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Unit of study_

HPSC2100: The Birth of Modern Science

Modern culture is a culture of science and modern science is the outcome of a historical process of 2,500 years. In this course we investigate how traditional knowledge gradually acquired the characteristics of 'science': the social structure, contents, values and procedures we are familiar with. We will look at some primary chapters of this process, from antiquity to the end of the seventeenth century, and try to understand their implications to understanding contemporary science in its culture.

Code HPSC2100
Academic unit History and Philosophy of Science Academic Operations
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
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12 cp from (1000-level units or 2000-level units)
Corequisites:
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None
Prohibitions:
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HPSC2900

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. Identify and discuss some major chapters in the history of science from antiquity through the scientific revolution
  • LO2. Read and try to interpret primary historical material from these periods (in English translation)
  • LO3. Appreciate and discuss some of the particular philosophical and methodological challenges involved in the historiography of science.