PHIL 246Scientific Revolutions

How has scientific knowledge developed over time? Have some changes in scientific theory constituted scientific revolutions? In this course, students will analyze examples of scientific developments ranging from antiquity to modernity. Students will evaluate whether the concept of a "revolution" aptly describes past processes of theory change, and examine what drove natural philosophers and scientists to espouse one scientific theory over another. Specific topics may be drawn from the history and philosophy of chemistry, cosmology, evolutionary biology, geology, and physics.