QUANTUM METAPHYSICS - E-thesis

existence of both matter and life. The mind was viewed as a guiding element connected to all
matter which brought order to the body to which it belonged as well as to its environment. 160
This way of thinking was turned on its head as a result of modern science. When Galileo ignored
the question of purpose or final cause and concentrated on the relationships between observable
phenomena, a new view of the world of matter unfolded: mechanistic and quantitative, ruled
absolutely by laws, and completely without purpose.
Even though the development of natural science during the 1600s signified enormous and
perhaps revolutionary change compared to earlier ways of thinking, this event was tied to both its
time and the prevailing conditions. The revival of ancient philosophies and the Renaissance
encouraged people to have confidence in their own reasoning and created the space for new
thoughts. Research carried out at earlier times was of considerable importance to development of
the new experimental method. Natural research based on experimentation had begun evolving in
England in the 1200s under the influence of Robert Grosseteste (1175-1253) and Roger Bacon
(1214-1294). The work of Jean Buridan and Nicholas Oresme, who developed the basic concepts
of the new natural science at the University of Paris, had a strong impact on Galileo’s mechanics.
Also the non-Aristotlean modal theory proposed by Duns Scotus (1266-1308), which called for a
basic differentiation between logical necessities and natural necessities, cleared the way for a
new conception of natural laws and the objectives of natural research. 161
The clear division between matter and the mind that was drawn by modern philosophy can be
seen as a precondition for the mechanistic-deterministic world-view created at the beginning of
the modern era. This division gave natural science a a clear area of application which was seen as
independent. Natural science which concentrated on the world of matter did not have to take
account of subjective states inside human beings, or pay heed to questions regarding the
relationship between matter and the spirit. The difficult psycho-physical problem could be left to
philosophers. The roots of this problem go back to the dispute between realists and nominalists
on the nature and existence of universal concepts and on the metaphysical structure of the world.
Against this background, Galileo represents a clearly-defined mathematical realism.
Mathematically-approachable measurable properties really existed in objects, while subjective
sensory qualities only existed in human mind. 162
160
Collingwood 1960, 3, 111.
161
Niiniluoto 1980, 42-43. See also Grant 1971.
162
Niiniluoto 1980, 124.
67