Politics, Philosophy Science

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

The term "science" describes a process of inquiry developed over millennia of human history. Scientific discoveries, from chemical fertilizer and astronomical patterns to computers and the atom bomb, have had a well known impact on the course of human history. But the same is true in the other direction: changes to human societies and how they are organized influence what questions scientists ask and what tools they have available to answer them. What are ideal organizations of scientific inquiry and what, if anything, does it have to do with ideal organizations of society in general? What kinds of questions about how we should live can be answered scientifically, and how would we know if we got correct answers? Is science inherently a secular pursuit, or can it coexist with a society organized around religious authorities? This course will survey a variety of philosophical perspectives on these questions, while also surveying a variety of eras of scientific production from ancient societies to the present day.