HISTORY OF THE MODERN SCIENTIFIC CULTURES

This course covers the modern foundations of what we now call "modern science"; problematizes its cultural, social, and theoretical aspects; and, lastly, investigates how such historically- and culturally-rooted idea of scientific culture reflects on, and differs from, today's understanding of scientific rationality. Starting from the late 16th and 17th centuries, the class will go over the main themes of the so-called "Scientific Revolution", setting the various transformations of (especially) early modern cosmology, medicine, and natural sciences against their theoretical, metaphysical, social, and political backgrounds. Particular emphasis will be given to the issue of the relationship between science and religion, authority and free inquiry; to the transformation of metaphysical and epistemological systems of thought entailed in the "new sciences" of the modern period; and to the political and institutional settings which promoted, and sometimes hindered, scientific development. On the basis of this historical background, the class will then provide a critical assessment, in particular, of two questions that animate today's reflection on scientific culture: first, was there indeed a "scientific revolution" in the modern times? Lastly, how does today's understanding of scientific culture relate to its historical origins?

The class has main goals. The first goal is to offer an account of the emergence of the scientific culture in the early modern period, bringing to the fore the various aspects (social, political, and religious, as well as metaphysical and epistemological ones) that determined and characterized the transformations in the understanding of disciplines such as cosmology, medicine, and chemistry. The second is to use this historical background to reflect critically on the idea of scientific culture and scientific rationality that we received from this tradition. More specific goals include the understanding of the following issues:
• The emergence of modern cosmology, medicine, and natural sciences on the background of their Aristotelian-Scholastic background.
• The issue of the relationship between different kinds of authorities (religious, political, and intellectual) and the new scientific sensibility.
• The social, political, and institutional settings that promoted or hindered the emergence of modern scientific cultures.
• The new epistemological approaches to the investigation of nature.
• Revolution or continuity? The a posteriori construction of the idea of modern science.
• Science now and then. Current scientific rationality and the relation with its historical background.

The class does not require any previous knowledge of the history of science. Basic knowledge in the history of philosophy and general history is desirable.

The class will first focus on general interpretations concerning the scientific transformations of the early modern period, starting from Thomas Kuhn's "The Structures of Scientific Revolutions". It will be then divided in 4 sections. One section will deal with epistemology, and will investigate the polemics against Aristotelian Scholasticism, the rise of an experimental sensibility, and that of rationalism. A second section will be devoted to cosmology; after having setting the scene by describing the general outline of the Ptolemaic and Aristotelian worldview, it will deal with early modern cosmological debates, taking into account their social and religious implications. A third section will be devoted to observation, ranging from experiments to microscopes, from anatomy to medicine. The last section will explore the the rise of scientific institutions, also with reference to the connection between science, power, and the Western colonial enterprise. In the end, the class will return on the initial question on the "scientific revolution", with the idea of offering an assessment of this notion informed by the content of the class.

The class will be mainly based on the reading of primary sources, which will be made available by the lecturer on the class website.

The class will comprise a mid-term test in a form that will be discussed between the lecturer and the students. Concerning the final evaluation, students will have the choice between the oral examination on the class content, and the draft of an individual essay on a topic to be agreed upon with the lecturer.

scritto e orale

The methodologies followed will be mainly two: lecturing and discussion of primary texts and sources.