Philosophy of Nature and Natural Sciences WF-FI-N112-FPP

The philosophy of nature is most often understood as a philosophical reflection on nature, on the material reality that surrounds man. Therefore, we are dealing with a philosophical discipline whose subject of study is the material world. However, it should be remembered that there are natural sciences that also study the material world. It is therefore legitimate to ask if there are any problems with nature which these sciences are unable to solve and which could become of interest to a philosopher of nature. Second, it is not clear what is called nature, and so it is not obvious what is the subject of natural philosophy. Third, there is the question of the relationship between the philosophy of nature and the natural sciences and other philosophical disciplines. Fourthly, there is a problem of how to cultivate the philosophy of nature so that it does not turn into popularizing knowledge in the field of natural sciences or pure speculations about nature detached from reality. Moreover, the philosophy of natural science, ie the philosophy of natural sciences, which deals with the natural sciences, examining their methodology, cognitive status, development of scientific theories, etc., should be distinguished from the philosophy of nature. Detailed sciences successfully research the material world. Is there still room for the philosophy of nature, then? The justification for the need to cultivate it is to list many tasks that can be set before it, and which natural sciences do not undertake. The main goal of the philosophy of nature is to know the essence or nature of individual material objects and the entire cosmos. To achieve this, it is necessary to answer the following questions: what is the essence of material beings, what is the nature of time and space, how are changes and evolution possible in nature, is nature deterministic, is there a purpose in nature, what is the nature of natural regularities. The philosophy of nature also considers specific issues concerning: the structure of beings occurring in nature, the nature of living organisms, the relationship between natural objects and human products, the relationship between matter and broadly understood psychism. To some extent, attempts are also made to answer the following questions: what is the relation between what is material and what is non-material or spiritual; what is the reason for the existence of the universe, the evolution of the cosmos and individual structures occurring in it. Traditionally, these issues have been taken up by philosophers of nature and, due to the research methods of natural sciences, cannot be considered in them. The very existence of natural sciences and their effectiveness in exploring the world have also created an interesting research area for the philosophy of nature. First of all, the condition for practicing science is the repeatability of phenomena and the possibility of grouping natural objects similar in a certain respect. Therefore, it is worth asking the following questions: what makes material reality possess these properties, why it is possible to idealize and abstract, why is mathematics so useful in the study of nature. There is also the question of the existence of various objects that are postulated by natural theories, such as quarks, electrons, and a cosmological singularity. These problems, too, are not amenable to the research methods of the life sciences; these are philosophical problems. Therefore, there is room for the philosophy of nature, for the study of the natural world with methods other than those characteristic of natural sciences.

Bibliography of lecture:
1. G. Bugajak, J. Kukowski, A. Latawiec, A Lemańska, D. Ługowska, A. Świeżyński, Tajemnice natury. Zarys filozofii przyrody, Wydawnictwo UKSW, Warszawa 2019.
2. M. Heller, T. Pabjan, Elementy filozofii przyrody, OBI-Biblos, Tarnów 2007.
3. L. Wciórka, Filozofia przyrody, PWT, Poznań 1993.
4. M. Heller, Filozofia przyrody. Zarys historyczny, Znak, Kraków 2004.
5. Filozofia przyrody, seria: Dydaktyka filozofii, t. 3, red. J. Janeczek, A. Starościc, D. Dąbek, J.Herda, Wydawnictwo KUL, Lublin 2013.
6. Filozofia przyrody współcześnie, red. M. Kuszyk-Bytniewska, A. Łukasik, Universitas, Kraków 2010.

Advanced bibiography - at the request of interested persons

Knowledge of natural sciences at the high school level.

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