, exploring the nature of social sciences and humanities from the perspective of reductionism and concluding with reflections on principles and truth. Many chapters of this book were published over time, and all were extensively revised when included in this book.