Teacher: Laurent Loison
CNRS, SPHERE, Paris (UMR 7219)
This course is a general introduction to the history of science with two aims. The first is to make accessible certain key moments in the constitution of science, from the elaboration of the Aristotelian cosmos to the advent of molecular biology, via the Galilean and Darwinian revolutions. The second is to offer an epistemological reflection on the nature of scientific activity. From this perspective, the question of finality and finalism will be the major theme of the course. The aim is to understand how and why the empirical sciences (whose object is to understand natural phenomena, i.e. physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) have succeeded in producing non-finalist explanations.
- Teaching coordinator: Loison Laurent
- Teaching coordinator: Wanlin Nicolas