HON 212 | Origins of the Modern World View

A study of the development of attempts by scientific thinkers to understand and explain the universe. The central theme is the development of astronomy and physics, but some mention is made of corollary studies in mathematics and other sciences. A major portion of the course is devoted to the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century and the work of Kepler, Galileo, and Newton. Another major portion concerns the development of twentieth-century physics, concentrating on relativity and the quantum theory as developed by Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, and others.