Note: This is the 2010–2011 edition of the eCalendar. Update the year in your browser's URL bar for the most recent version of this page, or click here to jump to the newest eCalendar.
Program Requirements
History and Philosophy of Science at McGill is an interdisciplinary program that aims to provide students with an understanding of science through the study of both its historical development and of some of the fundamental philosophical principles upon which it rests. There is an ongoing seminar series of talks by visiting speakers; please visit and .
Complementary Courses (18 credits)
18 credits with a maximum of 9 credits at the 200 level selected as follows:
Philosophy of Science
6-12 credits of courses focused on the Philosophy of Science with no more than 6 credits at the 200 level chosen from the following:
Communication Studies (COMS)
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COMS 210 Introduction to Communication Studies (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : The social and cultural implications of media. Surveys theory and case studies relevant key issues such as the ownership, structure and governance of media industries; the significance of emergent media technologies; and the roles of media as cultural forms and practices.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Hink Jr, Richard (Fall)
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken ENGL 278 or ENGC 210
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COMS 410 Cultures in Visualization (3 credits)
Overview
Communication Studies : Analysis of imaging technologies in their cultural contexts. Focus on different traditions of visual representation through the investigation of artistic and scientific visualization practices.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Prerequisites: One of the following 200-level courses: COMS 200, COMS 210, COMS 230 AND one of the following 300-level courses: COMS 300, COMS 310, COMS 320, COMS 330, COMS 340, COMS 350, COMS 354, COMS 361, COMS 362 or permission of the instructor.
History and Philosophy of Science (HPSC)
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HPSC 300 Independent Studies: History and Philosophy of Science (3 credits)
Overview
Hist & Phil of Science : Offered by special arrangement between students in Arts or Science and a professor in either a Science or a Social Science Department. The purpose is to enable a student to undertake for credit the study of a special topic in the History or the Philosophy of Science.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Restriction: Permission of Director and History & Philosophy of Science Committee
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HPSC 500 Interdisciplinary Seminar: History & Philosophy of Science (3 credits)
Overview
Hist & Phil of Science : At least one topic will be chosen from each of the four major areas: the mathematical, the physical, the biological, the social sciences.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Restriction: Permission of Instructor
Philosophy (PHIL)
Either PHIL 210 or PHIL 310 may count toward the program but not both.
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PHIL 210 Introduction to Deductive Logic 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Philosophy : An introduction to propositional and predicate logic; formalization of arguments, truth tables, systems of deduction, elementary metaresults, and related topics.
Terms: Fall 2010, Summer 2011
Instructors: Hallett, Michael Frank (Fall)
- Restriction: Not open to students who are taking or have taken MATH 318
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PHIL 220 Introduction to History and Philosophy of Science 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Philosophy : A survey of the rise of the scientific outlook from the ancient Greeks to the Scientific Revolution in the Seventeenth Century.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
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PHIL 306 Philosophy of Mind (3 credits)
Overview
Philosophy : A survey of major positions of the mind-body problem, focusing on such questions as: Do we have minds and bodies? Can minds affect bodies? Is mind identical to body? If so, in what sense "identical"? Can physical bodies be conscious.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Davies, David (Fall)
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PHIL 310 Intermediate Logic (3 credits)
Overview
Philosophy : A second course in Logic. NB. The course will be technical in nature, and some mathematical aptitude is essential. The emphasis is on the expressive properties of standard logical systems, including implications for the philosophy of mathematics. We will study the Completeness of First-Order Logic, then the 'limitative' theorems of Tarski and Gödel.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Schlimm, Dirk (Winter)
- Prerequisite: PHIL 210 or equivalent
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PHIL 340 Philosophy of the Social Sciences 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Philosophy : An introduction to foundational issues in the social sciences and to the broader implications of these issues for both philosophy and science. Topics to be discussed may include methodology in natural and social science, objectivity in the social sciences, and cultural relativism.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
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PHIL 341 Philosophy of Science 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Philosophy : A discussion of philosophical problems as they arise in the context of scientific practice and enquiry. Such issues as the philosophical presuppositions of the physical and social sciences, the nature of scientific method and its epistemological implications will be addressed.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Schlimm, Dirk (Fall)
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PHIL 350 History and Philosophy of Ancient Science (3 credits)
Overview
Philosophy : Topics in ancient pure mathematics (geometry and number theory), "mixed mathematics" (astronomy, music theory, optics, mechanics), and/or natural science (including medicine), studied with a view to philosophical issues raised by the content of ancient science and/or by the logic of scientific argument.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Laywine, Alison (Fall)
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PHIL 411 Topics in Philosophy of Logic and Mathematics (3 credits)
Overview
Philosophy : A course focusing on some philosophical issue (e.g., the nature of numbers or the relation of truth to provability) as it arises in the study of mathematics and logic.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Hallett, Michael Frank (Winter)
- Prerequisites: PHIL 210 or the equivalent, and one intermediate course in philosophy
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PHIL 440 Philosophy of Social Sciences 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Philosophy : An advanced course on such topics as methodology of, or explanation, in the social sciences or models of rationality. Topics will vary from year to year.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Hirose, Iwao (Fall)
- Prerequisite: PHIL 340 or written permission of the instructor
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PHIL 441 Philosophy of Science 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Philosophy : An analysis of some key philosophical ideas in science and technology, e.g. problem, explanation, forecast, testability and truth.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Prerequisite: PHIL 341 or written permission of the instructor
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PHIL 453 Ancient Metaphysics and Natural Philosophy (3 credits)
Overview
Philosophy : An examination of central themes of ancient metaphysics and/or natural philosophy as treated by two or more contrasting philosophers or philosophical traditions - probably including Plato and/or Aristotle, and possibly including some Hellenistic or post-Hellenistic schools.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Deslauriers, Marguerite (Winter)
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PHIL 511 Seminar: Philosophy of Logic and Mathematics (3 credits)
Overview
Philosophy
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Hallett, Michael Frank (Fall)
- Restriction: Seminars are open only to graduate students and final year Philosophy Majors, Honours and Joint Honours students, except by written permission of the Department
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PHIL 541 Seminar: Philosophy of Science (3 credits)
Overview
Philosophy : An advanced course devoted to a topic in the philosophy of science.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Prerequisite: PHIL 441 or other requirements specified by the instructor
- Restriction: Seminars are open only to graduate students and final year Philosophy Majors, Honours and Joint Honours students, except by written permission of the Department
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PHIL 580 Seminar: Problems of Philosophy 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Philosophy
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Reisner, Andrew (Winter)
- Restriction: Seminars are open only to graduate students and final year Philosophy Majors, Honours and Joint Honours students, except by written permission of the Department
Religious Studies (RELG)
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RELG 340 Religion and the Sciences (3 credits)
Overview
Religious Studies : Philosophies of science and of religion have created a more positive dialogue on questions of method, symbolism and rationality. Examines key issues (e.g. creation and evolution; objectivity and involvement; determinism and freedom) raised by natural and social sciences, and various possible solutions.
Terms: Summer 2011
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Fall
Sociology (SOCI)
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SOCI 338 Introduction to Biomedical Knowledge (3 credits)
Overview
Sociology (Arts) : The dynamics of biomedical disciplines and specialties. Social, scientific, political and commercial aspects of biomedical research. The organization of work in clinical and fundamental research and its consequences on the choice of research topics.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
History of Science
6-12 credits of courses focused on the History of Science with no more than 6 credits at the 200 level chosen from the following:
Anthropology (ANTH)
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ANTH 359 History of Archaeological Theory (3 credits)
Overview
Anthropology : A systematic investigation of the theories that have guided the interpretation of prehistoric archaeological data since the Middle Ages; the relationship between these theories and theoretical developments in the other social sciences.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Couture, Nicole (Winter)
- Winter
- Prerequisite: ANTH 201 or ANTH 203, and one additional course in archaeology, or permission of instructor
Biology (BIOL)
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BIOL 210 Perspectives of Science (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : This course is an introduction to the thinking, language and practices of scientists. Its objective is to bridge the gap between science and the humanities, and in particular to allow students enrolled in the Minor Concentration in Science for Arts to pursue their interests in specific scientific disciplines.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Lefebvre, Louis (Fall)
- Fall
- 3 hours lecture
Geography (GEOG)
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GEOG 381 Geographic Thought and Practice (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : An overview of the philosophy of geography and its emergence as a discipline nationally and internationally with emphasis on current concepts and their application to geographical studies in local field work analyzing the impact of human environmental interactions.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Forest, Benjamin; Oswin, Natalie (Winter)
- Winter
- 3 hours
History (HIST)
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HIST 249 Health and the Healer in Western History (3 credits)
Overview
History : The natural history of health and disease and the development of the healing arts, from antiquity to the beginning of modern times. The rise of "western" medicine. Health and healing as gradually evolving aspects of society and culture.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Wallis, Faith; Schlich, Thomas Andreas (Fall)
- Restriction: Not open to students who took HIST 349 prior to Winter 2006.
- Note: Also available to first-year medical students in their options program.
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HIST 319 The Scientific Revolution (3 credits)
Overview
History : The shift from the medieval to the modern view of man's place in the universe that took place between Copernicus and Newton and its intellectual and social implications.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Prerequisite: a 200-level course in early modern history, or a survey course in philosophy, or permission of the instructor
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HIST 335 Science and Medicine in Canada (3 credits)
Overview
History : The social and intellectual history of science and medicine in Canada, from early exploration, through the rise of learned societies, universities and professional organizations, to World War II.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Heaman, Elsbeth Anne (Winter)
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken HIST 212
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HIST 348 China: Science-Medicine-Technology (3 credits)
Overview
History : An introduction to traditional Chinese ideas about human beings and their relationship with heaven and earth. Special emphasis on the history of medicine and the body, alchemy, geomancy and divination techniques, agriculture and sericulture, astronomy, and engineering and their relation to changing social and cultural formations.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Prerequisite: HIST 208 or HIST 218 or permission of instructor
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HIST 350 Science and the Enlightenment (3 credits)
Overview
History : Explores the relationship between the natural sciences and the eighteenth-century Enlightenment. Examination of works in post-Newtonian science as well as their broader cultural meaning, the history of material practices, the origins of social science, and the role of geography and international context beyond Western Europe.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Prerequisite: HIST 215 or permission of instructor.
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HIST 356 Medicine in the Medieval West (3 credits)
Overview
History : The history of ideas about the human body, disease and therapeutics and the diverse practices of medicine in western Europe in the Middle Ages (ca. AD 300-1500), with particular attention to their social, intellectual, cultural and religious context.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Winter
- Prerequisites: HIST 214 or HIST 249 or HIST 380 or permission of instructor.
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HIST 381 Colonial Africa: Health/Disease (3 credits)
Overview
History : A study of the impact of disease on African societies over the last three centuries. Topics include: the efforts of Africans to control their ecology, and to maintain their own medical traditions; the wider African responses to Western bio-medicine, and the relationship of disease to nutrition, demography, and public health.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Prerequisite: HIST 200 and HIST 201 or HIST 349 or permission of the instructor
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HIST 410 Topics in History of Science (3 credits)
Overview
History : Specific theme in the history of science, such as scientific instruments, experimental practices, uses of the body, knowledge and museums, scientific institutions, or science and empire.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Gauvin, Jean-Francois (Fall)
- Prerequisite: A prior course on history of science or HPSC 300 or permission of Instructor.
- Restriction(s): Not open to U0 or U1 students
- Themes (and/or periods) vary year to year.
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HIST 447 The Natural History of America (3 credits)
Overview
History : Examination of the ways in which interpretations of the natural world in the Americas were constructed by European travellers, colonial settlers and others. Emphasis primarily on natural histories of colonial British America, but coverage includes comparison across national and regional boundaries within the early modern Atlantic world.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Prerequisites: HIST 211 or permission of the instructor.
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HIST 452 Medicine in Europe 1500-1700 (3 credits)
Overview
History : The history of the evolution of ideas about the human body, disease and therapeutics and the diverse practices of medicine in Western Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, with particular attention to their social, political, cultural and religious context.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Prerequisites: HIST 214 or HIST 249 and a 300-level course in History or permission of instructor.
- Priority is given to students in Honours History, students registered for the Minor in Social Studies of Medicine, and graduate students in History, Medical Anthropology, and Medical Sociology
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HIST 457 Topics in Medical History (3 credits)
Overview
History : This course explores different topics in medical history. Topics to be explored include the role of medicine from ancient to modern times.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Schlich, Thomas Andreas (Winter)
- Prerequisite: HIST 349 or HIST 356 or permission of instructor
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HIST 458 Modern Medicine: Seminar (3 credits)
Overview
History : The emergence of scientific medicine, medical professionalization, the development of public health and the process of medical specialization since 1700.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Weisz, George (Fall)
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken 101-459D
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HIST 459 Modern Medicine: Research (3 credits)
Overview
History : Supervised design, research, writing, and discussion of a major research paper on a theme in the history of modern medicine since 1700.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Weisz, George (Winter)
- Prerequisite: HIST 458
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken 101-459D
- Priority given to students in Honours History and students registered for the Minor in Social Studies of Medicine.
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HIST 466 Seminar: Medieval Medicine (3 credits)
Overview
History : Models of the body, disease and medical intervention current in western Europe between 400 and 1500 AD will be examined through analysis of primary sources in translation, and modern historical scholarship. The sequel to this course is HIST 496.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Wallis, Faith (Fall)
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HIST 496 Research: Medieval Medicine (3 credits)
Overview
History : Supervised design, research, writing, and discussion of a theme in the history of western European medicine, 400 - 1500 AD.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Wallis, Faith (Winter)
- Restriction: Open only to students who have taken HIST 466
History and Philosophy of Science (HPSC)
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HPSC 300 Independent Studies: History and Philosophy of Science (3 credits)
Overview
Hist & Phil of Science : Offered by special arrangement between students in Arts or Science and a professor in either a Science or a Social Science Department. The purpose is to enable a student to undertake for credit the study of a special topic in the History or the Philosophy of Science.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Restriction: Permission of Director and History & Philosophy of Science Committee
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HPSC 500 Interdisciplinary Seminar: History & Philosophy of Science (3 credits)
Overview
Hist & Phil of Science : At least one topic will be chosen from each of the four major areas: the mathematical, the physical, the biological, the social sciences.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Restriction: Permission of Instructor
Islamic Studies (ISLA)
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ISLA 345 Science and Civilization in Islam (3 credits)
Overview
Islamic Studies : History of scientific traditions and ideas in Islamic civilization, from the origins of Islam to the early modern period. Emphasis is on the derivation, development and transmissions of Islamic science, as well as on the assimilation and influence of science within Islamic culture.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Fazlioglu, Ihsan; Ragep, Sally (Winter)
- Winter
- Prerequisite: ISLA 200 or permission of the instructor.
- Note: All readings are in English.
Mathematics (MATH)
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MATH 338 History and Philosophy of Mathematics (3 credits)
Overview
Mathematics & Statistics (Sci) : Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek, Indian and Arab contributions to mathematics are studied together with some modern developments they give rise to, for example, the problem of trisecting the angle. European mathematics from the Renaissance to the 18th century is discussed in some detail.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Kamran, Niky (Fall)
- Fall
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MATH 339 Foundations of Mathematics (3 credits)
Overview
Mathematics & Statistics (Sci) : A continuation of MATH 338. Topics are chosen mainly from 19th and 20th century mathematics, with some emphasis on philosophical and foundational problems. Sample topics are: progress in number theory, construction of the number system, infinity according to Cantor, logic and foundations from Aristotle to Cohen, Gödel's incompleteness theorem, calculability and programs, formalism versus intuitionism, abstract mathematics and categories.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Winter
- Prerequisites: MATH 235, MATH 318
Psychology (PSYC)
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PSYC 403 Modern Psychology in Historical Perspective (3 credits)
Overview
Psychology : A survey of the scientific and ideological influences on psychology from its philosophical beginnings through the period of the schools to its modern situation.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Pleszewski, Zbigniew (Fall)
- Fall
- 2 lectures
Faculty of Arts—2010-2011 (last updated Jan. 19, 2011) (disclaimer)