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HIST/HUM/PHYS 361: Science and Culture

HIST/HUM/PHYS 361: Science and Culture. What is this course about anyways ? Einstein: "Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.". Thematic divisions.

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HIST/HUM/PHYS 361: Science and Culture

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  1. HIST/HUM/PHYS 361: Science and Culture What is this course about anyways? Einstein: "Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school."

  2. Thematic divisions • In the first segment we focus on the development / emergence of science and scientific inquiry into nature as a discipline distinct from religion. • In the second segment the focus is on the development of increasingly physical models of nature and how Instruments facilitate the practice of scientific inquiry • In the third segment attention turns to relationship between humans, science, and the environment. Applied Science (industrialization, engineering, technology) emerges.

  3. ‘reality and clarity are complementary’ Niels Bohr [jn] • That is, one cannot have both at the same time. • Nonetheless, in the popular imagination we want to believe that this is not the case. • To have both provides a kind of security? Something humans crave? • That is, cultural expectations / aspirations / hopes often get in the way of determining reality = Bias. • So too is the determination of ‘reality’ handicapped by incomplete data, instrument failure, etc.

  4. Questions I [jn] • Both science and religion deal with ‘nature’. What is the difference? • How does culture affect / encourage / discourage scientific discovery? • How does scientific discovery / knowledge affect culture? How are these connected? and what are the limitations to this kind of feedback? • Do humans use science to justify political, social, cultural policies? • How does society cope with scientific ideas that appear to be counter-intuitive? • Is there a difference between science and technology? And should society promote one over the other?

  5. Questions II [gb and gb] • Why should society support science? • What is the economic price of knowledge acquisition? Esp. when there is no immediate commercial value. If its too high, what can we do? • How does science affect cultural change? Can that change be measured and explained? • What is the “Truth” and who is its gatekeeper? • What happens when scientific “Truth” [and/or scientific consensus about what is true] is unacceptable to the masses?

  6. Questions III [jn] • What is the connection between Science and Religion? • Is science a system of belief? • Is religion a science? • Consider these words: "Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.” • What does it mean when we claim to find order in nature? • Is nature really ordered or are we forcing it to appear that way so that we can explain it ? • Are humans part of nature? Or different in some fundamental way different from other species?

  7. Sub Texts [gb] Issues that will permeate the course… • Cooperation versus Competition as the means to achieve the ‘more perfect’ and / or ideal state/government • Why do we so easily treat nature as a consumable? Nature would seem to have no spiritual value but is just a machine. • Are humans really separate and distinct from nature?

  8. More Sub Texts [jn&gb] • Why do we require certainty in order to make decisions? • Can we trust our senses? How can we ‘be sure’? • How do reason and experience interact? Is rationalism superior to empiricism? Of the latter to the former? • Has anything really changed for 10,000 years in terms of human behavior and human/institutional structures? • Has science ever impacted the way in which society functions? • What does it mean to be ‘enlightened’?

  9. Max Planck “We have no right to assume that any physical laws exist, or if they have existed up to now, that they will continue to exist in a similar manner in the future.” Whatever can he mean?

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