This course addresses the great revolutions of Modern science, in physics, astronomy, and the biosciences.

In physics the first revolution in physics is associated with several developments that began in astronomy: experimental discoveries by Galileo with the telescope, the idea of a new sun-centered, planetary system by Copernicus, Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, and finally the formulation by Newton of the universal law of motion and the universal law of gravity.

The second revolution comes with dramatic developments in physics, such as the discovery of electromagnetic and sub-atomic forces, Einstein’s theories of special relativity and general relativity, and quantum mechanics – theories with profound implications for the way we understand the universe.

The first revolution in the biological sciences is the work of Darwin, building on earlier achievements in classification; the second is the development of biochemistry and physiological medicine; and the third is the arrival of molecular biology and genetics. All are based on a naturalistic exploration of the world, entirely appropriate as long as it is a scientific convenience rather than (as Dawkins et alia maintain) the height of logical rationalism. But what does science tell us about what we are? Is purely naturalistic thinking, appropriate to the practice of science, adequate as an understanding of man?