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HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
HPS 0437 - DARWINISM AND ITS CRITICS 3 credits Charles Darwin’s ideas have had an enormous impact on biology and on culture generally. These ideas have been criticized within biology, by philosophers, social theorists, and religious fundamentalists. This course studies the historical growth of Darwinism and the criticisms mentioned and evaluates those criticisms and their impact on the theory. There are no prerequisites for this course. (Meets CAS Historical Change or Foreign Culture/International - Regional Requirement.) (Satisfies Social Science Requirement for the School of Engineering.) Frequency of Offering: every two years.
HPS 0613 - MORALITY AND MEDICINE 3 credits This introductory‑level undergraduate course examines various ethical problems arising in medicine such as physician‑patient relationship; human and animal experimentation; mental illness, dementia, and mental retardation; death and decisions regarding life‑sustaining treatment; suicide and euthanasia; abortion; genetics and human reproduction; and social justice and health care policy. Cross-listed with PHIL 0360. There are no prerequisites for this course. (Meets CAS Philosophy Requirement.) (Satisfies Humanities Requirement for the School of Engineering.)
HPS 0620 - SCIENCE AND RELIGION 3 credits What is science? What is the purpose of science? Does science give an accurate picture of reality or merely supply models from which useful predictions can be made? What is religion? What is the purpose of religion? Do sacred texts give a literal description and history of the world? Does religion give us access to the supernatural? Does religion merely give us lessons on how we should live our lives? How should science and religion, both done properly, interact? Are they necessarily at odds, are they carried out in distinct domains and thus have nothing to do with one another, or do they complement each other? These are some of the questions to be discussed in this introductory-level course. Readings will come from the philosophy of science and philosophy of religion. There are no prerequisites for this course. (Cross-listed as PHIL 0840 which satisfies the Humanities Requirement for the School of Engineering.) (Satisfies UPB Philosophy/Euro-American Requirement.) Frequency of Offering: every two years.
HPS 1612 - PHILOSOPHY OF 20th CENTURY PHYSICS 3 credits An examination of the fascinating philosophical problems to which modern physical theories have given rise. No previous formal training in physics or mathematics will be presupposed, since the basic physical ideas needed are introduced largely qualitatively with an emphasis on concepts rather than equations. Topics will vary from year to year with instructor, but center around classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, and relativity theory. Cross listed with PHIL 1612. There are no prerequisites for this course. (Satisfies Social Science Requirement for the School of Engineering.) Frequency of Offering: every two years.
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