PHI 255 - History of Scientific Thought

4 credits (Fall or Spring)

This course focuses on scientific change in 16th and 17th-century Europe — what is often called “the scientific revolution.” Particular attention will be paid to the relationships between science, philosophy, religion, and politics. We will focus on three incompatible alternatives to the Aristotelian science taught in the universities: that of Bacon, Galileo, and Descartes. Next we will turn our attention to Boyle, who attempted to consolidate these alternatives into one coherent program called mechanical or corpuscular philosophy. We will end our historical study with an examination of arguably the most important scientific figure of the period, Isaac Newton. The course will end with the larger philosophical question of what a scientific revolution is and whether the events of early modern Europe qualify.

Prerequisite: PHI 111 or PHI 121.
Note: Plus-2 option available. Not offered every year.
Instructor: Nyden