HISTORY 3301 Dr.
Charles W. “Skip”
History and
Philosophy of Science Fall 2005
(also cross-listed as Phil 3301; Chem. 4003) Office: TLC 3205
MWF 11:00-11:50 X96031
Classroom: Pafford 208 email: cclark@westga.edu
Note: History majors may use the course for either the thematic or European requirement.
This course is an overview of the historical development of the major areas of science and scientific ideas. In addition, the course will examine the philosophical development of scientific methods and results. Chronologically, the major focus will be on the period from the Greeks through the development of modern science. Attention will also be directed to the differences between science and pseudo-science.
We will also examine science and scientific inquiry within the broader context of society itself. Science cannot be separated from the environment in which it was created. Even the basic questions to be asked, and the approaches which can be taken are, in large measure, the result of the society in which scientific inquisitiveness developed. Nor is the history of science a story of progress toward some goal (except, perhaps in the broadest sense of making sense of the world). Some paths were dead ends, others led in strange directions, and still others led to a clearer understanding of the world. Finally, we will look at the contributions of non-western cultures, primarily the Muslim, but also Asian, to western science, because without the impact of Muslim learning on the west, and to an extent the Asian, beginning in the twelfth century, western scientific activity would have been far different than it was.
By the end of the course, the student will be able:
CLASS ATTENDANCE, ETC.—I expect students to attend class. Lectures and discussions form a large part of the course and class attendance is the best way to get that material. Students are, in any case, responsible for material covered in class whether they are there or not. Three unexcused absences will result in a lowering of the final grade. Please turn off all cell phones, beepers, etc., BEFORE entering the classroom. I will remove disruptive or non-attending students from the class roll. Students with documented special needs will present the proper paperwork before being granted the special needs.
TESTS--There will be two-hour exams and a final examination in this course. The final examination will consist of at least one essay that is cumulative, and other questions that will cover material presented since the last examination. Tests usually will consist of short answer, essay, and occasionally, fill-in-the-blank questions. “Pop quizzes” may be given if attendance or enthusiasm wanes.
PAPERS--Students will write two (2) short papers, five to seven pages in length, typed and double-spaced. Topics will be discussed in class. A clear focus and point, elegant organization, rational argument, well-chosen supporting evidence and examples, lucid writing style and proper acknowledgment of sources characterize good papers. Any student who is uncertain about, or inexperienced with, the use of footnotes or endnotes should consult me or one of the many manuals available. Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations is useful here. Occasionally, an emergency may arise which causes a paper to be unfinished on the date it is due. Therefore, if such an emergency does occur, the paper will be accepted the Monday following the due date, by class time. No late papers will be accepted.
DUE
DATES FOR THE PAPERS: 1st: September 16, 2005; 2nd: November 18, 2005
GRADING: The breakdown of the grading is as follows:
2 hour quizzes @ 15%, 20% 35%
1 final examination 25%
2 short papers @ 15% each 30%
class participation and “pop quizzes” 10%
100%
Thoughtful and active class participation may affect the final grade positively.
Dear,
Peter. Revolutionizing the Sciences: European Knowledge and Its Ambitions,
1500-1700. Princeton:
DeWitt,
Richard. Worldviews: An Introduction to the History and Philosophy of
Science.
Lindberg,
David. The Beginnings of Western
Science: The European Scientific Tradition in Philosophical, Religious and
Institutional Context, 600 B.C. to A.D. 1450.
Shermer,
Michael. The Borderlands of Science:
Where Sense Meets Nonsense.
NOTE: Please bring 3 small blue books to class for
use in taking your tests. You should
write your name in the upper right-hand corner of the blue book. Please turn those in by the end of the second
week of class.
August
22: Introduction, What is the History and Philosophy of Science? Review of syllabus
24: Explanation and “Truth;” “Facts”
Beginnings, pp. Preface-13
26: Evidence, Reasoning and the “Scientific Method”
29: Problems and Uses of the Scientific Method
September
2: Pre-history and early Babylonian and Egyptian number systems
5: Labor Day No Classes
7: Pre-Socratic Greek Science: “What is it?” “What makes it go?” “How do we know?”
Reading: Lindberg, Beginnings, pp.21-35
9: CLASSICAL GREEK SCIENCE: Plato’s view of being and knowing
12: CLASSICAL GREEK SCIENCE (con’d)
14: ARISTOTLE
16: ARISTOTLE (Con’d)
First paper due
19: GREEK MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY BEFORE PTOLEMY
21: PTOLEMY
13
23: CLASSICAL GREEK SCIENCE: Greek Medicine
26: First Hour Exam
28: Pluralism and Hellenistic Natural Philosophy
30: The Romans and Science
FIRST PAPER DUE by
October
3: EARLY MIDDLE AGES (5th-12th century): the legacy of the classical world; new
developments; the spread of Latin learning
5: SCIENCE IN ISLAM
7: THE TWELFTH AND THIRTEENTH CENTURIES: The impact of Arabic science;
the “re-creation” of the Aristotelian edifice
10: THE MEDIEVAL COSMOS
12: Twelfth and thirteenth centuries, continued: The Physics of the Sub-Lunar Region;
attacks on Aristotle
Reading: Lindberg, Beginnings, pp.281-315
14: SCIENCE AND PSEUDO-SCIENCE: Science, magic, astrology, and alchemy
17: MEDICINE AND NATURAL SCIENCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES
19: THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION: Copernicus and the Great Debate
Shermer, Borderlands of Science, pp. 129-158; DeWitt,
21: THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION (con’d): How was knowledge known and what was it for?
24: THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION Creation of the Mechanical Universe; domination
of Nature; Newtonian Mechanics
Worldviews, Ch. 18-19
26: NEWTONIAN MECHANICS (con’d)
Reading: Dear, Revolutionizing the Sciences, same and Conclusion;
DeWitt,
28: Second Hour Examination
31: The Industrial Revolution: The Development of Chemistry
November
2: No class
4: No class
7:
Physical Sciences in the 19th Century: Fields, Waves, Thermodynamics
9: Physical Sciences in the 19th Century: Fields, Waves, Thermodynamics (con’d)
11: Natural History in the 19th Century: Geology and Biology B the Darwinian Revolution
14:
16: Physics in the Twentieth Century
18: The Structure of Space and Time
SECOND PAPER DUE BY
4:00 P.M.
21: “Falsificationism,” Scientific Theories and Methodologies; Paradigms
23-25: No Class Thanksgiving Recess
28: On the Edge of Science
30: Borderlands of Science (Con’d)
December
2: Marginal Science and Misuses of Science: Evaluation of Hypotheses
5: Quantum Theory and Beyond
7: Quantum Theory and Beyond (Con’d)
8 (Thursday): Modern Biology and Genetics
Reading: Watson, Shermer, Borderlands of Science, pp.66-79
December 12, 2005 11:00-1:00 P.M. Final Examination