Teacher: Laurent Loison
CNRS, SPHERE, Paris (UMR 7219)
This course is a general introduction to the history of science. It has two main objectives. The first is to make accessible the rise of scientific rationality from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt to the recent advent of molecular biology. With this in mind, particular attention will be paid to certain key moments such as the Galilean and the Darwinian revolutions. The second is to offer an epistemological reflection on the nature of the scientific activity. From this perspective, the issue of finality and finalism will be the major guideline. 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.
