Courses » HIST 235: History of Science

Description: The role of scientific knowledge in different spheres of our lives has become only more and more important. Given its prominent role, it is equally important to reflect upon science as an integral part of culture, so that our acknowledgement of its importance can go hand-in-hand with a critical and analytical attitude towards it. This course engages in such a reflection by means of exploring how the different elements that constitute what we now call “science” have emerged through time. It shows how our modern philosophical, observational and experimental ways to explore nature and the universe arose in a gradual process that began in the West in the 4th century BC and evolved into the so-called “scientific revolution” of the 17th and 18th centuries. It also explores some of the ethical dilemmas raised by scientific developments and their technological applications.
Credits: 3.0