本课程是基于内容与语言融合教学的一门通识选修课课程,适合有一定英语基础的大学本科生和研究生修读。所有教学材料节选自原版英文著作,在提高学生科学素质的同时,也培养了他们的英语应用能力和跨文化交际能力。课程以英语为教学语言,以故事的形式向学生介绍西方科学史上直接影响或改变人类自然科学研究轨迹的著作和学者及其相关历史、传记和专业知识。教学内容不仅突出科学史上的重要发现,还要向学生揭示思考科学的方式,帮助他们理解科学的本质,找到科学和日常生活的联系,树立科学的人生观,最终达到培养学生科学精神的目的。
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Syllabus
- Chapter 1 Hippocrates: The First Scientific Work
- 1.Hippocrates' life story
- 2.Hippocratic writings
- 3.Hippocratic theory
- 4.Three major treatments
- 5.From the West to the East
- Chapter 2 Plato: The First Big-picture Accounts of the Universe
- 1.Phusis
- 2.Explaining phusis
- 3.The first theory of everything
- 4.From the West to the East
- Chapter 3 Aristotle:The First Theory of Evolution
- 1.The School of Athens
- 2.Changes and teleology
- 3.Fallacies and insights
- 4.From the West to the East
- Chapter 4 Ptolemy: The Earth-Centered Universe
- 1.Previously on A Brief History of Western Science
- 2.An erroneous understanding of the universe
- 3.An unquestioned model
- 4.A truism for 1400 years
- 5. From the West to the East
- Chapter 5 Copernicus: The Last Ancient Astronomer
- 1.Previously on A Brief History of Western Science
- 2.Commentariolus (1514)
- 3.On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (1543)
- 4.The dedication to Pope Paul lll
- 5.From the West to the East
- Chapter 6 Bacon: A New Proposal
- 1.Previously on A Brief History of Western Science
- 2.An ambitious project
- 3.A challenge to Aristotle
- 4.Bacon's legacy
- 5.From the West to the East
- Chapter 7 Vesalius: Look with Both Eyes
- 1.Claudius Galen and ancient anatomy
- 2.Andreas Vesalius and the rise of human dissection
- 3.From the West to the East
- Chapter 8 Harvey: Demonstration
- 1.A Lecturer in anatomy
- 2.A theory based on deduction
- 3.A theory based on induction
- 4.From the West to the East
- Chapter 9 Galileo: The Death of Aristotle
- 1.Galileo at Pisa
- 2.Galileo at Padua
- 3.The Sidereal Messenger
- 4.An epic battle
- 5.The Dialogue
- 6.The death of geocentric model
- 7.From the West to the East
- Chapter 10 Boyle: Instruments and Helps (1)
- 1.Encounter with Galileo's ldeas in Florence
- 2.The air pump and Boyle's Law
- 3.The evolution of chemistry
- 4.From the West to the East
- Chapter 11 Hooke: Instruments and Helps (2)
- 1.The first full-time scientist in history
- 2.The extensions of human senses and reason
- 3.Mircrographia: The Path to New Knowledge
- 4.From the West to the East
- Chapter 12 Newton: Rules of Reasoning
- 1.School years
- 2.Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy
- 3.Calculus
- 4.From the West to the East
- Chapter 13 Einstein: Genius
- 1.Childhood
- 2.Youth
- 3.Rise to fame
- 4.War and peace
- Chapter 14 Marie Curie: A life of Radiance and Resilience
- 1.Early life and education
- 2.Scientific partnership and breakthroughs
- 3.Later years and legacy
- Chapter 15 Hawking: The Theory of Everything
- 1.Early years and education
- 2.Diagnosis and academic rise
- 3.Black hole revelation and prestige
- 4.“A Brief History” and voice synthesizer
- 5.Final chapters and legacy
- 6.From the West to the East
- Final Exam
Taught by
PENG YI, YI JINLAN, JI FEIYAN, LI YA, YE LING, and CHEN ZHONGXIANG