HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
NOTE(S): THESE COURSES ARE OFFERED BY CULTURAL HISTORY. STUDENTS INTERESTED IN THESE OPTIONS MIGHT WISH TO CONSIDER THE COURSES OUTLINED IN THE CULTURAL HISTORY SECTION OF THIS CATALOGUE
Level 2
- Credit Points
- 15
- Course Coordinator
- Dr B Marsden
Pre-requisites
Available only to students in Programme Year 2 or above.
Overview
Topics from the history of science, ranging from Antiquity to the 17th Century, with particular emphasis on the ‘Scientific Revolution’ of 1500-1700. The course offers two complementary perspectives: (i) an introduction to the history of science in an intellectual, social and cultural context, focusing on Newton, Copernicus, Galileo and their contemporaries; and (ii) an introduction to central themes in the philosophical understanding of science and its methods, illustrated with reference to Aristotle, Hobbes, Descartes and other.
2 one-hour lectures per week and 1 one-hour tutorial per fortnight.
1 one-and-a-half-hour written examination (60%) and continuous assessment (40%) of which written work (30%) and tutorial assessment (10%).
- Credit Points
- 15
- Course Coordinator
- Dr B Marsden
Pre-requisites
Available only to students in Programme Year 2 or above.
Overview
Topics from the history of science from the 18th Century to the present day including: science in the Scottish Enlightenment; the chemical revolution; the contexts for and consequences of Darwin’s theory of evolution; the history of psychology; and ethical issues in contemporary science. The course follows on from HS 2002 and pursues many of the same approaches. However, HS 2002 is not a pre-requisite for this course.
2 one-hour lectures per week and 1 one-hour tutorial per fortnight.
1 one-and-a-half-hour written examination (60%) and continuous assessment (40%) of which written work (30%) and tutorial assessment (10%).
