Goals

To invite the student to be aware about the complex and multifactorial dynamics of the historical evolution of the sciences.

Content

The class will be organized in three different phases:

- Lectures about a paradigmatic historical case of a scientific revolution, namely the Copernician revolution;

- Lectures devoted to draw general conclusions from this case about the dynamics of theory sucession in science, in particular during revolutionary phases;

- The writing of a personnal paper on the occasion of which the student will transfer the content of these lectures to a scientific revolution of his/her choice.

Assessment method

Oral exam during which the student will be tested on the content of the lectures as well as on the content of his/her written report (to be sent to the teacher before the exam session).

Sources, references and any support material

Besides the books mentioned below, the slides used during the magistral lectures will be provided via WebCampus.

Kuhn, T. (2016 [1957]). La révolution copernicienne. Paris: Les Belles Lettres.

Kuhn, T. (1983 [1962]). La structure des révolutions scientifiques. Paris: Flammarion.

Gingras, Y. (2021). Histoire des sciences. Paris: Presses universitaires de France.

 

Language of instruction

Français