F654 Fall 2024 Philosophy and Science: Kissing Cousins in the History of Ideas

F654  Philosophy and Science: Kissing Cousins in the History of Ideas
Thursdays, 11:50—1:15, Sept. 26—Nov. 14
Eight sessions
Instructor: Irmgard Scherer
This course provides a general audience an intellectual and historical background against which modern science can be understood. The course examines the origin of “natural philosophy”, as science was called in antiquity, and up to 17th century Newtonian science. We learn about major paradigm shifts of science as they are informed by philosophical presuppositions, arguably bringing us to where we are today. Here are some questions of concern: What are the philosophical undercurrents that influenced western scientific worldviews? What questions led to articulations of “unified field theories” by Presocratic thinkers around the 6th century BC (one of which was Thales who predicted the sun eclipse of 585 B.C. two years prior to the event). How was the mathematization of the empirical sciences achieved around the 17th century C.E. but not yet by Pythagorean mathematics? How was it possible to articulate a viable theory of atomism in antiquity, almost unchanged in Newtonian science? How did the Copernican revolution and helio-centrism throw modern science into disarray, such as making a correct distinction between certainty and illusion? How could we trust knowledge claims with confidence? How important is a “science of metaphysics” in modern science?
Irmgard Scherer, a U.S. citizen born in Germany, is associate professor of Philosophy emerita at Loyola University, Maryland. She taught core and honors ethics courses, topics in the history and philosophy of science, and upper level courses in her area of specialization: Kant and 18th century aesthetic theory. She has published on Kant and related issues. Since retiring, she has taught philosophy courses for OLLI, both at Mason and American University.