Department of

Graduate Courses (Click on a title for course materials)

2503 History of Science 2
04-2 00149 Mitchell
1. This course is the second part of the two-part series. It will provide an overview of major developments in the sciences from the second half of the seventeenth century to the first half of the twentieth century, considering the physical, chemical, biological, psychological and social sciences. It will deal with the work of individuals, of general movements and their institutional and national settings.
2. Prerequisites: Graduate standing in HPS.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 7 students.
5. This course is offered each Spring Term and fulfills the Core requirement in HPS. SPECIAL PERMISSION IS REQUIRED FOR THIS COURSE. It is
intended for HPS Graduate Students only.

2510 Reading Newton's Principia in the Eighteenth Century
04-2 40133 Palmieri
1. Eighteenth-century rational mechanics has become the epitome of what is usually referred to as “classical science”. It was mostly the continental mathematical-physicists who created classical science in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. They built the edifice of rational mechanics on the foundations of Newton 's Principia. However, they achieved their monumental task because they abandoned the geometrical style of the Principia, in favour of the Leibnizean calculus. This course is devoted to exploring the advent of rational mechanics and its philosophical implications for our broader understanding of science.
2. Prerequisites: Graduate standing.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 15 students.
5. This course is not offered on a regular basis.

2517 Mechanical Philosophy
04-2 40120 Machamer
1. Mechanical Philosophy is the name we give to the late 16th, 17th century movement that constituted some main developments in the rise of modern science. The name, of course, was coined late in the game by Robert Boyle. This course will look at the mechanical underpinnings, and theoretical developments of certain major concepts in the “new sciences.” Particularly we will examine the concepts of matter, motion and mathematics as they occur in some of the major theorectical texts of Galileo, Descartes, Huygens, Hobbes, Hooke, Boyle, Wren, Wallis, etc. At least one session will be spent on the “anti” mechanical tradition.
Course requirements include a seminar presentation on a text, and term paper.
2. Prerequisites: Graduate standing.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 15 students.
5. This course is not offered on a regular basis.

2578 20th Century Search for Human Nature
04-2 40144 Griffiths
1. The 20th century saw repeated announcements of a new, Darwinian science of human nature with the promise of transforming the social and behavioral sciences. In this course we examine the clash between early 20th century ‘instinct psychology' and the behaviorist movement in psychology, the rejection of ‘instinct psychology' by the founders of ethology and the construction of modern animal behavior studies in the period 1936-50, the negotiation of theoretical compromises between the new ethology and the existing, laboratory based tradition of comparative psychology, and, finally, the problematic period in the 1960s and early 1970s in which sociobiology either displaces or absorbs or develops from ethology.
2. Prerequisites: Graduate standing.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 15 students.
5. This course is not offered on a regular basis.

2590 Einstein 1905
04-2 40138 Norton
1. 1905 was the year of miracles for Einstein, the patent examiner. In papers in Annalen der Physik , he proposed the special theory of relativity, E=mc[superscript-2], the molecular account of Brownian motion and that light energy came in quanta. In preparation for the centenary of 1905, we will study these papers which laid the foundation of modern physics.
2. Prerequisites: Graduate standing.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 15 students.
5. This class is not offered on a regular basis.

2690 History and Philosophy of Psychology
04-2 40125 Grush
1. The topic of temporal representation has received considerably less attention in philosophy, psychology and neuroscience than other kinds of representation, e.g. spatial representation. But it is currently a growth area in philosophy, psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Historical authors we will study will include Hume, Kane James, Husseri, and Russell. We will then move to contemporary work in both philosophy and cognitive neuroscience on the nature of temporal representation.
2. Prerequisites: Graduate standing.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 15 students.
5. This class is not offered on a regular basis.

2692 Topics in Recent Philosophy of Science
04-2 40149 McGuire/Krips
1. This seminar will examine some of the classic texts of twentieth century philosophy concerning the connections between language, truth and reality. Through the works of Wittgenstein and Quine as well as the writings of continental philosophers such as Heidegger and Gadamer we will engage questions such as “Is there a mind independent reality?”, “To what extent can language capture truth about the world?”, “Is reality merely an artifact of language?”, Does science provide a royal road to the truth?' The seminar will be conducted as a series of closed readings from set texts.
Assessment: one final essay of 5,000-6,000 words, to be handed up at a time to be arranged.
Readings will include selections from:
M. Friedman, Parting of the Ways .
*H. Gadamer, Truth and Method , Pt.I: section II, 1 & 2; Pt. II: section II, Pt. III: 2&3.
*M. Heidegger, Being and Time , Introduction, sections, I, II; Division I: sections II, III (leaving out subsections 17, 18); IV, V (leaving out 35, 36, 37)' VI. 44 (students must get the Stambaugh translation).
I. Kant, Critique of Pure Reason.
W. Quine, “Two Dogmas of Empiricism” in From a Logical Point of View.
W. Quine, “Ontological Relativity” in Ontological Relativity and Other Essays.
*L. Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations.
Students must get copies of the starred texts. Copies of other readings will be provided as required. Students may find the recent book Wittgenstein's Poker , by D. Edmonds and J. Eidinow, as useful and popular introduction to some of these debates.
2. Prerequisites: Graduate standing.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 15 students.
5. This class is not offered on a regular basis.

Undergraduate Courses (Click on a title for course materials)

0427 Myth and Science
04-2 28518
Cross-listed with CLASS 0330
1. How can we understand our world? In western culture, science dominates all our answers to this question. But there are other ways. They can be found in the mythologies of ancient and modern peoples. This course will compare the scientific and mythological ways of seeing the world and their more subtle connections. In particular, we will turn to the remarkable events in Ancient Greece of 800-400 BC and discover how the scientific approach actually grew slowly out of mythological thought itself.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 30 students.
5. This course is offered on a regular basis.

0437 Darwinism and Its Critics
04-2 40179 Mitchell
1. This course examines the history of the Darwinian theory of evolution by natural selection, and considers the various responses-scientific, philosophical, religious and political-to that theory. The course will conclude with a review of recent attacks on current evolutionary theory put forward by proponents of "intelligent design". Our strategy will be to look at this contemporary controversy in the light of historical issues with a number of general questions in mind: (a) What is a scientific theory?; (b) How is evidence related to theories?; (c) Can a scientific theory have ethical, social or religious implications?; (d) How does a scientific community respond to external criticism?; and (e) Can scientific and religious beliefs conflict?
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: One hour per week.
4. Expected class size: 120 students.
5. This course is not offered on a regular basis.

0515 Magic, Medicine and Science
04-2 27482 McGuire
04-2 40603
Cross-listed with HIST 0089
1. This course is a survey of some important patterns in Western intellectual history. Beginning with ancient Greek speculations in cosmology, philosophy, and medicine, we will look at some significant later developments in these areas stressing the ways in which they were influenced by Greek tradition. These include, (among other topics), the magical tradition which flourished during the Renaissance. The latter half of the course will focus on those profound intellectual transformations in the 17th century which constitute what is often called "The Scientific Revolution". The great scientific achievement of figures such as Descartes, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton will be treated extensively as well as its indebtedness to "non-scientific" elements of 17th century culture. This course is meant to provide a broad picture of many important facets of the Western intellectual tradition within the context of their historical development.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: One hour per week for section 27482 only.
4. Expected class size: 160 students for section 27482, other section 40 students.
•  This course is offered on a regular basis.

0610 Statistics and Causal Reasoning
04-2 32473 Longworth
04-2 32501 Longworth
1. Do school vouchers really help inner city students become better educated? Do gun control laws really make society safer? This course examines how scientists reason about causal claims like these. It considers use of scientific statistical data that informs our public policy debates. The course uses an interactive, web-based text and exams. In addition, there is an on-line virtual "Causality Lab" in which students will set up, run, and then analyze simulated experiments. They will construct causal theories, use the lab to derive predictions from these theories, and then test the predictions against the simulated data. While course materials are delivered on-line, students will still attend two sessions per week; one for addressing questions about the material and the second for case study analysis.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: One hour a week.
4. Expected class size: 30 students.
5. This course is not offered on a regular basis.

0611 Principles of Scientific Reasoning
04-2 00161
1. The course will provide students with elementary logic skills and an understanding of scientific arguments. Ours is an increasingly scientific and technical society. In both our personal life decisions and in our work we are daily confronted by a scientific result which influences what we do and how we do it. Basic skills in analyzing the structure of arguments in terms of truth and evidence are required to make this type of information accessible and useful. We hear, for example, that drinking alcoholic beverages reduces the chances of heart disease. We might well ask what sorts of tests were done to reach this conclusion and do the tests really justify the claim? We read that certain geographical configurations in South America "prove" that this planet was visited by aliens from outer space. Does this argument differ from other, accepted scientific arguments? This course is designed to aid the student in making sense of a variety of elementary logic skills in conjunction with the application of those skills to actual cases.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 30 students
5. This course is offered on a regular basis.

0612 Mind and Medicine
04-2 21303 Griffiths
1. This course is designed to introduce the student to important issues, both philosophical and historical, that arise from reflecting on the historical development of our understanding of the mind and body in their scientific and clinical contexts. Topics covered include the search, from the seventeenth to the twentieth century, for a satisfactory scientific account of fundamental biological processes such as growth and reproduction and the continuing search for a scientific understanding of human consciousness.
2. Prerequisites: There are no formal Prerequisites for this course. This course is part of a core sequence leading to certification in the Conceptual Foundations of Medicine Program, and is a companion course to HPS 0613 (Morality and Medicine) but may be taken independently. This course is of particular interest to pre-medical and pre-health care students.
3. Recitations: One hour a week.
4. Expected class size: 115 students.
5. This course is offered on a regular basis.

0613 Morality and Medicine
04-2 19264
04-2 40809
1. Ethical dilemmas in the practice of health care continue to proliferate and receive increasing attention from members of the health care profession, ethicists, policy makers, and the general public as health care consumers. In this course, we will examine a number of ethical issues that arise in the context of contemporary medical practice and research by analyzing articles and decision scenarios. Topics to be covered typically include the physician-patient relationship; informed consent; medical experimentation; termination of treatment; genetics; reproductive technologies; euthanasia; resource allocation; and health care reform. Students who successfully complete this course will be able to identify and analyze different philosophical approaches to selected issues in medical ethics; will have gained insight into how to read and critically interpret philosophical arguments; and will have developed skills that will enable them to think clearly about ethical questions as future or current health care providers, policy makers, and consumers.
2. Prerequisites: There are no formal Prerequisites for this course. This course is part of a core sequence leading to certification in the Conceptual Foundations of Medicine Program, and is a companion course to HPS 0612 (Mind and Medicine) but may be taken independently. This course is of particular interest to pre-medical and pre-health care students.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 30 students.
•  This course is offered on a regular basis.

0621 Problem Solving: How Science Works
04-2 40152
04-2 40690
1. A scientist announces that the sun contains a new, so-far unknown chemical element, even though there is no hope of getting a sample. Another is sure that a famous predecessor has faked his data, even though he has seen nothing but the perfect, published results. Astonishingly, both claims prove to be sober and sound. We will explore the approaches and methods that make such miracles part of the routine of everyday science. This course is intended for students with little or no background in science.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 30 students.
•  This course is offered on a regular basis.

1530 European Intellectual History
04-2 40213 Hammond
Cross-listed with HIST 1153
1. This course will be conducted as a seminar. Through discussions and written exposition, students will examine and analyze primary source material. In this way, the class will explore topics in Europe 's main intellectual trends from the age of liberalism to World War II and the emergence of existentialism. Possible topics for study include the writings of John Stuart Mill, Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Mannheim, Emile Durkeim, R.H. Tawney, Max Web, Sigmund Freud, and Albert Camus.
2. Prerequisites: None, but some background of European history would be helpful.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 30 students.
5. This course is offered annually.

1531 Man and the Cosmos in the European Renaissance
04-2 40157 Palmieri
Cross-listed with RELGST 1362
1. Art and science are nowadays largely considered to be separate spheres of human endeavour, which are pursued by professionals specializing in their own field. Yet in Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a period referred to by modern historians as the Renaissance, art and science influenced each other. This course explores the fascinating intersection of artistic and scientific pursuits in the Renaissance, with special emphasis on the contribution that the visual arts gave to the rise of modern science.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 30 students.
5. This course is not offered on a regular basis.

1605 Aesthetics & Science
04-2 32434 Machamer
1. What are the experiences that make up our appreciation of literature, painting or music? Does knowing about a work of art preclude really appreciating it? Is there a peculiar aesthetic experience? Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? Is smut? This course examines certain psychological and social aspects of human perception and thought as they relate to various arts. We will deal with how the psychological processes of perception and cognition can help us understand men's peculiar attraction to artworks. Is there a specific cultural or social dimension to works of art? Can we explain why humans react to and evaluate the works they do? How much is emotion? How much understanding? Movies, television, literature, painting, music and poetry will be examined, as well as the concepts of metaphor, interpretation and artistic style.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Estimated Class Size: 30 students.
5. This course is not offered on a regular basis.

1612 Philosophy of 20th Century Physics
04-2 40161 Ruetsche
Cross-listed with PHIL 1612
1. The first part of this course will sample philosophical issues surrounding relativity theory. These issues include the nature of space-time theories, the conventionality of simultaneity, and the openness of the future. The second of this course is meant as an introduction to the philosophy of quantum mechanics. Our goal will be to understand what an interpretation of quantum mechanics is and why anyone would want one. We will also explore interpretations historically proposed, and the frailties to which they are prone. A theme linking both parts of the course is the question of physical determinism. While some background in physics would be useful for this course, it is not essential. For as we go, we will study the formalisms relevant to the philosophical questions we'd like to pose.
2. Prerequisites: At least one other philosophy course
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 30 students.
5. This course is not offered on a regular basis.
6. Students must get permission from instructor once class is closed.

1690 Topics in Philosophy of Science
04-2 40166 UHC,SPEN Gotthelf
Cross-listed with PHIL 1690
1. Concepts are the basic units of thought and knowledge. As a result, our understanding of the nature and acquisition of concepts has major implications for fundamental issues in metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of science (among other areas of philosophy).
A concept (such as dog, water, nobility, game, electron, scientific theory) groups and refers to many individuals of a single kind. Certain features of a kind are treated as basic or essential to the kind; they make up its essence. A key question for us will be whether these groupings, and these essences, are subjective creations of ours, or whether there is some objective basis in reality for grouping one way rather than another, and for designating as essence one set of traits over another? But to answer this question, we'll need to gain an understanding of what concepts are, and how they are acquired, and what if anything is the same (or at least similar) about the individuals grouped by a concept. The aim of this course is to advance our understanding of these matters. We will explore the nature, metaphysical basis, acquisition, content and reference of concepts; the nature and explanatory character of essences; the nature and types of kinds; the objectivity or subjectivity of concepts, essences, and kinds; and some of the wider implications for philosophy and for our understanding of science of different views on these issues. We'll read both historical and contemporary sources. Although our primary concern is with the philosophic issues, we'll consider how views on these issues developed historically. We'll begin with the philosophical centrality of these questions, and the way they are first posed in Plato's Euthyphro and Meno. Then, we'll examine (i) Aristotle's (broadly) realist theory of universals, essences, and kinds; (ii) Locke's conceptualist theory of general ideas and nominal essences; (iii) the resemblance-nominalisms and anti-essentialism of Berkeley , Hume, and Wittgenstein; and (iv) Ayn Rand's objectivist theory of concepts and essences and its implications for the objectivity of kinds. We'll consider how the immensely influential analytic-synthetic dichotomy arose in part out of Locke's and Hume's theories of concepts, and how Rand 's theory of concepts led her to a fundamental rejection of the dichotomy. With these four theories as background, we'll examine how, with the advent of the “linguistic turn” in early 20th century philosophy, questions about concepts got transmuted into questions about language. We'll note connections between questions of meaning and reference within this tradition and the questions we have been considering about concepts; and will follow the changing views on the nature of essences and the soundness of the analytic-synthetic dichotomy, from Ayer to Quine to Putnam and Kripke. We'll also consider the thesis that concepts are units of thought only as parts of larger units, such as propositions. Finally, we'll consider why, in the latter part of the century, some analytic philosophers (and cognitive psychologists) turned again to the study of concepts as such, and how some of their theories relate to the four theories we have already considered.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 20 students.
5. This course is not offered on a regular basis.
6. Students must go to the UHC office, 3600 Cathedral of Learning, to obtain a special permission form before processing their
registration.

1702 Jr/Sr Seminar for HPS Majors
04-2 27525 SPEN Lennox
1. Profound changes in intellectual attitudes occurred in the 19th century that helped usher in the acceptance of Darwinian explanations of life on the planet. In this seminar we'll examine the philosophical views about the nature of science that were current at the time of Darwin . We will read from the works of Herschel, Whewell, Mill and others, as well as from works of Lyell and Darwin. The aim will be to understand the interactions between the philosophy and the science of the day. This course will be conducted in seminar style; students will be expected to give two oral presentations and write three short papers.
2. Prerequisites: Must be an HPS major in junior or senior year.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 10 students.
5. This course is offered on a regular basis, as needed.
6. This course is for HPS Majors only. It needs special permission.

1703 Writing Workshop for HPS Majors
04-2 27531 WRIT,SPEN Lennox
1. This writing workshop is designed to introduce HPS majors to the methods and standards of good scholarly writing in History and Philosophy of Science. It will be offered to HPS majors only in conjunction with HPS 1702, Jr/Sr Seminar. Evaluation will be based on two short papers that will be rewritten on the basis of the instructor's comments.
•  Prerequisites: Must be an HPS major in junior or senior year.
•  Recitations: None.
•  Expected class size: 10 students.
•  This course is offered on a regular basis, as needed.
•  This course is for HPS Majors only. It needs special permission.

1800 Special Topics in History and Philosophy of Science
04-2 40174 Grush
1. What is the nature of the mind, and what is its relation to the brain? This question has historically received considerable philosophical and scientific attention, and is currently an exploding area of scientific progress. In this course we will explore the development of psychology as a scientific discipline in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries; the development of neuroscience primarily in the 19th and 20th centuries; and the development of methods, primarily in the 20th century, for relating cognitive processes to neurophysiology. If time permits, we will briefly explore the development of linguistics from the mid 20th century.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 30 students.
5. This course is not offered on a regular basis.

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