University College London. · Web viewOne 3,000 word essay, deadline for final version Friday 13th December. I will give comments and advice on any draft essay you give me before

Department of Science& Technology Studies.22, Gordon Square.

The Scientific

RevolutionLectures: Tuesdays 1-2, 105, 24 Gordon Sq.

Fridays 1-2, 24 Gordon Sq.

Dr. Andrew Gregory.Room 3.3, 22 Gordon Square, 020-7679-2490.

e-mail - [email protected] hours - Tuesdays 11-12, Fridays 11-12.

Contents:

Lecture Timetable and Background Reading - General course information - Exam information - Exam paper 2003- Glossary of useful terms - Coursework information - Essay titles and reading list.

This course runs annually. Other history of science courses which may interest you are:109 History of Science.325 Magic to Science.326 History of Astronomy and Cosmology.

Course HPSC 215,Autumn 2003.

215 Scientific Revolution. Syllabus 2003.

HPSC 215. Lecture Timetable and Background Reading 1.

The recommended texts for the course are either I.B. Cohen The Birth of a New Physics, or R.S. Westfall The Construction of Modern Science. Also recommended are A.D. Gregory, Harvey's Heart, which covers issues in the first three lectures, and A.D. Gregory, Eureka ! The Birth of Science, which covers the Greek background to the scientific revolution, and is recommended for those who have not taken course 109 History of Science. These books ought to be available from Waterstones. If they are not, use either www.amazon.co.uk or www.bookfinder.com who will have both new and second hand copies. The following readings are all fairly short and will aid your understanding of the lectures if you look at them beforehand. In the following list DoSB is The Dictionary of Scientific Biography, and CHMS is The Companion to the History of Modern Science. All are available on long and short loan in the D.M.S. Watson library.

Tues. 30/09.1 - Introduction.

Fri. 3/10.2 – Ancient, Craft and Magical Traditions.

Tues. 7/10.3 - William Harvey and the Circulation of the Blood.A. Cunningham, Harvey in Man Masters Nature, ed. Porter.

Fri. 10/10.4 - William Harvey and the Weather Cycle.A. Wear, CHMS Ch. 36, The Heart and Circulation from Vesalius to Harvey.

Tues. 14/105 - Neoplatonism and the Reform of Astronomy.I.B. Cohen, The Birth of a New Physics, Ch. 1-3.

Fri. 17/10.6 - The Reception of the New Cosmology.I.B. Cohen, The Birth of a New Physics, Ch. 4-6.

Tues. 21/10.7 - Francis Bacon 1 - Methodological Reform.S.F. Mason, A History of the Sciences, Ch. 13.

Fri. 24/10.8 - Francis Bacon 2 - Social Reform.DoSB on Francis Bacon.

Tues. 28/10.9 – Debates 1.

Fri. 31/10.10 - Rene Descartes and the Mechanical Philosophy.DoSB on Rene Descartes.

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HPSC 215. Lecture Timetable and Background Reading 2.

Reading week 3rd to 9th November - no lectures.

Tues. 11/1111 - The Reception of the Mechanical Philosophy.M. Tamny, CHMS Ch. 38, Atomism and the Mechanical Philosophy.

Fri. 14/11.12 - Mind and Body in the Seventeenth Century.R.M. Young, CHMS Ch. 46, The Mind-Body Problem.

Tues. 18/11.13 - Science and Religion in the Seventeenth Century.J.H. Brooke, CHMS Ch. 50, Science and Religion

Fri. 21/11.14 - Newton - Optics and Gravity.S.F. Mason, A History of the Sciences, Ch.17 & 18

Tues. 25/11.15 - The Leibniz - Clarke Correspondence.S. Schaffer, CHMS Ch. 39, Newtonianism.

Fri. 28/11.16 - The Newtonian Synthesis Reconsidered.I.B. Cohen, The Birth of a New Physics, Ch. 7.

Tues. 2/12.17 – Debates 2.

Fri. 5/12.18 - The Royal Society and the Organisation of Science.S.F. Mason, A History of the Sciences, Ch. 22.

Tues. 09/12.19 - The Nature of the Scientific Revolution.J.A. Schuster, CHMS Ch. 15, The Scientific Revolution.

Fri. 12/12.20 - Review and Conclusions - The Fate of the Scientific Revolution.

End of term Friday 12th December.

Final essay version is due on Friday 12th December !

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HPSC 215. General Information 1.

Assessment

Assessment for the course is by means of coursework, group debate work and an exam. The coursework is worth 40% of the overall mark, the debate 10%, and the exam 50%.

Attendance.

This course is taught by lectures. You are expected to attend all lectures. A record will be kept of your attendance. Failure to regularly attend lectures may result in you being withdrawn from the course, barred from the examination, or both. We must be able to certify to the College that you have seriously engaged the course content. The STS Undergraduate Tutor reserves the right to bar from examinations students not meeting attendance criteria specified in the UCL Student Handbook or by the Course Tutor at the start of term.

Lectures .

The lectures will give you the backbone of the course material. You will find it very helpful to read the background reading material prior to the relevant lecture. Questions are encouraged during lectures. I will also circulate some handouts and notes. Some of these are for your general interest and information, some are summaries of important topics or people, and should form an integral part of your essay writing and exam revision. If you miss any handouts/ notes, they can be found on the web at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/gregory (or go via the STS homepage to Dr. Gregory). Everything I display as an overhead projection is in the notes. Do not feel that you need to copy down everything. Use these as suits you best. If you need to take detailed notes to keep attention, please do so. A common practice is to use a highlighter pen to bring out important aspects of the notes, or to underline and make extra comments on the notes.

Coursework.

One 3,000 word essay, deadline for final version Friday 13th December. I will give comments and advice on any draft essay you give me before Friday 6th December. Essay titles and reading lists are given later in this pack. All course work normally must be completed for a student to be eligible to sit the examination. To complete the course, normally all course work must be completed and the student must sit the examination.

Feedback mechanisms

You can comment on this course by - filling in course evaluation forms; talking to your course tutor; talking to your personal tutor; talking to your Undergraduate tutor; via the Student-Staff consultative committee; Web comment boxes; STS Web site

Extensions

To apply for an extension on coursework, students must submit a completed a ‘request for extension of course work’ form, available in the departmental office. This request should be submitted, with documentation, to the course tutor in first instance. If confidential issues are involved, submission of the extension request and documentation may be made through a student’s personal tutor or the undergraduate tutor. Requests should be in advance of the set deadline; submission of a request is no guarantee of approval.

Departmental and university policies

STS notes for guidance on-line: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/udg/notes.htmUCL Student Handbook from Registrar

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General course information 2.

Office Hours.

I will be glad to answer any questions, discuss or revise any topic after the lectures. If you wish to see me on a one - to - one basis to discuss essay questions, or discuss anything you haven't understood or would like to go over again, or anything else in relation to the course, I will be pleased to see you during my office hours, which are Tuesdays from 11-12 and Fridays 11-12. I guarantee I will be there and available to talk about this course during those times; you are of course welcome to try me at other time though I cannot guarantee I will be free, or to arrange a time to discuss anything relating to the course. I can be found in room 3.3 in 22 Gordon Square. My office phone number is 020-7679-2490 and my e-mail address is [email protected]

Course materials.

I recommend that you buy I.B. Cohen, The Birth of a New Physics, which is priced at £7.99 or R.S. Westfall, The Construction of Modern Science priced at £12.95.

For use in essay writing there is a collection of photocopied material in the departmental common room, in the filing cabinet marked Dr. Gregory, HPSC 215, The Scientific Revolution. You may also find these collections useful for exam revision. These readings are also available either as photocopies in the teaching collection (I will circulate a list of these with their access numbers) or as short loan books in the D.M.S. Watson library.

I will also circulate some handouts and notes. Some of these are for your general interest and information, some are summaries of important topics or people, and should form an integral part of your essay writing and exam revision. If you miss any handouts/ notes, they can be found on the web at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/gregory (or go via the STS homepage to Dr. Gregory).

Two important sources that you should get used to using are the Dictionary of Scientific Biography, ed. C.C. Gillispie, which contains many useful articles on individual scientists, and can be found opposite the issue desk in the D.M.S. Watson library, and The Companion to the History of Modern Science, ed. R.G. Olby et al., which has many useful articles on more general subjects, and can be found on short loan in the D.M.S. Watson library.

All the background readings are available as short loan books in the D.M.S. Watson library. You will find it very helpful if you read the relevant material prior to each lecture. You may also find them useful for exam revision.

Course aims.

To provide an in depth examination of the changes involved in the transition from the medieval world view to that of the post-Newtonian world. In particular, to investigate the changes in cosmology, theories of motion and the nature of explanation, and the relation between these as they alter in the seventeenth century. Also under examination will be the motivations and aims of the people that bring about the major changes. Finally historiographical questions involving the nature of the scientific revolution and how we write the history of it will also be examined.

By the end of the course it is hoped that you will have acquired:

A detailed knowledge of the events and timescale of the scientific revolution. An understanding of the relations between ontology, epistemology and explanation and how each

of these change in the scientific revolution. An understanding of the methodological approaches taken by leading historians in investigating

the scientific revolution, and how these different methodologies generate different histories of the period.

An understanding of how religious and philosophical debates affected the development of science in this period.

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Information on Exams.

The exam is three hours long and you will have to answer three questions. All the exam questions will be covered during the course, and there will be questions on all parts of the course - compare essay list, lecture list and past papers. Last year’s exam paper is in this pack. Previous exam papers are available from the D.M.S. Watson library or on the web at http://exam-papers.ucl.ac.uk/MAPS/SciTech or my website http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/gregory.

The exam is much more a test of understanding than memory. The questions are structured such that you will not be able to write down everything you know about the topic in one hour. The key skills in such exams are being able to orientate to what the question is asking you to do, and being able to select the most important information at your disposal in order to construct a good argument or discussion. There will be sessions on exam technique early in the third term and I will distribute a handout on the nature of the exam and good practice in preparing for exams. The course convenor, Dr. Gregory, is responsible for setting and marking the exam.

Some students require special dispensation for examinations (for example, anyone with dyslexia, other special medical conditions -- such as eye or back problems -- or who has suffered a bereavement). These dispensations can include additional time to complete an exam and use of a word processor, or alternative assessment. The UCL Examinations Section requires a lengthy application process for special consideration (including medical certification, if appropriate), and the application deadline is early in the academic year. If you think you qualify, discuss this with your personal tutor as soon as possible. Application to the College is necessary well before the examinations period.

Students achieving a final course mark below 28 normally have the right to make a re-entry at the next available opportunity. This involves repeating all assessed components of the course in which students will be expected to sit the examination and complete all other course work for the current offer of the course.

Students achieving a final course mark in the range 28 - 34 percent for an STS course may be allowed the option of referral, at the discretion of the sub-board of examiners. A referral normally involves written work set over summer. Successful completion of a referral earns the student a minimum passing mark of 35 E.

Affiliate students.

Affiliate students returning to their own countries before the exam must submit a 3,000 word essay in lieu of taking the exam. The essay must be submitted by the first day of summer term (28/04/2003). It may be submitted by e-mail or post.

Submission.

I will accept essays by e-mail or post where circumstances necessitate this but remember that it is your responsibility to check that I have received your work ! In particular check that I have received and am able to print e-mails, and remember to supply a cover sheet at a later date. Generally essays should be given to me by hand or left in my tray in the departmental office. Keep a printed copy of your essay as well as at least one electronic copy.

Students who have not taken 109 History of Science.

Students who have not taken 109 History of Science are advised to read A.D. Gregory Eureka ! The Birth of Science and/ or S.F. Mason A History of the Sciences Ch. 1-21 (256 pages !). Mason will give you a reasonable account of the medieval background to the scientific revolution, along with a reasonable overview of the scientific revolution itself. Mason is available from amazon.co.uk (go via the departmental website at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/udg/bstore.htm, and click on Mason) and is quite cheap. Do not believe any promise that Waterstone's may make about this book, they are quite hopeless at getting it. There are many copies of Gregory and of Mason in the library.

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UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

University College London

B.SC DEGREE 2003.

HPSCB215: The Scientific Revolution.

Total time allowed: three hours.Answer THREE questions. All questions carry equal weight.You must answer AT LEAST ONE question from SECTION A and AT LEAST ONE question from SECTION B.

SECTION A.

1. Was there a scientific revolution in the seventeenth century ?

2. Compare the types of explanation of natural phenomena offered by mechanical philosophers with those of the scholastics.

3. How did later philosophers attempt to deal with the Cartesian problem of the interaction of mind and brain ?

4. What does the Merton thesis explain ?

5. Compare and evaluate the historiographical approaches to the scientific revolution of any two of the following historians; E.A. Burtt, H. Butterfield, I.B. Cohen, E.J. Dijksterhuis, A.R. Hall, B. Hessen, A. Koyre, T.S. Kuhn, S. Schaffer, S. Shapin, R.S. Westfall and W. Whewell.

SECTION B.

6. Was Koestler correct in calling Copernicus and Kepler 'sleepwalkers' ?

7. What were the strengths and weakness of Bacon's method of induction ?

8. How did Gilbert distinguish between electricity and magnetism ? What does this tell us about his thinking ?

9. What roles did the mechanical philosophy, Aristotelianism and natural magic play in Harvey's arguments for the circulation of the blood ?

10. What arguments did his opponents bring against Harvey's theory of the flow of the blood ?

11. Compare the views of Aristotle, Descartes and Newton on falling bodies and planetary motion.

12. How justified were the Cambridge Platonists in their opposition to Descartes and Hobbes ?

13. Was the disagreement between Boyle and Hobbes merely about how good the seals were on the air pump ?

14. Discuss the development of theories of light and colour in the seventeenth century.

15. Considering the Leibniz-Clarke correspondence, was Newton a 'Newtonian' ?

16. Did the Royal Society fulfill Bacon's vision for the organisation of science ?

END OF PAPER

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Neither Gilbert nor Boyle will be taught nor examined for 2004


Coursework Information.

All submitted course work must be accompanied by a signed ‘HPSC course work submission sheet’. No course work will be marked without an accompanying cover sheet. Copies are available in the department office and on-line.

One 3,000 word essay, deadline for final version Friday 12th December. I will give comments and advice on any draft essay you give me before Friday 5th December. Essay titles and reading lists are given later in this pack.

The first group of readings under each essay title are usually primary readings (actually by the person in question) and I expect you to at least have looked at the relevant parts of these. The second group are essential reading for doing that essay. The third group are optional readings for you to explore topics in greater depth if you wish. I will be happy to indicate which are the most important things to read when you discuss an essay with me.

Departmental policy on late essays is that work submitted up to one week late will have 5 points deducted, up to two weeks late 11 points will be deducted, and essays will not be accepted or marked if they are more than two weeks late, and will score zero.

The first essay may be re-written. If you give in the first essay by the due date, I will mark it and comment on it. If you wish to re-write it in the light of the comments that I make, I will then re-mark it provided it is given in before the end of term.

Please note that the final version of your essay cannot be returned to you (though comments on it will be) as it has to be available for internal second marking and for the external examiner. It is therefore wise to produce two copies or retain it on disc for future reference and exam revision.

Assessed materials are marked by the course tutor(s) or their assistant examiners. These marks will be distributed to students at the first opportunity. To ensure fairness, materials are subsequently scrutinised by a second examiner within the Department, and a consensus is reached on their evaluation. All assessed materials and the consensus marks are made available for scrutiny by an examiner external to UCL. Marks are considered final only after the sub-board of examiners for science and technology studies has approved them in their annual meeting near the close of Term 3.

The comments on your essays will give you feedback on the quality, strengths and weaknesses of the work submitted, with a clearly defined grade or class.

Debates.

There will be a piece of coursework done in groups. Groups will take sides in a C17 debate. They will then write up the debate including the points made by their opposition and their replies to them. The write-ups should be between 500-1,000 words. There will be one hour of debates in each half of term. If groups only wish to take one side of a debate, I will take the other side. Suggested debate topics are as follows (will consider other suggestions):

Harvey / opposition to Harvey (Galenists, Descartes)Copernicans/ opposition to Copernicanism (Aristotelians, Tycho Brahe, church)Bacon vs AristotleMechanical Philosophers vs AristotleMechanical Philosophers vs Cambridge PlatonistsReligion – important for science in C17 or not ?Newton vs Descartes on gravityNewton vs Leibniz on religion and spaceScientific revolution in C17 or not ?

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HPSC 215. A Glossary of Some Terms Used in the History of Science.

Some Philosophical Terms.

Ontology. The discussion of what exists at the most basic level, and cannot be broken down any further. A materialist or a physicalist believes that ultimately all that exists is matter. Others believe that such things as minds or spirits cannot be fully explained in terms of matter, and of course some people believe in a non-material God.

Cosmology.Discussion about how what is in the universe is arranged, i.e. a geocentric cosmology places the earth at the centre of the unifies, while a heliocentric cosmology places the sun there.

Cosmogony.Discussion of how the universe came into being, i.e. both the big-bang theory and creationism (the universe created by God, perhaps in the manner expressed in the bible) are cosmogonies.

Epistemology. Discussion about how we come to know things. An empiricist believes that this can only be done empirically, that is through experience and sense perception. A rationalist believes that at least some knowledge can be arrived at through pure thought prior to any sense perception or experience. This has spawned two other terms, a priori and a posteriori meaning prior to any experience and after experience respectively

Induction. A method of arriving at theories by generalising from particular instances.

Teleology. Explanation in terms of an end that is aimed at, e.g. you got up in order to get to the door. While they may still have their uses in the life sciences, the removal of teleological explanations from physics is held to have been a major step forward for science.

Mythopoeic.Used to describe explanations which use myth and symbolic poetry, commonly used by many ancient societies. The replacement of mythopoeic explanations with those in terms of physical entities (e.g. thunder is not explained by the anger of the Gods but by the actions of clouds) is held to be an important step in founding science.

Some History of Science Terms.

Historiography. The study of how the history of science is written, or the methods used to write it.

Anachronism.Literally, something that is out of its proper time, e.g. to wear medieval clothes, adopt medieval attitudes and forms of speech now would be anachronistic. Considered a sin in writing the History of Science, it typically occurs when we project modern attitudes onto past times, e.g. it may seem clear from a modern standpoint that some theory was entirely wrong, but it may by no means have been clear at the time, and that may critically affect our judgement of the science of the period.

Whiggism.Writing history in a manner that glorifies its subject, selects only the events that show its subject in a good light, and makes judgements about the past from the perspective of the present (cf. anachronism). A Whig history of Britain would glorify its role in certain wars, while ignoring some of the more unsavoury aspects of British history (e.g. its role in the slave trade). Again, considered a sin in the History of Science, which has in the past been written in this manner.

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HPCS 215. Essay Titles and Reading List 1.

The exam paper will be split into two sections, one with 5 general questions about the scientific revolution and one with ten questions about specific thinkers and topics. The following list of essay titles reflects that division, though you are quite welcome to do your essays from either section, or to use the titles from last year’s exam paper. Please use these title and only these titles. Work which uses other titles will not be marked, unless my express permission for a different title has been given.

In the following list, DoSB is the Dictionary of Scientific Biography, and CHMS is The Companion to the History of Modern Science.

1. What role did neoplatonism play in the Copernican revolution ?

Nicolai Copernicus, The Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, Ch. 1, (most is in Kuhn), E. Rosen, Three Copernican Treatises, The Commentariolus.

2690 E.A. Burtt, The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science, Ch. 2.3565 J.R. Ravetz, The Copernican Revolution, Ch. 14, CHMS.3564 T.S. Kuhn, The Copernican Revolution, Ch. 5 & 6.

A. Koestler, The Sleepwalkers.3561 E.J. Dijksterhuis, The Mechanisation of the World Picture, pp. 288-323.

I.B Cohen, The Birth of a New Physics, Ch. 1-6.A. Koyre, Galileo and Plato, in Metaphysics and Measurement.

2. Why did Bacon consider his new method superior to those of the ‘Greeks’ and the ‘empirics’ ?

Francis Bacon, Novum Organon.

M. Malherbe, Bacon’s Method of Science, Ch. 3 in M. Peltonen (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Bacon.

3568 E.J Dijksterhuis, The Mechanisation of the World Picture, on Francis Bacon, pp. 396-402.3345 B. Willey, The Seventeenth Century Background, Ch. 2.

DoSB on Francis Bacon.M. Peltonen (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Bacon.P. Urbach, Francis Bacon's Philosophy of Science, Ch. 3.C.D. Broad, Bacon and the Experimental Method, Ch. 4 in The History of Science, ed. J. Lindsay.R.M. Blake, C.J. Ducasse and E.H. Madden, Theories of Scientific Method, Ch. 3.P. Urbach, Francis Bacon's Philosophy of Science.M. Hesse, Francis Bacon’s Philosophy of Science, in B. Vickers (ed.) Essential Articles for the Study of Francis Bacon.

3. Discuss the contention that 'Harvey discovered circulation by extending the new mechanical and quantitative approach to physiological enquiry’.

W. Harvey, The Circulation of the Blood.

A. Cunningham on Harvey, in R. Porter (ed.) Man Masters Nature.A. Wear, The Heart and Blood from Vesalius to Harvey, CHMS Ch. 36.

4156 A. Gregory, Harvey, Aristotle and the Weather Cycle.

A. Gregory, Harvey's Heart.R. French, William Harvey's Natural Philosophy.R.S. Westfall, The Construction of Modern Science, Ch. 5.DoSB on Harvey.W. Pagel, William Harvey's Biological Ideas.W. Pagel, The Reaction to Aristotle in 17th Century Biological Thought, in E.A Underwood (ed.), Science, Medicine and History, pp. 489-509.

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4. Discuss Descartes’ ideas on the explanation of physical phenomena.

Rene Descartes, The Principles of Philosophy.

3557 R.S. Westfall, The Construction of Modern Science, Ch. 2.E.J. Dijksterhuis, The Mechanisation of the World Picture on Descartes, pp. 403-418.E.A. Burtt, The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science, Ch. 4.

D.M. Clarke, Descartes’ Philosophy of Science and the Scientific Revolution, in The Cambridge Companion to Descartes, ed. J. Cottingham.D. Garber, Descartes’ Physics, in J. Cottingham (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Descartes.M. Tannery, CHMS Ch. 38, Atomism and the Mechanical Philosophy.S. Voss (ed.) Essays on the Philosophy and Science of Rene Descartes.

5. What opposition was there to the new mechanical philosophy of Descartes and Hobbes ?

3636 S.I. Mintz, The Hunting of Leviathan, Ch. 4 & 5.3355 E. Cassirer, The Platonic Renaissance in England, Ch. 5.3346 B. Easlea, Witch Hunting and the New Science, Ch. 4.

R. Peters, Hobbes, Ch. 2 & 3.E.A. Burtt, The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science, Ch. 5 pp. 117-154.M. Tamny, CHMS Ch. 38, Atomism and the Mechanical Philosophy.P. Springborg, Hobbes on Religion, in T. Sorell (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Hobbes.N. Jolley, The Reception of Descartes’ Philosophy, in J. Cottingham (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Descartes.M.J. Osteler, Divine Will and the Mechanical Philosophy.B. Willey, The Seventeenth Century Background, Ch. 6 & 8.

6. Discuss Newton's 'critical experiment' in relation to the theories of light held by the Scholastics and the Cartesians.

Isaac Newton, Opticks.

C. Hakfoort, Newton's Optics: the Changing Spectrum of Science, in J. Fauvel (ed.), Let Newton Be ! 3597 N.L. Maull, Cartesian Optics and the Geometrization of Nature.3598 D. Park, The Fire Within the Eye, Ch. 6 & 7.

G.N. Cantor, Physical Optics, in R.C Olby (ed.), CHMS pp. 627-638.A.I. Sabra, Theories of Light From Descartes to Newton.D.L. Lindberg, Theories of Vision from Al-Kindi to Kepler.C.C. Gillispie, The Edge of Objectivity, Ch. 4, Newton with His Prism and Silent Face.

7. What were the key points at issue in the Leibniz-Clarke correspondence ?

3598 H.G Alexander, The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence, Introduction.

3596 F.E.L. Priestley, The Clarke-Leibniz Controversy, in R.E Butts and J.W Davis, The Methodological Heritage of Newton.A. Koyre, Leibniz and Newton, in M.G. Frankfurt (ed.), Leibniz, a Collection of Critical Essays, pp. 239-280.

3584 C.D. Broad, Leibniz’s Last Controversy with the Newtonians, Ch. 10 in Leibniz: Metaphysics and Philosophy of Science, ed. R.S. Woolhouse

H.G. Alexander, The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence.S. Brown, Leibniz, Ch. 13, Science and Religion.D. Garber, Leibniz: Physics and Philosophy, in The Cambridge Companion to Leibniz, pp. 270-353.

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8. Was Newton a mechanical philosopher ?

3598 H.G Alexander, The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence, Introduction.

3556 A. Koyre, The Significance of the Newtonian Synthesis, in his Newtonian Studies.E.J. Dijksterhuis, The Mechanisation of the World Picture, on Newton, pp. 463-492.

3592 D. Kubrin, Newton and the Cyclical Cosmos, Journal of the History of Ideas 28 (1967), pp. 325-346.

I.B. Cohen, The Birth of a New Physics, Ch. 7, The Grand Design - A New Physics.E.A. Burtt, The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science, Ch. 7.A. Gabbey, CHMS Ch. 16, Newton and Natural Philosophy.A.R. Hall, The Scientific Revolution 1500-1800, Ch. 9, The Principiate of Newton.J. Brooke, The God of Isaac Newton, in Let Newton Be !, ed. Fauvel.A. Koyre, Newtonian Studies.

9. What role did the Royal Society play in helping to establish the new science ?

3579 M. Hunter, The Establishment of the New Science: The Experience of the Early Royal Society.3578 M. Hunter, Science and Society in Restoration England, The Significance of The Royal Society.3577 A.R. Hall, The Scientific Revolution, Ch. 7.

R. Westfall, The Construction of Modern Science, Ch. 6.S.F. Mason, A History of the Sciences, Ch. 22.M. Hunter, Science and Society in Restoration England.M.B Hall, Science in the Early Royal Society, in M. Crosland (ed.), The Emergence of Science in Western Europe.D. Stimson, Scientists and Amateurs, a History of the Royal Society.M. Ornstein, The Role of Scientific Societies in the Seventeenth Century.

General questions.

10. Write a critique of any of the following works, paying special attention to the historiography the author employs;

S. Shapin, The Scientific Revolution.E.A. Burtt, The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science.R.S. Westfall, The Construction of Modern Science.E.J. Dijksterhuis, The Mechanisation of the World Picture.A.R Hall, The Scientific Revolution, From Galileo to Newton.A. Koyre, From the Closed World to the Open Universe.I.B. Cohen, The Birth of a New Physics.T.S. Kuhn, The Copernican Revolution, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.

The following will also be useful in conjunction with the above;

H.F. Cohen, The Scientific Revolution, Ch. 2, has commentary on the approaches adopted by most of the authors above.J.A. Schuster, The Scientific Revolution, CHMS Ch. 15.J. Christie, The Development of the Historiography of Science, CHMS Ch. 1.H. Kraghe, An Introduction to the Historiography of Science.

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11. How did the nature of scientific explanation change during the seventeenth century ?

3639 G.E.R. Lloyd, Aristotle, The Growth and Structure of his Thought, pp. 57-67 and 133-181.E.J. Dijksterhuis, The Mechanisation of the World Picture, pp. 17-42.M. Tammy, Atomism and the Mechanical Philosophy, CHMS Ch. 38.

A.G. Molland, Aristotelian Science, CHMS Ch. 35.B. Willey, The Seventeenth Century Background, Ch. 1.H. Kearney, Science and Change 1500-1700.H. Kearney, Origins of the Scientific Revolution.

12. What relation was there between changes in seventeenth-century science and the growth and nature of the Protestant faith ?

1913 P.M Rattansi, Puritanism and Science: The Merton Thesis after Fifty Years, in J. Clarke (ed.), Robert K. Merton, Consensus and Controversy, pp. 351-369.

3583 A.R. Hall, Merton Revisited.S. Shapin, Understanding the Merton Thesis, Isis 79, pp. 594-605.

3581 R.K Merton, Puritanism, Pietism and Science.J.H Brooke, Science and Religion, CHMS Ch. 50.B. Willey, The Seventeenth Century Background, Ch. 1.S.F Mason, A History of the Sciences, Ch. 16.I.B Cohen, Puritanism and the Rise of Modern Science.R.S Westfall, Science and Religion in Seventeenth Century England.R. Hooykaas, Religion and the Rise of Modern Science.I.G. Barbour, Religion and Science.J.H. Brooke, Science and Religion.

13. Compare Descartes and Hobbes on the nature of the human mind.

J.W. Reeves, Body and Mind in Western Thought, Ch. 6.3576 R. Peters, Hobbes, Ch. 3 & 4.3575 B. Williams, Descartes, Ch. 10.

R.M. Young, CHMS Ch. 46, the Mind-Body Problem.R. Descartes, Meditations, Meditation 6.T. Hobbes, Leviathan.DoSB on Descartes, Hobbes.S.V Keeling, Descartes, Ch. 6.M.D Wilson, Descartes, Ch. 6.Hobbes, Descartes, 3rd Set of Objections and Replies, in The Philosophical Writings of Descartes,vol. 2, ed. Cottingham, Stoothoff and Murdoch.

14. What was the nature of the scientific revolution ?

J.A. Schuster, The Scientific Revolution, CHMS Ch. 15.3580 H.F. Cohen, The Scientific Revolution - see esp. Ch. 4.2 on why the Greeks didn’t create the

scientific revolution.B. Willey, The Seventeenth Century Background, Ch. 1.

S. Shapin, The Scientific Revolution.T.S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.E.A. Burtt, The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science, Introduction & Conclusion.Any general work on the scientific revolution.

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University College London. · Web viewOne 3,000 word essay, deadline for final version Friday 13th December. I will give comments and advice on any draft essay you give me before