PHL2210

Science: its nature and development

(ART)

John Bigelow

8 points + 3 hours per week + First/summer semester + Clayton, flexible delivery + Prerequisites: First-year sequence in philosophy or first-year level subjects to the value of 12 points in each of a science and a humanities subject; students with an appropriate background in philosophy, science or engineering by permission + Prohibitions: PHL2210

Synopsis: The growth of scientific theories from the standpoint of three humanities disciplines - history, philosophy and sociology - using a case-study method. Three case studies will be presented. (i) The Copernican revolution in astronomy and physics. (ii) Theories of generation: Harvey to Mendel. (iii) The development of views about inheritance and human nature in recent biology.

Assessment: Two essay-style reports on research projects (1500-2000 words): 25% each + A presentation in class or over the web: 10% + Two short-answer tasks (600 words): 10% each + Examination (1 hour): 20%