Note that the purpose of the homework assignments in this class is for you to do research outside of class about some of the various topics discussed in class so that you can get more learning depth about the issues. Research based questions should be answered by consulting a number of sources and responding with a fairly complete answer. Cut and paste is easily detected so make sure you synthesize an answer IN YOUR OWN WORDS!

The site: plato.stanford.edu is a useful reference site for many of these questions.

Note: You may work with 1 other person on this assignment; in that case please submit only one copy of the assignment with both names on it.

1. Question 1: The most dominant early philosophers in Ancient Greece or Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes. Some of their contributions were discussed in class. However, all three of these philosophers (and more) have the same point of origin in the Greek world, the sea colony of Miletus. Provide a set of reasons that may have promoted the kind of intellectual thinking that occurs in Miletus, but not elsewhere in the early Greek world.
   
   
   
2. Question 2: The atomists represent a significant counter-intellectual view of the world compared to Aristotlean thought. Who are the principal atmosists and what is their collective message about the way the world works that is in sharp contrast to that of Aristotle
   
   
   
3. Question 3: Even though Aristotle's ideas of motion were completely wrong as well as the idea the the Earth was motionless and all revolved around it - his model and ideas persist for at least 1500 years. Moreover, these erroneous ideas were re-discovered in Europe in the 12th and 13th century and had a large appeal.Explain why you think that Aristotle's beliefs had so much power and what does it say about culture when erroneous beliefs persist as the Truth?
   
   
   
4. Question 4: Research and summarize how Eratosthenes might have been able to determine the distance between Alexandria and Syene. Although this method produced a reasonably accurate measurement of the size of the Earth, what do you think the major sources of error might be?
   
   
   
5. Question 5: Explain how the concept of relative motion (first introduced by Cusa) helps to promote the idea that the Earth could be going around the Sun.
   
   
   
6. Question 6: Explain how Kepler's second law demands that the Sun somehow influences the motion of planets. Remember, Kepler knows nothing about gravity.