Faculty of Arts & Science 2016-2017 Calendar

History and Philosophy of Science and Technology

• History and Philosophy of Science and Technology Major | History and Philosophy of Science and Technology Minor
• Science and Society Minor
• History and Philosophy of Science and Technology Courses

Faculty

How are scientific theories developed? Do values affect science and do scientific theories influence social values? What is the role of science and technology in a democratic society? These are some of the questions that historians and philosophers of science examine. Courses in the philosophy of science engage with the structure of science, its methods, and its special claims to the production of knowledge. Courses in the history of science and technology situate scientific advances in their cultural and socio-economic context.

Students taking HPS courses deepen their understanding of major ideas in science; they learn to think critically about the past and present role of science in human societies, and they improve their skills in oral presentation and debate, research, and writing. 

Students pursuing an HPS POST will be ideally suited to any professional or academic context that requires an understanding of science, science in society, and the relation between the sciences and the humanities.

The Minor programs are designed to complement a wide range of Major or Specialist programs including those in the sciences, history, philosophy, or any program for which the combination of sciences and humanities could prove beneficial. The HPS major program is useful for elementary and secondary school teaching, museum and library work, science writing and editing, law, medicine and other fields where competence in both science and humanities is valuable.

Director of Undergraduate Studies:

Professor Chen-Pang Yeang
Victoria College, Room 309 (Tel: 416-978-3968)

Email: chenpang.yeang@utoronto.ca

Enquiries:

Victoria College, Room 316 (416-978-5397)

History and Philosophy of Science and Technology Programs

Students are encouraged to meet with the Director of Undergraduate Studies prior to registering for this degree.

7 full courses or their equivalent

First year (recommended):

1. One 0.5 FCE from any HPS100-level courses; up to a 1.0 FCE at the 100 level will count towards the major.

Higher years (required):

Additional HPS courses, to a total of 7 FCEs, to be chosen from any HPS courses, including JHE353H1, JHE355H1, PHL355H1, PHL356H1, PHL357H1, and meeting the following requirements:

1. At least 1.0 FCEs at the 200+ level.

2. At least 2.0 FCEs at the 300+level, 0.5 of which must be at the 400-level.

4 full courses or their equivalent 

1.  Recommended: 0.5 FCE from any HPS100-level courses. Up to 1.FCE HPS courses at the 100-level will be counted towards the minor.
2.  Recommended: at least 0.5 FCE from any HPS 200-level courses.
3.  Additional HPS courses (including JHE353H1, JHE355H1, JPH311H1, PHL356H1, PHL357H1), to a total of 4 FCEs, with at least one FCE at the 300+level.

The Minor in Science and Society is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the different ways science and technology shape modern society and, in turn, how society shapes science and technology. From the food we eat to the way we conceive family relations or our obligations to future generations, our daily practices and our beliefs are increasingly influenced by scientific research and its applications. In turn, politics, public opinion, moral beliefs and cultural practices affect scientific and technological development. Courses in this program address such topics as science and values, science-related policy and politics, ethical uses of technology, scientific revolutions and controversies, modeling and communication of scientific research, and knowledge transfer from research to commercial and societal applications.

(4.0 FCEs, including at least 1.0 FCE at 300+ level)
 

1. HPS200H1
2. 1.0 FCE from: VIC206H1, VIC207H1, VIC274H1, VIC278H1, IMC200H1. Students who achieve at least 77% in the Vic One course VIC170Y1 or VIC172Y1 may count that course toward the Minor and use it to fulfil this requirement.
3. 1.0 FCE from: HPS202H1, HPS260H1, HPS307H1, HPS308H1, HPS324H1, HPS350H1
4. An additional 0.5 FCE from program requirements 2. and 3. above.
5. An additional 1.0 FCE from program requirements 2. and 3. above and/or from the approved list of cognate courses below:
   ANT353H1, ANT358H1, ANT364H1, BIO220H1, EEB215H1, ENV200H1, ETH220H1, GGR223H1, GGR321H1,  JGE321H1, PHL273H1, PHL281H1, PHL373H1, PHL381H1, PHL384H1, PSY328H1, WGS275H1

History and Philosophy of Science and Technology Courses

The 199Y1 and 199H1 seminars are designed to provide the opportunity to work closely with an instructor in a class of no more than twenty-four students. These interactive seminars are intended to stimulate the students’ curiosity and provide an opportunity to get to know a member of the professorial staff in a seminar environment during the first year of study. Details can be found at www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/course/fyh-1/.

This is an online introduction to the key issues in the history and philosophy of science. How do scientific theories and method change through time? Is there a universal and unchangeable method of science? What demarcates science from non-science? Can scientific theories provide true descriptions of the world? Is there scientific progress? What are the major worldviews in the history of science? The pre-recorded lectures are available online at any time. Tutorial sessions are live at the portal. For more information: http://www.hps.utoronto.ca/undergraduate_courses.htm

Why do we do what we do? What factors play a role in shaping our personality? What biological and social elements help configure a person's moral and emotional character? In this course, we examine landmark studies that shook standard beliefs about human nature in their time. We analyze those studies in their historical context and discuss their relevance to social, ethical, and policy debates.  The studies may include research on mother love, obedience, conformity, bystander intervention in emergencies, deception, race, and gender stereotypes.

This course addresses the nature of science and its importance to our understanding of ourselves. Questions include: What is a science? Is science objective? What is scientific reasoning? Has our conception of science changed through history? How does science shape our moral image? Does science reveal our natures as humans?

An introduction to issues at the interface of science and society. Including the reciprocal influence of science and social norms, the relation of science and religion, dissemination of scientific knowledge, science and policy. Issues may include: Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Weapons; Genetic Engineering; The Human Genome Project; Climate Change.

Technology and its place in our culture from Antiquity to the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. Relations between technology and science, religion, the arts, social institutions, and political beliefs.

A survey of technical change and its social implications from the Industrial Revolution to the present.

This course examines issues of uncertainty in various contexts of science, technology, and society since the 19^th century. Topics may include randomized controlled trials, statistical identification of normal and pathological, biopolitics, philosophical interpretations of probability, Brownian motions, uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics, cybernetic mind, and chance in avant-garde arts.

An examination of the practices and attitudes to public nudity from antiquity to the present, including Canadian jurisprudence from the 1950s to 2005, recent changing scientific studies of attitudes to public nudity, and the impact of attitudes on body image, self esteem, mental health and social deviance.

Case studies in the history of science from antiquity to 1800, including the revolutionary work of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, Newton, Linnaeus, Lavoisier, and Herschel. The course is designed to be accessible to science students and non-scientists alike.

Case studies in the history of science from 1800 to 2000, including Volta, Lyell, Darwin, Mendel, Einstein, Schrdinger, Watson, and Crick. The course is designed to be accessible to science students and non-scientists alike

The course focuses on the bearings that philosophical views had on science in different periods in history. We consider philosophical conceptions of space, time and matter; the influence of religious views on science; the influence of natural magic on the emergence of modern science; and the nature of scientific knowledge.

 This course will not be offered in 2015-16.

This course introduces and explores central issues in the philosophy of science, including scientific inference, method, and explanation. Topics may include underdetermination, realism and empiricism, and laws of nature.

This lecture course explores the fantastic visions of humanity's future inspired by the advance of the biological sciences during the twentieth century. Biology provided the scientific underpinning for societal hopes and fears embodied in such cultural icons as robots, aliens, "brains in a vat," and super-humans.

This course will focus on the interplay between science and literature from ancient Greece to the present day. We’ll examine the impact of major scientific paradigm shifts on the literature of their time, and situate literary texts within the context of contemporary scientific discoveries and technological innovations.

Humanities and Social Science elective

This course surveys the development of science from Antiquity to the modern times.  We focus on a number of selected topics, ranging from the mechanical worldview to particle physics, from the classification of species to molecular biology, from the introduction of laboratory to the interaction between war and science.  Our aim is to explore how and why science came to its current form and status by addressing crucial discoveries and conceptual breakthroughs, conditions and standards indispensable to scientific research, and principal mutual influences between science and society.

Credit course for supervised participation in faculty research project. Details at http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/course/rop. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Topics vary year to year.

A Historical exploration of Britain’s role in the rise of modern science, from the Renaissance to the double helix. Students will be introduced to the work of Hooke, Newton, Cavendish, Davy, Faraday, Maxwell, Rutherford, and others.

This course can concern topics of special interest in the history of science from Antiquity until present. Topics may focus on specific-time periods, fields of inquiry, individuals, scientific institutions, or geographic locations.

This course can concern topics of special interest in the philosophy of science from Antiquity until present. Topics may include scientific change, rationality, method, evidence, progress, reduction, scientific laws, models, representation etc. The course may also focus on specific-time periods, fields of inquiry, individuals, scientific institutions, geographic locations, etc.

This course offers a focused discussion of several aspects of the history of medicine. Various themes are examined in depth year to year so as to familiarize students with different topics and methodological approaches.

Offers a hands-on introduction to historical research. Through a close examination of classic scholarly texts, archival materials, and recent media publications, this advanced seminar explores the sources, methods, and approaches in historical studies of biomedical twentieth century-sciences.

The history of human control of various sources of energy, including technical developments, scientific theories, and impact on culture and society. Recent debates on fossil fuel and nuclear power examined in historical context. (offered irregularly)

The systemic nature of modern technology suggests that it has intimate interactions with society, human values, ideologies, and the economy. We will attempt to examine these interactions in history in order to promote reflection on ways in which technology and its evolution could be managed for the benefit of humankind.

This course reconstructs the Aristotelian-medieval mosaic of theories including physics, cosmology, theology, astronomy/astrology, optics, and physiology/medicine. We analyze the role of metaphysics in medieval science, including determinism/indeterminism, plenism/vacuism, finitism/infinitism, theism/deism, and teleology/mechanism. Finally, we explicate the Aristotelian-medieval method, by focusing on the notions of demonstrative truth, intuition, and deduction.

Topics in the history of physics from antiquity to the 20th century, including Aristotelian physics, Galileo, Descartes, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, relativity, quantum physics, and particle physics. The development of theories in their intellectual and cultural contexts.

A history of the science and technology of electricity in the 19th and 20th centuries in its social, economic, and cultural context.

Prerequisite: At least one-half CSC/PHY or Electrical Engineering (ECE) course
Distribution Requirement Status: Humanities or Science
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)

HPS316H1    Environment, Technology, and Nature[24L/10T]

This course examines the intersection of technology and environment in the modern world. Whether simple or complex, whether designed for recreation, work, or warfare, our tools and how we use them filter our perceptions of, and engagements with, non-human nature. Emphasis is on case studies from 1800 to the present.

Prerequisite: 0.5 FCE in HPS or HIS
Recommended Preparation: HPS201H1/HPS202H1
Distribution Requirement Status: Humanities
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

HPS318H1    History of Medicine I[24L/10T]

This course explores how medicine was practiced, taught and theorized from ancient Greece to the early modern period. It focuses on the historical development of western medicine in relation to societies, politics and culture, and considers topics such as the creation of medical traditions, the tranmission and communication of medical knowledge, the pluralistic world of healers, the role of religion, magic and natural philosophy, the cultural meaning of disease, and the emergence of institutions such as the hospital.

This course examines the development of medicine from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. It focuses on the historical development of western medicine in relation to societies, politics and culture and considers topics such as changing views of the body, the development of medical institutions such as hospitals, asylums and laboratories, the diversifies world of healing and the place of visual and material culture in the production and dissemination of medical knowledge.

This course seeks to understand the nature of engineering practice, which comprises complex social, intellectual, and technical actions at various stages from design to entrepreneurship.  Building upon the history and social studies of technology, philosophy of engineering, business history, and management science, we introduce ways to analyze such complex actions.

A survey of the history of and recent developments in the scientific study of complex systems and emergent order. There will be particular emphasis on the biological and cognitive sciences. Topics covered may include: mechanism and teleology in the history of science, 19th and 20th century emergentism, complex systems dynamics, order and adaptiveness, self-organisation in biology and congitive development.

Historical examination of the interactions of science (both as body of knowledge and as enterprise) with ideological, political and social issues. The impact of science; attacks on and critiques of scientific expertise as background to contemporary conflicts. Subjects may vary according to students interests. (offered irregularly)

From its origins in the Renaissance, modern science has developed in the context of European religious beliefs and institutions. Although cases of conflict like Galileo or the Monkey Trial are famous, more common are cases of scientists like Newton or Faraday whose religious convictions were crucial to their scientific success.

The course focuses on famous debates in science, such as the Leibniz-Clarke debate on the nature of space, time and God, the Huxley-Wilberforce debate on evolution and the Bohr-Einstein debate on the nature of the quantum reality. The main aim is to explore the philosophical ideas involved in these debates in their historical context.

An investigation into the nature and development of scientific knowledge, inspired by Kuhns notion of revolutions. Topics may include, the rationality of theory choice, and social constructivism.

This course explores major developments and controversies in the human sciences: psychology, sociology, economics, political science, and anthropology. How have scientists in these areas explained human behavior?  How have they described, evaluated, and tried to improve society? We examine these issues in their historical context and consider their contemporary relevance.

An examination of major ideas about biological evolution from the 18th century to the 1930s and of their impact on scientific and social thought. Topics include the diversity of life and its classification, the adaptation of organisms to their environment, Wallace’s and Darwin’s views on evolution by natural selection, sexual selection, inheritance from Mendel to T.H. Morgan, eugenics, and the implications of evolution for religion, gender roles, and the organization of society. Offered by the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology.

An examination of the place of the organism in evolutionary theory from the early 1900s to the present. Biology is the science of living things, and yet, paradoxically, living things--organisms--have been comprehensively left out of the Modern Synthesis theory of evolution that developed in the twentieth century. This course surveys the reasons--historical, philosophical and empirical--for the marginalisation of organisms from evolutionary theory. It examines the ways in which evolutionary developmental biology attempts to restore the organisms to a central place in evolutionary biology. Offered by faculty in the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology.

Conceptions of the universe since 1800 with attention to observational sources of changing ideas. History of large telescopes, stellar spectroscopy and radio astronomy. Relativistic conceptions of space and time, models of stellar evolution, discovery of extra-galactic nebulae, Hubble red-shift and microwave background radiation. Philosophical and religious implications are examined.

A survey of ancient, medieval, and early modern mathematics with emphasis on historical issues. (Offered in alternate years)

A survey of the development of mathematics from 1700 to the present with emphasis on historical issues. (Offered in alternate years)

An historical survey from pre-Greek to the present. Various themes are emphasized year to year, to show mathematics as changing and evolving. A student could expect to gain an historical overview as well as a sense of the unity of the mathematical sciences.

An examination of foundational and conceptual aspects of mathematics such as: the nature of mathematical objects, logicism, Church’s elementalistic mathematics, Gödel’s theorem and formal systems, postulational methods, mathematics and reality, the cardinal, ordinal and abstract approaches to numbers, infinity, and Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometries. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Advanced level survey of biological science from ancient Greece to the 20th century emphasizing primary sources analyses. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

An advanced survey of the history of technology from Antiquity to the Industrial Revolution. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

An advanced survey of the history of technology from the Industrial Revolution to modern times. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

This course offers advanced undergraduate students the opportunity to undertake original research into the history of medicine, under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

This course offers advanced undergraduate students the opportunity to undertake original research into the history of the natural or physical sciences, under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

This course offers advanced undergraduate students the opportunity to undertake original research into the history of the natural or physical sciences, under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

This course offers advanced undergraduate students the opportunity to undertake original research into the philosophy of the natural or physical sciences, under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

This course offers advanced undergraduate students the opportunity to undertake original research into the philosophy of the natural or physical sciences, under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

A reading and research project in some aspect of history of science and technology, supervised by a faculty member.

A reading and research project in some aspect of the social, cultural or intellectual history of science and technology, supervised by a faculty member.

A reading and research project in some aspect of the social, cultural or intellectual history of science and technology, supervised by a faculty member.

 A reading and research project in some aspect of the development of scientific theory or practice, supervised by a faculty member.

A reading and research project in some aspect of the development of scientific theory or practice, supervised by a faculty member.