Everything about The History And Philosophy Of Science totally explained
The
history and philosophy of science (HPS) is an
academic discipline that encompasses the
philosophy of science and the
history of science. Although many scholars in the field are trained primarily as either historians or as philosophers, there are degree-granting departments of HPS at several prominent universities (see below).
A Unified Discipline
While it may seem an umbrella term, as described above people in the field of HPS consider this fusion of history of science with philosophy of science to be perfectly natural. The origin of this hybrid approach is reflected in the career of
Thomas Kuhn. His first permanent appointment, at the
University of California, Berkeley, was to a position advertised by the philosophy department, but he also taught courses from the history department. When he was promoted to full professor in the history department only, Kuhn was offended at the philosophers' rejection because "I sure as hell wanted to be there, and it was my philosophy students who were working with me, not on philosophy but on history, were nevertheless my more important students". This attitude is also reflected in his historicist approach, as outlined in Kuhn's seminal
Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962, 2nd ed. 1970), wherein philosophical questions about scientific theories and, especially, theory change are understood in historical terms, employing concepts such as
paradigm shift.
History and development
More recently the
sociology of science and
technology studies have become popular topics and a few HPS departments have become
Science Studies departments, for example, the School of History and Philosophy of Science at the
University of New South Wales was known as the School of Science and Technology Studies (STS) from the mid-1980s until 2001. For this reason it can be argued that the fields are identical and that the difference is only one of emphasis. While it may seem that STS is a broader concept, leaving room for other approaches to science such as sociology of science, HPS departments are not usually as exclusive as a literal interpretation of the name might imply.
HPS Programs
The following universities have departments dedicated to the History and Philosophy of Science:
The
University of Leeds has a unit for HPS within the philosophy department
(External Link
)
The following universities offer inter-departmental programs in HPS:
University of Chicago offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in HPS
California Institute of Technology offers an undergraduate program in HPS through their Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences
University of California, Berkeley offers a program in HPS administered by the departments of History and Philosophy
University of Notre Dame offers a graduate program in HPS through their Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values with students admitted to either the history or philosophy department
Stanford University offers a program in HPS administered by the departments of History and Philosophy
Similar Programs
Many universities also have history of science programs, which don't include any philosophy of science. Others may provide a philosophy of science track within normal philosophy departments. Often these departments are named to clarify this emphasis on philosophy of science:
University of California, Irvine has a department of Logic and Philosophy of Science (External Link)
London School of Economics has a department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method (External Link), which offers a highly regarded post-graduate program in philosophy and history of science.
Those departments that study aspects of science apart from history and philosophy often prefer more general descriptions such as Science studies or Science and Technology Studies:
University of California, San Diego offers a graduate program in Science Studies through the departments of History, Philosophy, Sociology and Communication (External Link)
University of Wollongong offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs in "Science, Technology and Society" through the School of Social Sciences, Media and Communications.(External Link)
University of Malaya offers undergraduate and graduate programs in "History and Philosophy of Science" and "Science and Technology Policy Studies" through the Department of Science and Technology Studies (External Link).Further Information
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