Plato to Darwin to Dna Essay - 1007 Words

Raj Maheshwari BIO 11 Lab Professor Lauren Larin Queens College Spring 2016 Plato to Darwin to DNA – A Brief History Dr. Esther I. Muehlbauer This book has been molded to be a breakdown of how various fields in science have progressed over centuries as mankind has advanced. The book starts off introducing the idea that the telling of natural history has changed numerous times as humans have evolved. We also learn to agree that our knowledge has been shaped by the tools available and the perceptions of its users. In the earliest stages of life, Muehlbauer states â€Å"†¦observers of the natural world had only their senses to work with, and were limited to visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory descriptions perceived by the unaided†¦show more content†¦One of Thales’ most renounced findings include his discovery in geometric studies in the area reading the rules of triangles. He came to the conclusion that if the base angles of an isosceles triangle are equal, the sum of the angles of a triangle are equivalent to two right angles. With the application of â€Å"geometric principles to life situations , Thales was able to calculate the height of a pyramid by measuring its shadow, and the distance of a boat to the shore, by using the concept of similar triangles† (pg. 5, Muehlbauer). Realizations such as these helped shape the beginning for the formation of natural law based on observations of the world through explanation. As the book progresses, we are introduced to the three most influential people on western biological thought that emerged from ancient Greece, and the classical world. First came Socrates (470 – 399 B.C.) who was revered as the â€Å"moral philosopher† rather than a â€Å"natural philosopher,† as his ideas contributed towards two jurisdictions of thought – philosophy and natural science. Although he left little proof of his written accounts, his ideology has made it through centuries of history in the form of â€Å"Socratic dialogues† by his pupil, Plato (429 – 347 B.C.). Plato contributed to the transcription, of the dialogues between himself and Socrates and the members of AthenianShow MoreRelatedEvolution And Evolution Of Evolution1514 Words   |  7 Pagesperiod of time. The ideas of evolution were not accepted until Charles Darwin published his book â€Å"On the Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection† in 1859. Before the evolutionary thought, people believed that all organisms were created at the same time and that each life-form was fixed and therefore did not change. Many scientists had contributed to the evolutionary thought. It first started with Aristotle (a student of Plato) who organized all organisms into a ladder based on their complexityRead MoreAnalysis Of The Time Machine 1722 Words   |  7 Pagesridiculously meager wages. 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