Introduction to the History of Science, from Ancient Science to the Scientific Evolution

The course focuses on the essential problems science has faced in theory, religion, and philosophy, providing a background to the understanding of science and its historical development. It studies the character of science in ancient Egypt and Babylonia; the content, methodology, and philosophy of science during the age of Plato and Aristotle; the emergence and decline of Islamic science; the contributions of the medieval period; the roots of the scientific revolution of the Renaissance; the significance of the work of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Vesalius, and Harvey; and the methods and values of science that emerged from an age of witchcraft, magic, and alchemy before the time of Isaac Newton.

Fall, Spring