General Introductory Courses

• HPSC-X 100 Human Perspectives on Science (3 cr.) Selected issues in the history and philosophy of science. Individual sections will vary in content and major themes, but all will employ case studies to examine the philosophical, cultural, institutional, and social impact of science on our lives. Departmental flyers, available at registration time, will describe each section in detail. May be repeated once for credit with different topic.

• HPSC-X 102 Revolutions in Science: Plato to NATO (3 cr.) An introduction to the formative steps in the scientific tradition. The course will survey in a chronological sequence aspects of the Aristotelian worldview, the Copernican revolution, the mechanical philosophy, the chemical and Darwinian revolutions, and the rise of twentieth-century science.

• HPSC-X 104 Science and Culture (3 cr.) Studies science as a human activity that both contributes and responds to cultural change. Presents and compares a mix of recent and historical cases, which bring out the complex relations between science and such aspects of culture as the arts, commerce, religion, sports, food, gender, race, and conceptions of human nature.

• HPSC-X 110 Scientists at Work: from Frankenstein to Einstein (3 cr.) Introduction to the study of science as a cultural phenomenon. Exploration of the individual and collective behavior of scientists in historical and contemporary contexts using materials from history, biography, sociology, journalism, fiction, drama, poetry, and film.

• HPSC-X 111 Ethical Issues in Biological and Medical Sciences (3 cr.) Investigation of ethical issues that arise in the biological and medical sciences, the impact of these issues on the behavior of scientists during the conduct of scientific research, and on the role of science in discussions about ethics and public policy. Introduction to major ethical theories and critical reasoning in biological and medical ethics.

• HPSC-X 138 Science and Religion (3 cr.) Examines the relationship between science and religion in terms of its areas of inquiry, social institutions, and historical phenomena. Topics will include Mesopotamian astronomy and astrology, science and the Church in the Middle Ages, Galileo and the Church, Christianity and the Newtonian worldview, the Darwinian Revolution and creationism, and the impact of contemporary physics on theology. Credit given for only one of X138 or X338.

• HPSC-X 200 Scientific Reasoning (3 cr.) Patterns of scientific reasoning presented in a simple form useful to both nonscientists and prospective scientists for understanding and evaluating scientific information of all sorts. Illustrations in the natural, biological, behavioral, and biomedical sciences are drawn from a wide variety of historical and contemporary sources, including popular magazines and newspapers.

• HPSC-X 207 The Occult in Western Civilization (3 cr.) Critical and historical evaluation of a wide range of occult topics: superstitions, magic, witchcraft, astrology, the Cabala, psychic phenomena (mesmerism, spiritualism, ESP), and UFOs.

Science, History, and Culture

• HPSC-X 205 Introduction to Medical History (3 cr.) From primitive humans to the present: survey of medical concepts, systems of health care, and the social relations of physician and patient.

• HPSC-X 206 Boom! Who's Afraid of Nuclear Power and Radiation? (3 cr.) Studies the history of the discovery of radioactivity through the development of the first atomic bomb. Weighs risks and benefits of nuclear power and radioactivity in the age of climate change, alternative power sources and medical technology. Emphasizes the methodological, political, and moral challenges of judging risks and making decisions about human health and environmental safety.

• HPSC-X 227 Computers Limited: What Computers Cannot Do (3 cr.) Acquaints learners with the logical limits of computation and with their migration into physics from the framework of the foundations of mathematics within which they were originally conceived.

• HPSC-X 229 History and Philosophy of Modern Physics (3 cr.) Introduction to foundational concepts in statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, special relativity and general relativity. Discussion of philosophical issues concerning the nature of the material world and the process of scientific inquiry. Emphasis on developing writing skills and the ability to present complex ideas clearly and critically.

• HPSC-X 240 Engaging Science: Communication and Public Understanding of Scientific Research (3 cr.) The outcome of scientific research informs and shapes our society and culture at all levels. This course explores how science engages with the public, how the public engages with science, and how the relation between science and the public has changed over time.

• HPSC-X 305 History and Philosophy of Medicine (3 cr.) The history of public health and medicine from ancient to modern times. Addresses a selection of historical, philosophical and ethical problems including medical understandings of the body; ideas about the nature and causes of disease, from "airs" and "humors" to germs to genetic predispositions; assessment of risks and liabilities.

• HPSC-X 306 Understanding Pictures: Aesthetics and Science (3 cr.) Examines cultural, historical and philosophical issues involving the use of still and moving images in science. Are pictures necessary? For what? How do pictures represent? How do they get designed, used and understood? What can pictures represent or communicate? Can they equally represent facts and values? How do they work as evidence, or as tools for thinking? What is the role of film in science and science in film?

• HPSC-X 308 History of Biology (3 cr.) P: Two college-level courses in the life sciences. Survey of the important concepts in biology from antiquity to the mid-twentieth century. Emphasis will be on changes in evolution theory and concepts of development and inheritance. Credit not given for both X408 and X308.

• HPSC-X 327 The Computer: A Biography (3 cr.) The history and philosophy behind the development of the digital computer. Focuses on major landmarks in the history of computing machines to illustrate the interrelatedness of computer science, mathematics, and physics to modern society. Discussion of philosophical questions ("Do human beings compute?") and ethical concerns such as the Internet's impact on privacy.

• HPSC-X 340 Scientific Methods: How Science Really Works (3 cr.) Science is governed by methods: methods for performing experiments, analyzing data, testing hypotheses, and writing scientific papers. This course frames the philosophical and historical debates about scientific methods and introduces the conceptual tools to discuss and reflect on the rules and procedures that make the pursuit of knowledge scientific.

• HPSC-X 342 Arborescence: Keeping Trees in Mind (3 cr.) Examines trees and forests as conspicuous natural objects that play a multivalent role in human imagination, thinking, and emotion. Explores the intertwined natural and cultural trajectory of trees in evolutionary, historical, and psychological dimensions. Topics include ecosystem services, human uses and attitudes, deforestation, IU's woodland campus, and ecological ethics.

• HPSC-X 424 Neuropsychological Pathography (3 cr.) P: PSY-P 324. How do people conceptualize and write about their mental trauma and psychological distress? Personal narratives of depression, aphasia, head injury, and other forms of neurological damage and emotional affliction are examined from a variety of perspectives and considered for their contribution to clinical science, rehabilitative services, and popular understanding of limits to human experience.

Philosophical Issues within the Sciences

• HPSC-X 390 Space, Time, and Relativity (3 cr.) Topics in the philosophy of space, time, and spacetime. Theory of motion and Zeno’s paradoxes; St. Augustine on time; time and becoming; relational versus absolute theories of space and time; Mach’s principle; introduction to Einstein’s theory of relativity and space-time.

• HPSC-X 391 Philosophical Issues in Quantum Theory (3 cr.) An examination of philosophical problems and challenges raised by quantum theory. Topics include Heisenberg uncertainty relations, non-locality and EPR paradox, hidden variables, interpretations of quantum theory. No previous knowledge of quantum theory is assumed.

• HPSC-X 406 Survey of History of Science up to 1750 (3 cr.) Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, and Enlightenment science.

• HPSC-X 407 Survey of History of Science since 1750 (3 cr.) P: Junior standing or consent of instructor. R: at least one course sequence in Western history (such as H103-H104). Growth of quantitative methods in physical science and experimental methods in physical science and experimental methods in natural history. Gradual separation of science from philosophy and theology.

Fundamental Problems in Philosophy of Science

• HPSC-X 451 Scientific Understanding (3 cr.) P: Junior standing or consent of instructor. R: one course in philosophy or philosophy of science. Science claims to tell us what the world is like, even the part of the world we cannot see, and to explain why things happen the way they do. But these claims are controversial. This course examines competing models of scientific explanation and the ongoing debate over whether scientific theories should or even can be interpreted realistically.

• HPSC-X 452 Modern Philosophy of Science (3 cr.) P: Junior standing or consent of instructor. R: one course in philosophy or philosophy of science. Examines the origin and character of twentieth-century philosophy of science by investigating the historical development—in interaction with parallel developments within the sciences themselves—from 1800 to the early twentieth century. Hermann von Helmholtz, Ernst Mach, Henri Poincare, Moritz Schlick, and Rudolf Carnap.

Special Topics and Seminars

• HPSC-X 123 Perspectives on Science: Social and Historical (3 cr.) Individual sections will vary in content and major themes, but all will employ case studies from the history of science to examine the intellectual, cultural, and social impact of science for a variety of historical perspectives. Various case studies are presented at an introductory level. May be repeated with a different topic for a total of 6 credit hours.

• HPSC-X 126 Perspectives on Science: Natural and Mathematical (3 cr.) Individual sections will vary in content and major themes, but all will employ case studies to illustrate, from a variety of perspectives, the logic and methods of the natural and mathematical sciences. Examples illustrating these methods are presented at an introductory level. May be repeated with a different topic for a total of 6 credit hours.

• HPSC-X 220 Issues in Science: Humanistic (3 cr.) General topics and themes in the history and philosophy of science. Departmental flyers, available at registration time, will describe each section in detail. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours.

• HPSC-X 223 Issues in Science: Social and Historical (3 cr.) Individual sections will vary in the central issue to be discussed, but all will engage in an examination of some issue concerning the intellectual, cultural, and social impact of science in historical perspective. Designed to investigate the evidence and arguments related to different interpretations of or approaches to the central theme or issue of the course. May be repeated with a different topic for a total of 6 credit hours.

• HPSC-X 226 Issues in Science: Natural and Mathematical (3 cr.) Individual sections will vary in the central issue to be discussed, but all will engage in an examination of some issue concerning the logic and methods of the natural and mathematical sciences, with a view toward understanding those methods and the role they play in scientific theorizing generally. Designed to investigate the evidence and arguments related to different positions on the role or value of such methods in science. May be repeated with a different topic for a total of 6 credit hours.

• HPSC-X 320 Topics in Science: Humanistic (3 cr.) Specialized topics and themes in the history and philosophy of science. Departmental flyers, available at registration time, will discuss each section in detail. May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 9 credit hours.

• HPSC-X 323 Topics in Science: Social and Historical (3 cr.) Specialized topics and themes relating to the intellectual, cultural, and social impact of science in historical perspective. Students will engage with primary source material and with debates about how that material ought to be understood. May be repeated with a different topic for a total of 6 credit hours.

• HPSC-X 326 Topics in Science: Natural and Mathematical (3 cr.) Specialized topics and themes relating to the logic and methods of the natural and mathematical sciences, with a view toward understanding those methods and the role they play in scientific theorizing. Students will engage with actual philosophical debates about the proper understanding of an application of such methods in science. May be repeated with a different topic for a total of 6 credit hours.

• HPSC-X 333 Capstone Project in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine (1 cr.) P: Completion of at least 18 credit hours of coursework that applies to the certificate. Students must attend at least one talk in the Department's colloquium series and then perform a research project or produce a research paper relevant to the topic of one of the presenters.

• HPSC-X 392 Undergraduate Readings in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine (1-5 cr.) Individualized readings for students in history and philosophy of science and medicine. May be used with consent of instructor as an alternative to other undergraduate courses. May be repeated for a maximum of 5 credit hours in X392 and X300.

• HPSC-X 420 Advanced Seminar in the History and Philosophy of Science (3-4 cr.) This seminar offers specialized topics and themes in history and philosophy of science. Weekly meetings and reports on weekly reading assignments. Consult departmental flyers available at registration time for seminar topic and structure. May be repeated once with a different topic for a maximum of 8 credit hours.