HISTORY OF SCIENCE - Ancient Philosophy of Science

Other subject area

About this course

This course serves as an introduction to the ancient Greek-Roman philosophy of science, spanning from the “Presocratic” naturalists (7th century BC) to Galen (2nd century AD). Emphasis will be placed on significant philosophical writings and influential figures that left a profound imprint on the fields of physics, biology, mathematics, and medicine.

Lecture topics: Session 1 : Introduction and the Ionians naturalists (Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes) Session 2 : Parmenides, Hippocrates, and the main pluralists (Anaxagoras, Empedocles) Session 3: The early Pythagoreans and Plato’s Timaeus (plus extracts from Republic, book VII, and Theaetetus) Session 4 : Aristotle’s main works on physics and biology (selected extracts from Physics, On Generation and Corruption, On the Parts of Animals, and On the Soul) Session 6 : The atomists (Democritus, Epicurus’ Letter to Herodotus and Letter to Pythocles, Lucretius’ On the Nature of Things) Session 7 : Heraclitus and Stoic physics (Aratus’ Phenomena, Seneca’s Natural questions, Manilius’ Astronomics) Session 8 : Hellenistic Greek geometers (Euclides, Archimedes, Erathostenes, Hero of Alexandria) Session 9 : Hellenistic Greek medicine (Herophilus, Erasistratus, Nicander, Asclepiades) Session 10 : Posidonius and Roman encyclopedias (Pliny the Elder’s Natural History, Celsus’ On Medicine, Vitruvius’ On Architecture) Session 11 : Aristarchus of Samos and Ptolemy (selected extracts from the On the Criterion, Almagest, and Harmonics) Session 12 : Galen’s neo-Hippocratism (selected extracts from On the Elements according to Hippocrates, On the Natural Faculties, On the Uses of Parts, On the Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato) Session 13 : Final discussion and oral/poster presentations

SEMESTER START: March 30, 2025

Day & Time: TBD (will be announced by mid-December)

Contact Hours per Week: 2

The lessons are online. There is no final exam, but students must finish their assignments by March 2nd, 2025.

Primary Reading (mandatory):
The lecturer will prepare an anthology containing selected passages from the texts of ancient philosophers of science. The twelve chapters are preceded by a short introduction providing relevant details about the philosophers' lives and key ideas. Students are expected to read one chapter (maximum 3-4 pages long) prior to each session, allowing them to arrive in class prepared with questions for discussion. Additionally, these passages will be further analyzed and discussed on the Perusall platform (see below).

Further Reading (suggested):
Barnes, J. (1982), The Presocratic Philosophers, Routledge. De Santillana, G. (1961). The Origins of Scientific Thought, The New American Library. Feke, J. (2018). Ptolemy’s Philosophy: Mathematics as a Way of Life. Princeton University Press. Huffman, C.A. (1993). Philolaus of Croton. Cambridge University Press. Long, A., Sedley, D. (1987), The Hellenistic Philosophers. Cambridge University Press. Nutton, V. (2014). Ancient Medicine. Routledge. Nutton, V. (2020). Galen: a Thinking Doctor in imperial Rome. Routledge. Tieleman, T. (2018). Stoicism and the natural world: philosophy and science. In Keyser, P.T., Scarborough, J. (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Science and Medicine in the Classical World. Oxford University Press: pp. 677-698. Tipton, J. (2014). Philosophical biology in Aristotle’s «Parts of animals». Springer. Wardhaughm, B. (2021). Encounters with Euclid: How an Ancient Greek Geometry Text Shaped the World. Princeton University Press. Wilson, M. (2000). Aristotle's Theory of the Unity of Science. University of Toronto Press. Zeyl, D.J. (2000). Plato: Timaeus. Cambridge University Press.

Expected learning outcomes

By the end of this course students will be able to: • Demonstrate a basic knowledge of the development of the ancient philosophy of science; • Compare science and philosophy by focusing on the scientific and/or technological advancements attributed to ancient philosophers; • Read ancient philosophical texts with both historical sensitivity, acknowledging the values and worldviews of the past, and philosophical insight, namely to evaluate critically the logic, methods, and ideas conveyed by these texts; • Recognize various methods of conducting science in antiquity and apply them to contemporary scientific practice; • Discuss complex philosophical problems rigorously and informedly.