Chapter I: Cosmos And Chaos | The Philosophy Of Science [1st Edition]
“The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be.” – Carl Sagan I “What follow are arguments directed at people who care about arguments.” – Steven Pinker II Before one can even attempt a productive philosophy, they have to believe, no, understand, that there is a world out there to know, and a valid way of knowing it. This is of course evident. Any honest person recognizes regularities in the world: in the seasons, in people's behaviors and in their reactions to similar situations, and in the very fact that dropped things fall down. Only a madman could deny that there exists something to know and understand. (And beware: there do indeed exist madmen, see “Appendix I: Psuedo-Science And Anti-Science”). Otherwise, such a person must...