Course: Renaissance and Early Modern Science

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Course title Renaissance and Early Modern Science
Course code KFI/V2HN
Organizational form of instruction Lecture + Seminar
Level of course Master
Year of study not specified
Semester Summer
Number of ECTS credits 6
Language of instruction Czech
Status of course unspecified
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Kastnerová Martina, PhDr. Ph.D.
  • Demjančuk Nikolaj, Doc. PhDr. CSc.
  • Černá Jana, PhDr. Ph.D.
Course content
1. Cultural context of formation of modern science. Renaissance thinking and its main charakteristics. 2. Theoretical and philosophical assumptions of modern science (M. Cusa, Leonardo da Vinci, Erasmus of Rotterdam). 3.Picture of the universe, of nature, of man in the work of B. Telesio, G. Bruno, T. Campanella. 4. Revolution in Astronomy (M. Copernicus, Brahe, T., J. Kepler). 5. Formation of modern science in the work of Galileo Galilei, the paradoxes of his theoretical thinking. 6. Atomistic program of the 17th and 18th centuries (P. Gassendi, Ch. Hyugens, R. Boyle, R. Boskovich). 7. Scientific program, methodology of physics in the work of Newton. Influence of Newton's ideas on the culture of the 18th century. 8. Reflection of contemporary science in the empiricism of the 17th and 18th centuries (F. Bacon, J. Locke, T. Hobbes, J. Berkeley, D. Hume) 9. Reflection of contemporary science in the rationalism of the 17th and 18th century (R. Descartes, Spinoza B., P. Gassendi, B. Pascal, G. Vico) 10. The scientific program of G. Leibniz and his philosophical ideas, doctrine of the method and the disposition of nature. 11. Philosophy, Science and Society in the Age of Enlightenment. Reflection of science in the work of the Enlightenment (J. d'Alembert, D. Diderot, Condillac E., N. de Condorset J. La Mettrie, Holbach P., J. J. Rousseua, Ch. Wolff) 12. The institutional anchoring and forms of science and technology in modern times. Scientific communication.

Learning activities and teaching methods
Interactive lecture, Discussion, Students' portfolio, Seminar classes
  • Contact hours - 52 hours per semester
  • Presentation preparation (report) (1-10) - 10 hours per semester
  • Preparation for an examination (30-60) - 54 hours per semester
  • Graduate study programme term essay (40-50) - 40 hours per semester
prerequisite
Knowledge
to list the key figures of science of the period
to describe problems that were solved in science in the given period
to explain the basic terms of science of a given historical period
Skills
to use with understanding the basic terminology of science of the period
to reproduce the argumentation contained in the given contemporary scientific text
to use modern technologies, especially information databases
Competences
N/A
N/A
N/A
learning outcomes
Knowledge
to explain the philosophical thoughts of the pivotal personalities of the modern science.
to systematically define and describe the topics and history of scientific disciplines in a given period of time
to comprehensively explain the origin of discoveries and knowledge and clarify their relationship to the contemporary intellectual, social and cultural context
to to reflect and discuss the philosophical foundations of scientific disciplines in a given historical period
Skills
to innovatively reflect the texts of selected authors related to scientific topics
to recognize and formulate the assumptions and consequences of scientific ideas of the period
Competences
N/A
N/A
N/A
teaching methods
Knowledge
Lecture
Interactive lecture
Discussion
Seminar classes
Self-study of literature
Skills
Seminar
Students' portfolio
Individual study
Competences
Self-study of literature
Individual study
Students' portfolio
assessment methods
Knowledge
Individual presentation at a seminar
Seminar work
Combined exam
Skills
Seminar work
Individual presentation at a seminar
Competences
Combined exam
Individual presentation at a seminar
Seminar work
Recommended literature
  • Ball, P. Ďáblův doktor. Paracelsus a svět renesanční magie a vědy. Praha, 2009. ISBN 9788020016768.
  • Dear, P. Revolutionizing the Sciences. European Knowledge and Its Ambitions, 1500-1700. London, 2001.
  • Ebeling, F. Tajemství Herma Trismegista. Dějiny hermetismu. Praha, 2009. ISBN 978-80-86702-60-5.
  • Ferguson, Kitty. Tycho a Kepler : nesourodá dvojice, jež jednou provždy změnila náš pohled na vesmír. Vyd. 1. Praha : Academia, 2009. ISBN 978-80-200-1713-0.
  • Gaukroger, Stephen. The emergence of a scientific culture : science and the shaping of modernity, 1210-1685. Oxford : Clarendon Press, 2006. ISBN 0-19-929644-8.
  • Henry, J. The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science. Palgrave Macmilllan, 2008.
  • Horský, Zdeněk. Kepler v Praze. Praha : Mladá fronta, 1980.
  • Horský, Zdeněk; Lelková, Iva. Koperník a české země : soubor studií o renesanční kosmologii a nové vědě. Červený Kostelec : Pavel Mervart, 2011. ISBN 978-80-87378-87-8.
  • Karpenko, Vladimír. Alchymie : nauka mezi snem a skutečností. Vyd. 1. Praha : Academia, 2007. ISBN 978-80-200-1491-7.
  • Koyré, Alexandre. Od uzavřeného světa k nekonečnému vesmíru. Vyd. 1. V Praze : Vyšehrad, 2004. ISBN 80-7021-586-0.
  • Kraus, Ivo. Fyzika od Thaléta k Newtonovi : kapitoly z dějin fyziky. Vyd. 1. Praha : Academia, 2007. ISBN 978-80-200-1540-2.
  • Lindberg, David C.; Westman, Robert S. Reappraisals of the scientific revolution. 1st pub. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1990. ISBN 0-521-34804-8.
  • Nejeschleba, Tomáš. Jan Jessenius v kontextu renesanční filosofie. Vyd. 1. Praha : Vyšehrad, 2008. ISBN 978-80-7021-909-6.
  • Osler, Margaret J. Rethinking the scientific revolution. 1st pub. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-521-66790-9.
  • Park, Katharine; Daston, Lorraine. The Cambridge history of science. Vol. 3, Early modern science. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-521-57244-4.
  • Priesner, Claus; Figala, Karin. Lexikon alchymie a hermetických věd. Vyd. 1. Praha : Vyšehrad, 2006. ISBN 80-7021-815-0.
  • Shapin, Steven. The scientific revolution. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1996. ISBN 0-226-75021-3.
  • White, Michael. Antikrist Galileo : životopis. Vyd. 1. Praha : Academia, 2011. ISBN 978-80-200-1899-1.
  • Yatesová, F. Giordano Bruno a hermetická tradice. Praha, 2009.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester