Books by Basil Evangelidis
Vernon Press, 2020
'Reason, Causation and Compatibility with the Phenomena' strives to give answers to the philosoph... more 'Reason, Causation and Compatibility with the Phenomena' strives to give answers to the philosophical problem of the interplay between realism, explanation and experience. This book is a compilation of essays that recollect significant conceptions of rival terms such as determinism and freedom, reason and appearance, power and knowledge. This title discusses the progress made in epistemology and natural philosophy, especially the steps that led from the ancient theory of atomism to the modern quantum theory, and from mathematization to analytic philosophy. Moreover, it provides possible gateways from modern deadlocks of theory either through approaches to consciousness or through historical critique of intellectual authorities.
This work will be of interest to those either researching or studying in colleges and universities, especially in the departments of philosophy, history of science, philosophy of science, philosophy of physics and quantum mechanics, history of ideas and culture. Greek and Latin Literature students and instructors may also find this book to be both a fascinating and valuable point of reference.
Vernon Press, Delaware, United States of America, 2017
Landmarks in the History of Science is a concise history of science from a global and macro-histo... more Landmarks in the History of Science is a concise history of science from a global and macro-historical standpoint. It is an account of grand theoretical revolutions, such as heliocentrism, atomism, and relativity. But, more importantly, it is also a story of the methodological transitions to the experimental, mathematical, constructivist and instrumental practices of science.
It begins with Ancient Greek science, as one of the first self-conscious, comprehensive and well-documented scientific endeavors at the global level. The numerous contributions of the Greeks, in philosophy, mathematics, geometry, geography and astronomy, momentous as they were, were fruits of leisure rather than industry. It then examines the history of science in China and China’s exchanges with India and Islam. A systematic and collaborative scientific effort is the hallmark of Chinese science. The contributions of the Chinese in medicine, printing, manufacturing and navigation invariably predate and outshine those of western contemporaries.
Attention then shifts to the age of oceanic discoveries, which created the inexorable presuppositions for the genesis of global trade and a world system. From the inner organs of the organisms to the outer regions of Earth, Renaissance science was ubiquitous. The importance of inter-cultural scientific syncretism is highlighted, with the Iberian Peninsula as meeting point and crossroad of mutual affection between Arab, Jewish and European culture. Discoveries and inventions in metallurgy, electromagnetism and the science of petroleum set the scientific basis for the industrial revolution. The logic of the industrial revolution dictates developments in information technologies that culminate with the invention of modern computers. A dedicated chapter on the history of modern scientific conceptions of the universe showcases the subtle links in the fabric of seminal ideas in physics and astronomy. The book concludes with some reflections on the relationship between philosophy and the history of science. Following Kuhn and Latour, this discussion centers on the characteristics of continuities, ruptures and paradigmatic transitions in science.
Saarbrücken: Lambert, Apr 14, 2014
During the long process of modernization in the Greek countryside, the introduction of four quasi... more During the long process of modernization in the Greek countryside, the introduction of four quasi-urbanizing technologies (electricity, telephone, radio, automobile) was propagated at time-points of bending or changing material conditions. Subject and scope of technology applications were the peasant communities and the residents of suburban centers, which produce the conditions within the immanent landscape of land. The innovative appearances of technology in rural countryside were implemented through human action, which intervenes in the status-quo of spatial reality. Innovation scans everyday circumstances and dissolves them, regardless the Unity of the Community of the village, which cannot any time assimilate technology.
Book chapters by Basil Evangelidis
Vernon Press, 2017
Landmarks in the History of Science is a concise history of science from a global and macro-histo... more Landmarks in the History of Science is a concise history of science from a global and macro-historical standpoint. It is an account of grand theoretical revolutions, such as heliocentrism, atomism, and relativity. But, more importantly, it is also a story of the methodological transitions to the experimental, mathematical, constructivist and instrumental practices of science.
It begins with Ancient Greek science, as one of the first self-conscious, comprehensive and well-documented scientific endeavors at the global level. The numerous contributions of the Greeks, in philosophy, mathematics, geometry, geography and astronomy, momentous as they were, were fruits of leisure rather than industry. It then examines the history of science in China and China’s exchanges with India and Islam. A systematic and collaborative scientific effort is the hallmark of Chinese science. The contributions of the Chinese in medicine, printing, manufacturing and navigation invariably predate and outshine those of western contemporaries.
Attention then shifts to the age of oceanic discoveries, which created the inexorable presuppositions for the genesis of global trade and a world system. From the inner organs of the organisms to the outer regions of Earth, Renaissance science was ubiquitous. The importance of inter-cultural scientific syncretism is highlighted, with the Iberian Peninsula as meeting point and crossroad of mutual affection between Arab, Jewish and European culture. Discoveries and inventions in metallurgy, electromagnetism and the science of petroleum set the scientific basis for the industrial revolution. The logic of the industrial revolution dictates developments in information technologies that culminate with the invention of modern computers. A dedicated chapter on the history of modern scientific conceptions of the universe showcases the subtle links in the fabric of seminal ideas in physics and astronomy. The book concludes with some reflections on the relationship between philosophy and the history of science. Following Kuhn and Latour, this discussion centers on the characteristics of continuities, ruptures and paradigmatic transitions in science.
LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing; Illustrated Edition (14. April 2014), 2014
During the long process of modernization in the Greek countryside, the introduction of four quasi... more During the long process of modernization in the Greek countryside, the introduction of four quasi-urbanizing technologies (electricity, telephone, radio, automobile) was propagated at time-points of bending or changing material conditions. Subject and scope of technology applications were the peasant communities and the residents of suburban centers, which produce the conditions within the immanent landscape of land. The innovative appearances of technology in rural countryside were implemented through human action, which intervenes in the status-quo of spatial reality. Innovation scans everyday circumstances and dissolves them, regardless the Unity of the Community of the village, which cannot any time assimilate technology.
To the Era of Public Utilities
Sparkling, Plowing and Urbanizing, Chapter: 6, 2014
During the long process of modernization in the Greek countryside, the introduction of four quasi... more During the long process of modernization in the Greek countryside, the introduction of four quasi-urbanizing technologies (electricity, telephone, radio, automobile) was propagated at time-points of bending or changing material conditions. Subject and scope of technology applications were the peasant communities and the residents of suburban centers, which produce the conditions within the immanent landscape of land. The innovative appearances of technology in rural countryside were implemented through human action, which intervenes in the status-quo of spatial reality. Innovation scans everyday circumstances and dissolves them, regardless the Unity of the Community of the village, which cannot any time assimilate technology.
Anthology of ancient Greek authors (in Greek). Athens: Giourdas, 2006
The anthology of ancient Greek texts that you have in your hands is a useful guide for your acces... more The anthology of ancient Greek texts that you have in your hands is a useful guide for your access to the intellectual works of the Attic period of Greek literature, since it suggests subjects of study, which can be studied as such in depth, but also in parallel with the other thematographies and with the best-known texts of the time and it is possible to serve both informatively and critically. It expands your knowledge of the Attic orators, historians and philosophers of the period, and your familiarity with the Attic dialect of the ancient Greek language, with a range of new words and etymological information.
You can use it in your lesson to cultivate students' self-activity, their ability to judge and evaluate educational goods, develop their aesthetic literacy and good supervision of the length, size and weight of their written works of the Attic period, in the genres of rhetoric, philosophy and historiography. The structure of the anthology allows you to make your approach flexible, depending on each text and author. You can, therefore, give small factual introductions, concerning the meaning, the cultural and ideological elements, and the motivations of the persons. Very important is the overview regarding the synchronic connections between the various texts, but also the timeless significance and interpretation of their content. However, each text is a whole of its own meaning and the reception of the ideas and information it offers is possible by focusing on its structure and content.
We examine both the elements of form and the individual linguistic elements, in the function that exists between them. Editorial comments reveal the entire structure of the text, focus on its content, and reveal the author's temperament.
Conference Presentations by Basil Evangelidis
[Präsentation auf dem Workshop Sea ships – evidence for cultural exchange in global historical perspective, Deutsches Shiffahrt Museum, 16-17 Januar 2015, Bremerhaven], 2015
The Age of Global Sailing: Pilots, Cosmographers and Shipwreck Narratives The study of the transo... more The Age of Global Sailing: Pilots, Cosmographers and Shipwreck Narratives The study of the transoceanic discoveries scrutinises for evidence in cartography, technology, the shipbuilding materials and the tools of the explorers, the feedback between astronomy, optics and navigation. Research focuses on the significance of oceanography and geomorphology, e.g. currents, winds, shores, sea passages and lines between Calicut, Manila, Acapulco, Bering Strait, Iceland or Strait of Magellan. Historians are interested in the fierce battles in the Indian Ocean and elsewhere; they seek for the turning points, the theoretical significance of the organized enterprise and the epistemic obstacles. Further evidence is found in the shipwrecks, such as the ships in Molasses Reef, in San Estéban, the numerous shipwreck sites in Florida, the identified La Girona in Ireland, and the shipwreck narratives, first published in Portuguese as a literature de cordel and recollected in a two-volume anthology, the História Trágico-Maritima by Bernardo Gomes de Brito. Conjecture is often the only possible attitude, as for the lost missions of John Cabot, Corte Real and many others. “E se mais mundo houvera, là chegara,” the poet expressed the efforts of the discoverers.
Landmarks in the Philosophy and History of Science
In his version of atomism, Lucretius made explicit reference to the concept of an intrinsic decli... more In his version of atomism, Lucretius made explicit reference to the concept of an intrinsic declination of the atom, the atomic swerve (clinamen in Latin), stressing that the time and space of the infinitesimal atomic vibration is uncertain. The topic of this article is the Epicurean and Lucretian arguments in favour of the swerve. Our exposition of the Lucretian model of the atomic clinamen will present and elucidate the respective considerations on the alleged role of the swerve in the generation of free-action.
Workshop Ozeane: Grenzen, Interaktionen, Konflikte, Interdisziplinäre Zugänge, 17-18 April 2015 Universität Wien, 2015
This study refers to the interdisciplinary efforts to explore the globe with the great oceanic di... more This study refers to the interdisciplinary efforts to explore the globe with the great oceanic discoveries, an interesting open question, which had also contributed to the development of geography and exploration. In the fifteenth century the humanists translated the works of the ancient geographers, which influenced the ideological background of the great explorers. Geographical conceptions were gradually liberated from dogmatism, accepting the theory that the Earth is global and regenerating Ptolemy’s belief that the European west coasts are close to the eastern Asia.
86. Jahrestagung der DPG und DPG-Frühjahrstagung AGPhil: Arbeitsgruppe Philosophie der Physik AGPhil 11: Quantum Mechanics, Philosophy and Information, 2023
Coping with entitlement-riddles such as “follow the water”: There is a vast amount of research da... more Coping with entitlement-riddles such as “follow the water”: There is a vast amount of research data accumulating from space exploration on the topics of impacts, symmetries, habitable zone, chemical compositions, atmosphere, climate and geology. The related facts, sayings and relations need to be evaluated by a theory of decision based on strategies of reflection on empirical research and cooperation. More and more suitable technological applications, appropriate inventions and innovations are being introduced for the implementation of the objective to find interstellar habitat. A logic of space science and technology is being, therefore, continuously articulated and innovated through focusing on efficiency, computability, polyvalence, feedback control etc. This effort needs also to be assisted by a reevaluation of conceptual and mathematical frameworks, with the adoption of new physical definitions and new units of measurement. Otherwise, the whole effort remains impeded by its own entitlement. An example of the requirement for conceptual reevaluation is the increasing significance of astrobiology, on account of the quest for water, life and habitable planets. Hereby philosophy of physics meets the philosophy of biology, so far as the concepts of life and non-life could plausibly be reconsidered by space exploration, while ethical problems on the value of space medicine, health and information arise, as well. An example of the urgent requirement for reflection and reevaluation of mathematical frameworks is the task for an efficient motion of spacecraft to the interstellar medium, to Proxima Centauri b and other exoplanets. Such a task should require the adoption of new units of measurement, for instance, of the magnitude of ~6.000 km/s (30 times faster than the Parker Solar Probe), being thus better comparable to the speed of light (since ~6.000 km/s equals to 1/50 or 2% of the speed of light). However, the most significant instant of the challenge to reflection is the role of the magnetosphere, the magnetic fields and dynamos for the development and the motion of the planets of our solar system and exoplanets. A successful procedure to explaining the contribution of the magnetic field to planetary dynamics may help us answer serious scientific questions and probably may crucially contribute to the discovery of a new unified physical theory of everything.
Dirac Sea
International Summer School Particle Physics at the Crossroads; Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Past, Present and Future of Particle Physics. 23-30. Juli 2018, Wuppertal, 2018
In 1930s, Paul Dirac proposed an explicit model of vacuum as infinite sea of particles, the so-ca... more In 1930s, Paul Dirac proposed an explicit model of vacuum as infinite sea of particles, the so-called Dirac sea. He assumed that what we consider to be a vacuum is a situation in which all states of negative energy are filled up and all states of positive energy are empty. The role of vacuum in quantum theory became central after Dirac’s theoretical commitment to the unification of the quantum-theoretical with the relativistic physics. Einstein had introduced a physical theory that rejected the existence of ether as physical substance, focusing instead on the role of the field. The various disagreements to his theory were forcefully confronted by the intervention of scientific models, such as Dirac’s, who insisted on an abstract, mathematical and experimentally corroborated conception of antiparticles, antielectrons, etc. Contrary to most of the quantum field theorists, Dirac tended to adhere to a realist worldview, taking as a starting point the views of Einstein (photon as light quantum) and J. J. Thompson (corpuscles), and the nucleic or holey theory of matter proposed by Hertz and Sommerfeld. It is no coincidence that the theoretical approaches to vacuum maintain a constant and actual significance in modern physical theories.
Keywords: vacuum, Dirac, electron, antiparticles, positron, realism, model
The Petroleum Pioneers in the Age of the Illumination
“The Petroleum Pioneers in the Age of the Illumination”. Presentation at the 25th International C... more “The Petroleum Pioneers in the Age of the Illumination”. Presentation at the 25th International Congress of History of Science and Technology in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 28th July 2017. The presentation focuses on the historical development of oil refining technologies. The aim is to analyse the most relevant early processing methods, from the refining of coal oil to the introduction of gasoline and lubricating oils, the development of the methods of atmospheric distillation, the reforming, and the catalytic (or thermal) cracking. The role of the pioneers was important in that story: James Young, in the early 1850s, produced paraffin oil from coal in Scotland. Abraham Pineo Gesner in Canada refined kerosene from coal and Trinidad Island asphalt. In 1852, Boston, the Atwood brothers made a lubricant from coal tar, while Ignacy Łukasiewicz in Poland and Benjamin Silliman Jr. in USA boosted the quality of the processes to produce kerosene. In 1866, the invention of more efficient cylinder refining-stills improved the process of distillation. By 1875, the refiners implemented a new method for the utilization of the residuum of the crude oil, left after the manufacture of illuminating oil. In addition, in the shale works of Scotland, they started to refine paraffin wax and lubricants. In 1876, Herman Frasch received a patent for the purification of paraffin wax. In late nineteenth century, gasoline was considered just a waste product of kerosene production, so the refineries tried constantly to get rid of that, because it was very volatile and easy to fire. They used to burn it for fuel in distilling for oil, or let it run into creeks and rivers. In 1882, the Nobel brothers Ludvig and Robert utilised in southwest Russia the methods proposed by Dmitri Mendeleev to purify oil with thorough distillation. At the same time, Herman Frasch worked upon desulfurizing oil and Vladimir Shukhov developed the method of thermal cracking of crude oil, which were among the most brilliant and advanced processes that opened the gate to the twentieth century refining industry.
Στην αγροτική Ελλάδα η αστικοποίηση του τρόπου ζωής και ο εκσυγχρονισμός της παραγωγής προχώρησαν... more Στην αγροτική Ελλάδα η αστικοποίηση του τρόπου ζωής και ο εκσυγχρονισμός της παραγωγής προχώρησαν με αργούς ρυθμούς. Όπως παρατηρούσε ο αγροτολόγος Χρυσός Ευελπίδης, στην εποχή του πολλές κωμοπόλεις είχαν ήδη αποκτήσει αστικό χαρακτήρα, π.χ. το Λαύριο, το Ναύπλιο, το Αλιβέρι, το Γαλαξίδι, η Αιδηψός, η Ύδρα· ενώ, αντίθετα, άλλες πόλεις συνέχιζαν να έχουν γεωργικό χαρακτήρα, όπως το Μενίδι, τα Μέγαρα, η Θήβα, η Λιβαδειά, το Άργος, η Κόρινθος, η Αμαλιάδα, τα Φιλιατρά, η Ορεστιάδα, τα Γιαννιτσά, η Κατερίνη, το Κιλκίς. Υπήρχαν επίσης πόλεις που κατοικούνταν κυρίως από γεωργικό πληθυσμό, π.χ. Κομοτηνή, Δράμα, Σέρρες, Φλώρινα, Άρτα, Αλεξανδρούπολη, Ρέθυμνο, Ναύπλιο, αλλά και δήμοι της Αθήνας που θεωρούνταν ξεχωριστές πόλεις, όπως το Μοσχάτο, το Χαλάνδρι, το Μαρούσι και η Κηφισιά.
Η εισαγωγή της τεχνολογίας στην ύπαιθρο
Η διείσδυση της τεχνολογίας το 1950-80 στην ελληνική ύπα... more Η εισαγωγή της τεχνολογίας στην ύπαιθρο
Η διείσδυση της τεχνολογίας το 1950-80 στην ελληνική ύπαιθρο προσδιορίστηκε από ένα συγκεκριμένο πλέγμα παραγόντων, συνθηκών και στόχων, νεωτερικών και παραδοσιακών. Μεταρρυθμιστές πολιτικοί, κατασκευαστές δημόσιων έργων, μηχανικοί, τεχνικοί, παραγωγοί ηλεκτρικών συσκευών, εκπαιδευτικά ιδρύματα, συνεταιρισμοί και τοπικές κοινότητες, υπήρξαν πρωταγωνιστές της μεταμόρφωσης της περιφέρειας της Ελλάδας, με τον εξηλεκτρισμό, τις επικοινωνίες, τις συγκοινωνίες, τον εκχρηματισμό, την ανύψωση της ποιότητας ζωής. Μια επανάσταση, «η πιο ειρηνική, αλλά και η περισσότερο κοσμογονική», είχε φαινομενικά ξεκινήσει.
Από το 1950 και μετά, η ίδρυση της ΔΕΗ και του ΟΤΕ, και η εισαγωγή νέας τεχνολογίας και μηχανών ε... more Από το 1950 και μετά, η ίδρυση της ΔΕΗ και του ΟΤΕ, και η εισαγωγή νέας τεχνολογίας και μηχανών επιταχύνουν όσο ποτέ άλλοτε τον καταμερισμό της εργασίας στην αγροτική Ελλάδα - διαμορφώνουν μια εσωτερική αγορά και προωθούν την εμπορευματοποίηση. Η εκβιομηχάνιση είναι μια επαναστατική δύναμη για τη γεωργία (ηλεκτρισμός, κινητήρας εσωτερικής καύσης, αντλίες, κυλινδρόμυλοι, τσιμέντο, σιδηροκατασκευές, συγκοινωνίες, εγγειοβελτιωτικά έργα, χημική βιομηχανία, ελκυστήρες, κ.λπ.). Το ζωικό κεφάλαιο αντικαθίσταται από το κεφάλαιο μηχανών και εργαλείων, επιτρέποντας την αποτελεσματικότερη αξιοποίηση του εδαφικού κεφαλαίου.
Δίπλα στη βάσιμη θέση ότι υπάρχει αλληλεξάρτηση ανάμεσα στην τεχνολογική εξειδίκευση και τον καταμερισμό της εργασίας, θέτουμε το ερώτημα για τα όρια του τεχνολογικού εκσυγχρονισμού και για τα εμπόδια που βρήκε η διείσδυση της τεχνολογίας στην αγροτική Ελλάδα του 20ου αιώνα. Η απάντηση που επιχειρούμε αναφέρεται τελικά στην μη-συμπληρωματική και ανεπαρκή παρουσία του κλάδου των μηχανοκατασκευών, της εγχώριας παραγωγής μηχανών για τη γεωργία, με αποτέλεσμα τη συνύπαρξη νέας και παλιάς τεχνολογίας.
Papers by Basil Evangelidis
Humanities Bulletin 7(2), 2024
The present research aims to examine the different accounts of induction given by Aristotle, Hume... more The present research aims to examine the different accounts of induction given by Aristotle, Hume, Leibniz, Carnap and De Finetti, trying to support that probability calculus offers a sufficient grounding of inductive logic. The term induction had been contrasted to deduction, by Aristotle. The Neoplatonic philosopher Alcinous suggested that dialectic firstly investigates the substances and then the accidents. There are five kinds of dialectic reasoning: division, definition, analysis, induction and syllogistic. The first three concern with substances, the last two with accidents. Although Leibniz regarded probability theory as a basis of inductive logic, Hume's skepticism was seminal for the reappraisal of the role of induction in modern philosophy. Enhancing Hume's criticism, Popper and Wittgenstein completely denied that scientists use induction. Hans Reichenbach, however, attempted to build a theory of justification for the use of induction, based on a factual basis of other successful predictive methods that make induction feasible (Earman & Salmon 1999). Moreover, Buchdall (1969) stressed that we must distinguish the inductive process of the scientist from the inductive conclusion, which comes after the completion of observation and experimentation.
The relation between entropy and information has great significance for computation. Based on the... more The relation between entropy and information has great significance for computation. Based on the strict reversibility of the laws of microphysics, Landauer (1961), Bennett (1973), Priese (1976), Fredkin and Toffoli (1982), Feynman (1985) and others envisioned a reversible computer that cannot allow any ambiguity in backward steps of a calculation. It is this backward capacity that makes reversible computing radically different from ordinary, irreversible computing. The proposal aims at a higher kind of computer that would give the actual output of a computation together with the original input, with the absence of a minimum energy requirement. Hence, information retrievability and energy efficiency due to diminished heat dissipation are the exquisite tasks of quantum computer technology.
Global Humanities, 2015
A notorious controversy among historians refers to the issue of ‘technological determinism’ and t... more A notorious controversy among historians refers to the issue of ‘technological determinism’ and the categories related to theoretical aspects of modernization.
The ambivalence between instrumental, contextual and social approaches is obvious in these disputes. A justified answer to these problems may be that the mediators of technology are not simply channeling technology,
but neither are the users passive consumers. Societies resist and eventually incorporate the new into the old, and their citizens selectively modify and use technologies to create new cultures and new forms of modernization.
There is an interactive social construction which modifies technologies and creates new forms of artificial life.
Philosophies, 2018
The epistemological rupture of Copernicus, the laws of planetary motions of Kepler, the comprehen... more The epistemological rupture of Copernicus, the laws of planetary motions of Kepler, the comprehensive physical observations of Galileo and Huygens, the conception of relativity, and the physical theory of Newton were components of an extremely fertile and influential cognitive environment that prompted the restless Leibniz to shape an innovative theory of space and time. This theory expressed some of the concerns and intuitions of the scientific community of the seventeenth century, in particular the scientific group of the Academy of Sciences of Paris, but remained relatively unknown until the twentieth century. After Einstein, however, the relational theory of Leibniz gained wider respect and fame. The aim of this article is to explain how Leibniz foresaw relativity, through his critique of contemporary mechanistic philosophy.
Uploads
Books by Basil Evangelidis
This work will be of interest to those either researching or studying in colleges and universities, especially in the departments of philosophy, history of science, philosophy of science, philosophy of physics and quantum mechanics, history of ideas and culture. Greek and Latin Literature students and instructors may also find this book to be both a fascinating and valuable point of reference.
It begins with Ancient Greek science, as one of the first self-conscious, comprehensive and well-documented scientific endeavors at the global level. The numerous contributions of the Greeks, in philosophy, mathematics, geometry, geography and astronomy, momentous as they were, were fruits of leisure rather than industry. It then examines the history of science in China and China’s exchanges with India and Islam. A systematic and collaborative scientific effort is the hallmark of Chinese science. The contributions of the Chinese in medicine, printing, manufacturing and navigation invariably predate and outshine those of western contemporaries.
Attention then shifts to the age of oceanic discoveries, which created the inexorable presuppositions for the genesis of global trade and a world system. From the inner organs of the organisms to the outer regions of Earth, Renaissance science was ubiquitous. The importance of inter-cultural scientific syncretism is highlighted, with the Iberian Peninsula as meeting point and crossroad of mutual affection between Arab, Jewish and European culture. Discoveries and inventions in metallurgy, electromagnetism and the science of petroleum set the scientific basis for the industrial revolution. The logic of the industrial revolution dictates developments in information technologies that culminate with the invention of modern computers. A dedicated chapter on the history of modern scientific conceptions of the universe showcases the subtle links in the fabric of seminal ideas in physics and astronomy. The book concludes with some reflections on the relationship between philosophy and the history of science. Following Kuhn and Latour, this discussion centers on the characteristics of continuities, ruptures and paradigmatic transitions in science.
Book chapters by Basil Evangelidis
It begins with Ancient Greek science, as one of the first self-conscious, comprehensive and well-documented scientific endeavors at the global level. The numerous contributions of the Greeks, in philosophy, mathematics, geometry, geography and astronomy, momentous as they were, were fruits of leisure rather than industry. It then examines the history of science in China and China’s exchanges with India and Islam. A systematic and collaborative scientific effort is the hallmark of Chinese science. The contributions of the Chinese in medicine, printing, manufacturing and navigation invariably predate and outshine those of western contemporaries.
Attention then shifts to the age of oceanic discoveries, which created the inexorable presuppositions for the genesis of global trade and a world system. From the inner organs of the organisms to the outer regions of Earth, Renaissance science was ubiquitous. The importance of inter-cultural scientific syncretism is highlighted, with the Iberian Peninsula as meeting point and crossroad of mutual affection between Arab, Jewish and European culture. Discoveries and inventions in metallurgy, electromagnetism and the science of petroleum set the scientific basis for the industrial revolution. The logic of the industrial revolution dictates developments in information technologies that culminate with the invention of modern computers. A dedicated chapter on the history of modern scientific conceptions of the universe showcases the subtle links in the fabric of seminal ideas in physics and astronomy. The book concludes with some reflections on the relationship between philosophy and the history of science. Following Kuhn and Latour, this discussion centers on the characteristics of continuities, ruptures and paradigmatic transitions in science.
You can use it in your lesson to cultivate students' self-activity, their ability to judge and evaluate educational goods, develop their aesthetic literacy and good supervision of the length, size and weight of their written works of the Attic period, in the genres of rhetoric, philosophy and historiography. The structure of the anthology allows you to make your approach flexible, depending on each text and author. You can, therefore, give small factual introductions, concerning the meaning, the cultural and ideological elements, and the motivations of the persons. Very important is the overview regarding the synchronic connections between the various texts, but also the timeless significance and interpretation of their content. However, each text is a whole of its own meaning and the reception of the ideas and information it offers is possible by focusing on its structure and content.
We examine both the elements of form and the individual linguistic elements, in the function that exists between them. Editorial comments reveal the entire structure of the text, focus on its content, and reveal the author's temperament.
Conference Presentations by Basil Evangelidis
Keywords: vacuum, Dirac, electron, antiparticles, positron, realism, model
Η διείσδυση της τεχνολογίας το 1950-80 στην ελληνική ύπαιθρο προσδιορίστηκε από ένα συγκεκριμένο πλέγμα παραγόντων, συνθηκών και στόχων, νεωτερικών και παραδοσιακών. Μεταρρυθμιστές πολιτικοί, κατασκευαστές δημόσιων έργων, μηχανικοί, τεχνικοί, παραγωγοί ηλεκτρικών συσκευών, εκπαιδευτικά ιδρύματα, συνεταιρισμοί και τοπικές κοινότητες, υπήρξαν πρωταγωνιστές της μεταμόρφωσης της περιφέρειας της Ελλάδας, με τον εξηλεκτρισμό, τις επικοινωνίες, τις συγκοινωνίες, τον εκχρηματισμό, την ανύψωση της ποιότητας ζωής. Μια επανάσταση, «η πιο ειρηνική, αλλά και η περισσότερο κοσμογονική», είχε φαινομενικά ξεκινήσει.
Δίπλα στη βάσιμη θέση ότι υπάρχει αλληλεξάρτηση ανάμεσα στην τεχνολογική εξειδίκευση και τον καταμερισμό της εργασίας, θέτουμε το ερώτημα για τα όρια του τεχνολογικού εκσυγχρονισμού και για τα εμπόδια που βρήκε η διείσδυση της τεχνολογίας στην αγροτική Ελλάδα του 20ου αιώνα. Η απάντηση που επιχειρούμε αναφέρεται τελικά στην μη-συμπληρωματική και ανεπαρκή παρουσία του κλάδου των μηχανοκατασκευών, της εγχώριας παραγωγής μηχανών για τη γεωργία, με αποτέλεσμα τη συνύπαρξη νέας και παλιάς τεχνολογίας.
Papers by Basil Evangelidis
The ambivalence between instrumental, contextual and social approaches is obvious in these disputes. A justified answer to these problems may be that the mediators of technology are not simply channeling technology,
but neither are the users passive consumers. Societies resist and eventually incorporate the new into the old, and their citizens selectively modify and use technologies to create new cultures and new forms of modernization.
There is an interactive social construction which modifies technologies and creates new forms of artificial life.