Description
Assessment Instructions
Write an essay in which you express and defend your views on the following issues:
- Consider the rise of modern science during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
- How did Enlightenment philosophers both defend and contribute to this cultural development?
- How did elements of scientific reasoning alter conceptions of the origin and limits of human knowledge?
- Explain the difference between intrinsic and instrumental goods and how modern science embodies an instrumental approach to the relationship between human beings and the natural world.
- Is recognition of our proper place in the context of a vast and ancient universe an essential insight?
- How does it affect our understanding of ourselves?
- Consider how philosophical and scientific reasoning make a difference to our daily lives. (Of course we all benefit from technological advances that came from these ways of thinking, but that is not the point here.)
- In what situations or circumstances of ordinary life is it appropriate to apply philosophical or scientific thinking to seek a solution, resolve a conflict, or make a decision? Imagine you are invited to contribute a post on this topic to a blog about philosophy, like those that appear in The New York Times blog The Stone, the What Is it Like to be a Woman in Philosophy? blog from WordPress, or Philosophy Now magazine.
- How would you argue for (or against) the use of philosophical reasoning in everyday life?
Additional Requirements
- Written communication: Should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
- APA formatting: Your paper should be formatted according to APA (6th edition) style and formatting.
- Length: 4–6 typed and double-spaced pages.
- Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
Suggested Resources
The following optional resources are provided to support you in completing the assessment or to provide a helpful context. For additional resources, refer to the Research Resources and Supplemental Resources in the left navigation menu of your courseroom.
Capella Resources
Click the links provided to view the following resources:
The following interactive helps you to become familiar with the central features of modern scientific method and its continuing utility in our experience of the world.
Capella Multimedia
Click the link provided below to view the following multimedia piece:
Library Resources
The following e-books or articles from the Capella University Library are linked directly in this course:
- Deligiorgi, K. (2005). Kant and the culture of enlightenment. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Course Library Guide
A Capella University library guide has been created specifically for your use in this course. You are encouraged to refer to the resources in the HUM-FP1000 – Introduction to Humanities Library Guide to help direct your research.
Bookstore Resources
The resources listed below are relevant to the topics and assessments in this course and are not required. Unless noted otherwise, these materials are available for purchase from the Capella University Bookstore. When searching the bookstore, be sure to look for the Course ID with the specific –FP (FlexPath) course designation.
- Fiero, G. K. (2016). Landmarks in humanities (4th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
- Chapters 9–11.
11/13/2018
Assessment 4 Context
Print
Assessment 4 Context
The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw rapid development of reliance upon reasoning as the basis for
worthwhile knowledge of the natural world and of ourselves. This approach had a profound effect on the rise of
modern science, technology, philosophy, and social thought, completing the promise of the Renaissance with a
self-conscious appropriation of intellectual clarity that came to be known as the Enlightenment. During the same
period, artistic expression took a different path, with florid Rococo decoration and the evocative emotionalism of
the Romantic.
Applying mathematical methods to the study of nature, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, and Robert
Boyle expanded our conception of the universe and our understanding of the way it works. One key to their
success was a careful distinction between the intrinsic features of things in themselves (which may be unknown to
us) and the extrinsic qualities they bear only in relation to our perception of them. Focusing on what we can know,
they developed laws of nature that operate independently of human values. Thus, René Descartes drew a sharp
contrast between scientific knowledge, which we use instrumentally in an effort to control the natural world, and
our own intrinsic nature as thinking beings.
Other philosophers of this period developed alternative ways of understanding and expressing fundamental ideas,
but always in service of the advances being made by the new sciences:
Leibniz and Spinoza deployed mathematics even for comprehension of ultimate reality.
Locke and Hume explored the extent (and limits) of empirical study of natural phenomena.
Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Smith worked out political and economic implications of Enlightenment
thought.
Kant sought to transcend dichotomies by emphasizing the active participation of the human mind in
apprehension of reality.
Hegel and Schopenhauer expanded this approach in more explicitly idealistic directions.
Though sometimes mocked by satirists like Swift and Voltaire, each of these Enlightenment philosophers aimed to
show that rational thought and scientific knowledge provide a solid basis for apprehension of the truth and practical
mastery of the natural world.
Meanwhile, the visual and discursive arts focused instead on the emotional side of human nature. Inspired by
exciting political revolutions, painters like David, Goya, and Delacroix portrayed the social leaders as heroic
individuals worthy of admiration and respect. For Constable, Turner, and Bierstadt, even landscape became an
opportunity to arouse deep feelings about the natural world. Goethe’s Faust similarly elevated the individual hero,
and the poets Shelly, Keats, Byron, and Blake took relied on their emotional appeal. The female novelists of the
day—the Brontë sisters, Mary Shelly, and Jane Austen—heightened the personal feelings of their characters.
Thus, in the span of a few generations, we see amply illustrated the contrast between instrumental and intrinsic
value. It is one thing to regard the natural world as something to be manipulated and controlled for other purposes,
to employ our knowledge—however provisional and imperfect—in service of mundane needs. It is quite another to
appreciate the beauty of nature and to revel in the emotional delight we feel in relation to it and to each other.
Through it all, the distinction between instrumental applications of scientific knowledge and intrinsic human values
continued to guide the separation of practical from abstract thought.
https://courserooma.capella.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/HUM-FP/HUM-FP1000/180700/Course_Files/cf_assessment_4_context.html
1/1
11/13/2018
Philosophy and Science Scoring Guide
Philosophy and Science Scoring Guide
CRITERIA
NON-PERFORMANCE
BASIC
PROFICIENT
DISTINGUISHED
Describe the
influence of
philosophical
reasoning on the
development of
modern science.
Does not describe
the influence of
philosophical
reasoning on the
development of
modern science.
Lists influences
of philosophical
reasoning on
modern science.
Describes the
influence of
philosophical
reasoning on the
development of
modern science.
Assesses the influence of
philosophical reasoning on the
development of modern science;
assessment includes specific
references to knowledge challenged
or transformed by specific
philosophies or philosophers.
Distinguish intrinsic
from instrumental
goods in human
thought.
Does not
Defines intrinsic
distinguish intrinsic and instrumental
from instrumental
goods.
goods in human
thought.
Distinguishes
intrinsic from
instrumental
goods in human
thought.
Analyzes the use of intrinsic and
instrumental goods in human
thought; analysis includes specific
examples of both and considers
their impact on human
understanding.
Explain the use of
scientific reason in
an effort to control
the natural world.
Does not explain
the use of
scientific reason in
an effort to control
the natural world.
Illustrates the
use of scientific
reason in an
effort to control
the natural
world.
Explains the use
of scientific
reason in an
effort to control
the natural world.
Assesses the success of using
scientific reason in efforts to control
the natural world; assessment
includes specific examples.
Assess the role of
philosophy and
science in
contemporary life.
Does not assess
the role of
philosophy and
science in
contemporary life.
Explains the role
of philosophy
and science in
contemporary
life.
Assesses the role
of philosophy and
science in
contemporary life.
Analyzes the role of philosophy and
science in contemporary life;
analysis applies philosophy to
specific and realistic situation with a
compelling argument.
Write coherently to
support a central
idea in appropriate
format with correct
grammar, usage,
and mechanics.
Does not write
coherently to
support a central
idea in appropriate
format with correct
grammar, usage,
and mechanics.
Writes in
support of a
central idea with
inconsistent
attention to
format,
grammar,
usage, and
mechanics.
Writes coherently
to support a
central idea in
appropriate
format with
correct grammar,
usage, and
mechanics.
Writes coherently, using evidence to
support a central idea in a
consistent format with correct
grammar, usage, and mechanics.
https://courserooma.capella.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/HUM-FP/HUM-FP1000/180700/Scoring_Guides/u04a1_scoring_guide.html
1/1
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
Assessment 4 Context
Assessment 4 Context
The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw rapid development of reliance upon reasoning as the basis for
worthwhile knowledge of the natural world and of ourselves. This approach had a profound effect on the rise of
modern science, technology, philosophy, and social thought, completing the promise of the Renaissance with a
self-conscious appropriation of intellectual clarity that came to be known as the Enlightenment. During the same
period, artistic expression took a different path, with florid Rococo decoration and the evocative emotionalism of
the Romantic.
Applying mathematical methods to the study of nature, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, and Robert
Boyle expanded our conception of the universe and our understanding of the way it works. One key to their
success was a careful distinction between the intrinsic features of things in themselves (which may be unknown to
us) and the extrinsic qualities they bear only in relation to our perception of them. Focusing on what we can know,
they developed laws of nature that operate independently of human values. Thus, René Descartes drew a sharp
contrast between scientific knowledge, which we use instrumentally in an effort to control the natural world, and
our own intrinsic nature as thinking beings.
Other philosophers of this period developed alternative ways of understanding and expressing fundamental ideas,
but always in service of the advances being made by the new sciences:
Leibniz and Spinoza deployed mathematics even for comprehension of ultimate reality.
Locke and Hume explored the extent (and limits) of empirical study of natural phenomena.
Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Smith worked out political and economic implications of Enlightenment
thought.
Kant sought to transcend dichotomies by emphasizing the active participation of the human mind in
apprehension of reality.
Hegel and Schopenhauer expanded this approach in more explicitly idealistic directions.
Though sometimes mocked by satirists like Swift and Voltaire, each of these Enlightenment philosophers aimed to
show that rational thought and scientific knowledge provide a solid basis for apprehension of the truth and practical
mastery of the natural world.
Meanwhile, the visual and discursive arts focused instead on the emotional side of human nature. Inspired by
exciting political revolutions, painters like David, Goya, and Delacroix portrayed the social leaders as heroic
individuals worthy of admiration and respect. For Constable, Turner, and Bierstadt, even landscape became an
opportunity to arouse deep feelings about the natural world. Goethe’s Faust similarly elevated the individual hero,
and the poets Shelly, Keats, Byron, and Blake took relied on their emotional appeal. The female novelists of the
day—the Brontë sisters, Mary Shelly, and Jane Austen—heightened the personal feelings of their characters.
Thus, in the span of a few generations, we see amply illustrated the contrast between instrumental and intrinsic
value. It is one thing to regard the natural world as something to be manipulated and controlled for other purposes,
to employ our knowledge—however provisional and imperfect—in service of mundane needs. It is quite another to
appreciate the beauty of nature and to revel in the emotional delight we feel in relation to it and to each other.
Through it all, the distinction between instrumental applications of scientific knowledge and intrinsic human values
continued to guide the separation of practical from abstract thought.
https://courserooma.capella.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/HUM-FP/HUM-FP1000/180700/Course_Files/cf_assessment_4_context.html
1/1
11/13/2018
Philosophy and Science Scoring Guide
Philosophy and Science Scoring Guide
CRITERIA
NON-PERFORMANCE
BASIC
PROFICIENT
DISTINGUISHED
Describe the
influence of
philosophical
reasoning on the
development of
modern science.
Does not describe
the influence of
philosophical
reasoning on the
development of
modern science.
Lists influences
of philosophical
reasoning on
modern science.
Describes the
influence of
philosophical
reasoning on the
development of
modern science.
Assesses the influence of
philosophical reasoning on the
development of modern science;
assessment includes specific
references to knowledge challenged
or transformed by specific
philosophies or philosophers.
Distinguish intrinsic
from instrumental
goods in human
thought.
Does not
Defines intrinsic
distinguish intrinsic and instrumental
from instrumental
goods.
goods in human
thought.
Distinguishes
intrinsic from
instrumental
goods in human
thought.
Analyzes the use of intrinsic and
instrumental goods in human
thought; analysis includes specific
examples of both and considers
their impact on human
understanding.
Explain the use of
scientific reason in
an effort to control
the natural world.
Does not explain
the use of
scientific reason in
an effort to control
the natural world.
Illustrates the
use of scientific
reason in an
effort to control
the natural
world.
Explains the use
of scientific
reason in an
effort to control
the natural world.
Assesses the success of using
scientific reason in efforts to control
the natural world; assessment
includes specific examples.
Assess the role of
philosophy and
science in
contemporary life.
Does not assess
the role of
philosophy and
science in
contemporary life.
Explains the role
of philosophy
and science in
contemporary
life.
Assesses the role
of philosophy and
science in
contemporary life.
Analyzes the role of philosophy and
science in contemporary life;
analysis applies philosophy to
specific and realistic situation with a
compelling argument.
Write coherently to
support a central
idea in appropriate
format with correct
grammar, usage,
and mechanics.
Does not write
coherently to
support a central
idea in appropriate
format with correct
grammar, usage,
and mechanics.
Writes in
support of a
central idea with
inconsistent
attention to
format,
grammar,
usage, and
mechanics.
Writes coherently
to support a
central idea in
appropriate
format with
correct grammar,
usage, and
mechanics.
Writes coherently, using evidence to
support a central idea in a
consistent format with correct
grammar, usage, and mechanics.
https://courserooma.capella.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/HUM-FP/HUM-FP1000/180700/Scoring_Guides/u04a1_scoring_guide.html
1/1
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
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