History of Science

Dr. Tom Keene

Fall 2008

 

Study Guide for the Final

 

 

The exam will focus on material covered in class since the mid-term, except for the comparative world view question.

 

The following subjects were covered since the mid-term:

·        Scientific Societies and the Enlightenment

·        Pietism and the Enlightenment

·        From Alchemy to Mendeleff (periodic chart)

·        Early biology to Erasmus Darwin

·        Geology to Charles Lyell

·        Lamarck, Darwin and Darwin’s doubts

·        Acceptance of Darwininsm in America - to Cobb sticker shock

·        Neo-Darwinian Thought

·        The Kuhn Thesis

·        The Revolution of 20th Century Physics

·        Evolutionary Cosmology

 

Themes to be aware of for the entire course:

·        Logos

·        The Thrown Stone, Impetus and Inertia

·        Pythagoreanism

·        Platonism and Neo-Platonism

·        Empiricism and Experimentalism

·        Professionalization of Science

·        The Expansion of Space and Time

·        Purpose, Meaning and Design in Nature

·        The End of “Certainty”

 

 

The Exam will be structured as follows:

1.   Connections (30-40 points)

2.   Worldview Fundamentals (20-30 points)

3.   General Essay (30-40 points)