Lecture #1 -- Astronomy and Astrology
I. Why Study Astronomy?
-- astronomy brings us into contact with our universe at
its grandest scales. We are curious about its wonders,
and we have developed techniques that have led to rather
impressive progress in understanding its mysteries
-- seeing the universe from this perspective is very useful
for giving us a sense of place (and time!)
in the overall scheme.
It tells us something about how we got here in the first
place, and allows us to study our potential for expansion
in the distant future if we stick around.
-- it also has more practical applications in terms of
understanding processes that affect our whole planet,
such as predicting solar flares, understanding seasons
and tides, and understanding the possible significance
of important phenomena like global warming.
-- but do distant planets have direct influence
over your life and
mine? If you believe in astrology, than they may,
but it is the belief that has the effect, not the planets
themselves, so that would be a topic for anthropology
or sociology.
II. What is the Difference Between Astronomy and Astrology?
-- astronomy is not astrology, but they do have a few
things in common: they are motivated by a fascination
about the planets and the stars, and they both have
effects on how we think. Astrology is nonscientific
and does not stand up to objective testing, so it is
not "real", in the sense of something outside the
individual using it. But if someone allows themselves to
be influenced by it, then of course it might affect their
actions and consequences. Astronomy is real, in the sense
that it does stand up to objective testing and gives
the same result for everyone who does the test, but again most
of its effects on us have to do with our beliefs
and perceptions.
Literally, astro-logy simply means "discourse about stars",
whereas astro-nomy means the study of the laws that
govern the stars. This distinction has only become
important since the development of the scientific method.
-- so one important reason for studying astronomy is to
understand what the scientific method is, and what it
isn't.
III. Can Astronomy Coexist with Religion?
-- in the past, the two have had their beefs! This is in
large part due to their different approaches: organized
religions tend to be fixed and constant, claiming to
represent a higher and unquestionable truth. All
sciences are flexible and changing, and should be
viewed as a journey or a process rather than set in stone.
This has proved a huge advantage for science when used
to understand and make predictions about our environment.
-- to some extent science and religion have different goals,
but there is a region of overlap and this is where the
tension occurs. The movie Contact expressed this overlap
well when it said that both are seeking truth. Personally,
I would modify that to saying that both are seeking
pieces of the truth, those pieces which we are capable of
accessing. I think a good general definition of the
differences could be expressed by saying that science is
the search for those truths accessible by human logic,
and religion deals with those accessible by feeling and
belief.
But a simpler statement is that science is the search for
a self-consistent understanding of the observable universe,
and the
fact that this is even remotely possible is truly astounding.
IV. If Astronomy, then Why the Solar System?
-- the solar system (the Sun and all the planets, comets,
asteroids, and dust that orbit it)
has a more direct impact on our present and our possible
future
-- not as exotic or bizarre as black holes and the Big
Bang, but much easier to test and understand
-- makes an excellent device for studying the use of the
scientific method, and the differences between astronomy
and astrology,
and astronomy and religion
V. Philosophy of astronomy
-- ancient peoples (cavepeople even?) saw patterns
-- patterns helped them plan activities, culture
-- make predictions: eclipses! (mystical)
-- beliefs that cosmos affected us
Not so wrong: solar energy
marine navigation
sense of order, comfort
-- radical idea: patterns implied understandable!
ergo: astro-nomy!
VI. History (brief sketch)
-- record patterns: ancients
-- making simple models: Ptolemy, Copernicus
-- careful observations: Tycho, Galileo
-- move to understanding: Kepler, Newton
VII. Slide show
VIII. Discussion Topics:
-- why study space?
-- why learn/explore/colonize space?
-- manned vs. unmanned?