In the course schedule below, you'll see that the course is broken into three main sections; these correspond to various categories of the history of scientific thought: 1. Ancient astronomy and dynamics, 2. the Scientific Revolution, and 3. the nature of heat debate. "Einstein & Infeld" is abbreviated below as "E&I". "Philosophy of Science: An Historical Anthology" is abbreviated "PS". All readings that are not taken from one of your required textbooks will either be linked to below, or will be made available to you on the course Blackboard site (under "Course Content" in the sidebar). In the right column, I list your assigned reading for the week, then supplementary material, then any scheduled review sessions, exams, and the like.
Week 1 (Aug 22-26)Course Introduction; the Nature of Science; the Demarcation Problem |
Sections 1 and 4.0-4.2 of SEP: "Science and Pseudo-Science"; Dewitt, ch. 7; PS, pp. 471-475 (parts I and II of Popper's Conjectures & Refutations) |
Week 2 (Aug 29 - Sep 2)Aristotelian Dynamics I; Aristotle’s Four Causes; teleology |
Dewitt, ch. 9; PS, 1.6 (Excerpts from Aristotle’s Physics) |
Week 3 (Sep 5-9) ** NO CLASS Sep 5 **Aristotelian Dynamics II; philosophy of explanation |
PS, 1.5 and 1.8 (Excerpts from Aristotle's Metaphysics and On the Heavens) |
Week 4 (Sep 12-16)Ptolemy and Aristotle on the Earth; arguments a priori and a posteriori; confirmation and disconfirmation |
Dewitt, ch. 10; PS, 1.12 (Excerpts from Ptolemy’s Almagest) |
Week 5 (Sep 19-23)Ptolemaic Astronomy; challenges to Aristotle and Ptolemy; the aims of a scientific theory |
Dewitt, chs. 11-13; PS, 1.13, 1.16 (Excerpts from Proclus and Maimonides) |
Week 6 (Sep 26-30) ** NO CLASS Sep 30 **-- |
REVIEW SESSION: Monday Sep 26, regular class time |
Week 7 (Oct 3-7)The Copernican Revolution I; empirical equivalence |
Dewitt, ch. 14; PS, pp. 95-98, 2.1, 2.3 (Excerpts from Rheticus's Narratio Prima and Copernicus’s On the Revolution) |
Week 8 (Oct 10-14) ** NO CLASS Oct 10-14 **Fall Break |
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Week 9 (Oct 17-21)The Copernican Revolution II; explanatory virtues; scientific progress |
Dewitt, chs. 15-16; PS, pp. 98-100, 2.4, 2.6 (Excerpts from Brahe's The New Star and Kepler's New Astronomy) |
Week 10 (Oct 24-28)Galileo on Astronomy and Dynamics; thought experiments |
Dewitt, ch. 17; PS, pp. 100-104, 2.9, 2.10 (Excerpts from Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems) |
Week 11 (Oct 31 - Nov 4)The Newtonian Revolution I; Newton's laws of motion; causation; simplicity |
Dewitt, ch. 20; PS, pp. 104-106, 2.15, 2.17 (Excerpts from Newton’s Principia) |
Week 12 (Nov 7-11)The Newtonian Revolution II; action at a distance |
PS, 2.18, 3.4 (Excerpts from Newton's The System of the World and Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding) REVIEW SESSION: Wednesday Nov 9, regular class time |
Week 13 (Nov 14-18)Mystery and Scientific Methodology; theories; underdetermination |
E&I, pp. 3-35; Dewitt, ch. 5 |
Week 14 (Nov 21-25) ** NO CLASS Nov 25 **Nature of Heat Debate (caloric versus molecular motion) |
E&I, pp. 35-55 |
Week 15 (Nov 28 - Dec 2)Thermodynamics: laws of nature; time-reversal invariance |
E&I, pp. 55-65; Dewitt, ch. 21 |
Week 16 (Dec 5-9)Thermodynamics: Maxwell's Demon; determinism and other demons; probabilities in science |
John Earman, "Defining Determinism" REVIEW SESSION: Friday Dec 9, regular class time |
Week 17 (Dec 12-16)FINALS WEEK |
FINAL EXAM (Cumulative): Thursday Dec 15, 1:00pm-3:00pm, in regular classroom |