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| History/Philosophy of Science | |||
| HIS/PHILO SCI | |||
| CLASS CODE: | PH 314 | CREDITS: 3 | |
| COLLEGE: | PHYSICAL SCIENCE & ENGINEERING | ||
| DEPARTMENT: | PHYSICS | ||
| GENERAL EDUCATION: | This course fulfills a General Education - Letters requirement. | ||
| DESCRIPTION: | This course discusses the philosophical foundations of modern science, including the relationship between observations and theory,criteria for theory selection, and the assumptions upon which science is built. It traces the historical development of this foundation and describes the strengths and limitations of modern science. It also describes the historical development of fundamental scientific ideas. | ||
| TAUGHT: | Fall, Winter | ||
| CONTENT AND TOPICS: | This course introduces students to the history and philosophy of modern science, tracing its historical development from the ancient Greeks to modern times. Students will understand the strengths, limitations, the underlying axioms and philosophies of modern science as a tool for gaining knowledge of the physical world. The history of science is discussed to show how the philosophy of science changed and helps students place the theories of modern science into historical perspective. | ||
| GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: | 1.Know terminology used by scientists and philosophers of science in discussing the scientific process. 2.Identify the major figures in the History of Science and how each contributed to the modern science. 3.Describe the methodology of modern science, the relationship between observation and theory, and the underlying axioms upon which science is built. 4.Discuss how science is used to broaden human knowledge and describe its strengths and limitations. 5.Examine how science, its methods, axioms, and philosophy have changed over the years. 6.Trace science’s historical development with an emphasis on how the contributions of its practitioners have fundamentally altered both the way humans view the world and the philosophy of science itself. 7.Integrate several disciplines: science (both physical and biological), philosophy, religion, and history. 8.Confront historical dilemmas and examine how individuals used philosophical and scientific methods to solve them. 9.Describe science and religion confilcts as they deveolped historically and place current science and religion confilcts into thier historical context. 10.Communicate and work together effectively with students having a wide range of intellectual backgrounds. 11.Analyze both the scientific and philosophical consequences of scientific theories and judge how seriously these consequences affect your life. 12.Plan,design, and present a number of oral and written communication instruments. |
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| REQUIREMENTS: | Exams consist of both objective and essay parts. Research paper. Topical papers. Group and individual class presentation. | ||
| PREREQUISITES: | Must have completed Physical Science GE course and lab or FDSCI 101 and FDSCI Issues courses |
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| OTHER: | |||
| EFFECTIVE DATE: | August 2001 | ||