History of Physics and of the Mathematical Sciences
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
The course aims to provide students with a general comprehension of the development of scientific thought in the field of the physico-mathematical disciplines through the study of some historically significant cases. The course may be useful for the conception, organization and coordination of cultural activities and projects concerning the history of scientific disciplines.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding:
At the end of the course the students will be able to:
- illustrate some fundamental phases of the research in the physico-mathematical disciplines of the past
- recognize the lexicon of some important physico-mathematical disciplines considered in their historical development
- exemplify the relationships connecting the history of the physico-mathematical thought to the history of philosophy, to religion and theology, to political history, to society, and to culture.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
At the end of the course the students will be able to:
- apply the learnt knowledge in historically situating authors and texts of the physico-mathematical disciplines.
- use the learnt knowledge about the lexicon of the physico-mathematical disciplines in the analysis and discussion of texts and problems.
- apply the learnt knowledge about the relationships connecting the history of the physico-mathematical disciplines with other fields of knowledge to the analysis and discussion of texts and problems.
At the end of the course the students will be able to:
- illustrate some fundamental phases of the research in the physico-mathematical disciplines of the past
- recognize the lexicon of some important physico-mathematical disciplines considered in their historical development
- exemplify the relationships connecting the history of the physico-mathematical thought to the history of philosophy, to religion and theology, to political history, to society, and to culture.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
At the end of the course the students will be able to:
- apply the learnt knowledge in historically situating authors and texts of the physico-mathematical disciplines.
- use the learnt knowledge about the lexicon of the physico-mathematical disciplines in the analysis and discussion of texts and problems.
- apply the learnt knowledge about the relationships connecting the history of the physico-mathematical disciplines with other fields of knowledge to the analysis and discussion of texts and problems.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
We will discuss the key developments in cosmology and mechanics that occurred between the 16th and 18th centuries. This period is often referred to as the 'Scientific Revolution'. We will pay particular attention to the relationship between science and religion during this time. The Reformation and the Counter-Reformation took place during this period, and Europe was shaken by dramatic religious conflicts and the Thirty Years' War. The new worldviews promoted during this time evoked anxieties and fears, as well as hopes for the future of science and society. This 'crisis' in the European cultural landscape sparked a wide-ranging debate about the conflict and potential reconciliation between science and faith, and the interpretation of the Book of Nature and the Book of Scripture. I will focus on the intellectual biographies of Copernicus (1st teaching unit), Galileo (2d teaching unit) and Newton /3d teaching unit), commenting on passages from their works.
Those taking the 6-credit programme must attend the first 40 hours of lessons (the first two teaching units) dedicated to Copernicus and Galileo, while those taking the 9-credit programme must attend all 60 hours of lessons and therefore also prepare the third teaching unit dedicated to Newton.
Online environment available on MyAriel
Lesson recording: No
Teaching proposal for non-attending students: 2 lessons dedicated to non-attending students via videoconference (MSTeams). The first and last lessons will be held in mixed mode: i.e. I will be in the classroom with the students in attendance and will activate Teams for non-attending students and record the lessons. The recordings will remain available for two weeks, after which they will be deleted.
Team: Storia delle scienze fisico-matematiche
Team code: rpluj0e
You can access directly with the team code during lesson times
The other lessons will be held in person and I will activate Teams in streaming (not recording) only if the classroom is full.
I will upload the slides used in class for all lectures to the "Contents" section of the MyAriel page for the course:
where you will also find other useful material (links to websites, texts, images, etc.).
Validity of the programme: 1 academic year, as per the teaching regulations for the degree course.
Those taking the 6-credit programme must attend the first 40 hours of lessons (the first two teaching units) dedicated to Copernicus and Galileo, while those taking the 9-credit programme must attend all 60 hours of lessons and therefore also prepare the third teaching unit dedicated to Newton.
Online environment available on MyAriel
Lesson recording: No
Teaching proposal for non-attending students: 2 lessons dedicated to non-attending students via videoconference (MSTeams). The first and last lessons will be held in mixed mode: i.e. I will be in the classroom with the students in attendance and will activate Teams for non-attending students and record the lessons. The recordings will remain available for two weeks, after which they will be deleted.
Team: Storia delle scienze fisico-matematiche
Team code: rpluj0e
You can access directly with the team code during lesson times
The other lessons will be held in person and I will activate Teams in streaming (not recording) only if the classroom is full.
I will upload the slides used in class for all lectures to the "Contents" section of the MyAriel page for the course:
where you will also find other useful material (links to websites, texts, images, etc.).
Validity of the programme: 1 academic year, as per the teaching regulations for the degree course.
Prerequisites for admission
As this is a first-year course, there are no specific requirements other than those requested for admission to the BA degree in Philosophy.
Teaching methods
Lectures delivered by the instructor. Useful information and slides will be uploaded to the MyAriel page of the course
Teaching Resources
Programme for 6 and 9 CFU
Thomas Kuhn, La rivoluzione copernicana: l'astronomia planetaria nello sviluppo del pensiero occidentale, Torino : G. Einaudi, 2000, ISBN: 88-06-33332-1(cap. 1. L'antico universo a due sfere, cap. 2. Il problema dei pianeti, cap. 3. L'universo a due sfere nel pensiero aristotelico, cap. 5. L'innovazione di Copernico, cap. 6. L'assimilazione dell'astronomia copernicana), pp. 1-127, pp. 171-292.
Please note that many passages from Copernicus's De revolutionibus are cited in Kuhn's monograph
Giulio Peruzzi, Galileo Galilei: nelle cose naturali, l'autorità d'uomini non val nulla, Franco Angeli, 2015, ISBN: 978-88-351-7218-5, pp. 188.
Galileo Galilei, Antologia di testi, a cura di Michele Camerota, Carocci, 2017, ISBN: 978-88-430-8567-5 (cap. 5, Scienza e religione), pp. 153-183
Galileo Galilei, A few passages from Dialogo sui due massimi sistemi del mondo which will be uploaded on MyAriel
For students who are not attending the lectures. Programme 6CFU.
To the above texts add:
Annibale Fantoli, Galileo e la Chiesa: una controversia ancora aperta, Carocci, 2010. pp. 242. ISBN: 978-8843054008
Additional material only for the the programme 9 CFU:
Niccolò Guicciardini, Isaac Newton: Filosofo della Natura, interprete della Scrittura, cronologo degli Antichi Regni, Carocci, 2021, ISBN: 9788829004300 (except pp. 44-54 e pp. 146-170).
Isaac Newton, "Prefazione al lettore", "Prefazione alla seconda edizione", "Scolio alle definizioni", "Regole del filosofare", "Scolio generale" in Principî matematici della filosofia naturale, a cura di F. Giudice, Einaudi, 2018, ISBN 9788806227531, pp. 3-24, 29-36, 76-78, 92-96.
For students who are not attending the lectures. Programme 9CFU.
To the above texts add:
Annibale Fantoli, Galileo e la Chiesa: una controversia ancora aperta, Carocci, 2010. pp. 242. ISBN: 978-8843054008
Corrispondenza Newton-Bentley in Isaac Newton, Principî matematici della filosofia naturale, a cura di F. Giudice, Einaudi, 2018, pp. 99-118
Thomas Kuhn, La rivoluzione copernicana: l'astronomia planetaria nello sviluppo del pensiero occidentale, Torino : G. Einaudi, 2000, ISBN: 88-06-33332-1(cap. 1. L'antico universo a due sfere, cap. 2. Il problema dei pianeti, cap. 3. L'universo a due sfere nel pensiero aristotelico, cap. 5. L'innovazione di Copernico, cap. 6. L'assimilazione dell'astronomia copernicana), pp. 1-127, pp. 171-292.
Please note that many passages from Copernicus's De revolutionibus are cited in Kuhn's monograph
Giulio Peruzzi, Galileo Galilei: nelle cose naturali, l'autorità d'uomini non val nulla, Franco Angeli, 2015, ISBN: 978-88-351-7218-5, pp. 188.
Galileo Galilei, Antologia di testi, a cura di Michele Camerota, Carocci, 2017, ISBN: 978-88-430-8567-5 (cap. 5, Scienza e religione), pp. 153-183
Galileo Galilei, A few passages from Dialogo sui due massimi sistemi del mondo which will be uploaded on MyAriel
For students who are not attending the lectures. Programme 6CFU.
To the above texts add:
Annibale Fantoli, Galileo e la Chiesa: una controversia ancora aperta, Carocci, 2010. pp. 242. ISBN: 978-8843054008
Additional material only for the the programme 9 CFU:
Niccolò Guicciardini, Isaac Newton: Filosofo della Natura, interprete della Scrittura, cronologo degli Antichi Regni, Carocci, 2021, ISBN: 9788829004300 (except pp. 44-54 e pp. 146-170).
Isaac Newton, "Prefazione al lettore", "Prefazione alla seconda edizione", "Scolio alle definizioni", "Regole del filosofare", "Scolio generale" in Principî matematici della filosofia naturale, a cura di F. Giudice, Einaudi, 2018, ISBN 9788806227531, pp. 3-24, 29-36, 76-78, 92-96.
For students who are not attending the lectures. Programme 9CFU.
To the above texts add:
Annibale Fantoli, Galileo e la Chiesa: una controversia ancora aperta, Carocci, 2010. pp. 242. ISBN: 978-8843054008
Corrispondenza Newton-Bentley in Isaac Newton, Principî matematici della filosofia naturale, a cura di F. Giudice, Einaudi, 2018, pp. 99-118
Assessment methods and Criteria
Assessment methods:
The final examination consists of an oral exam.
The purpose of the oral exam is to test the student's knowledge of, and critical understanding of, the topics covered in the works indicated in the "Materiale di riferimento" section of this programme, as well as their ability to express and discuss these topics correctly and fluently.
Evaluation criteria:
The exam will consist of a discussion of the topics covered during the course and included in the reference material ('Materiale di riferimento'). A mark will be obtained based on the following criteria:
- 1-10 points for factual information
- 1-10 points for language skills
- 1-10 points for understanding of technical/scientific content
The final examination consists of an oral exam.
The purpose of the oral exam is to test the student's knowledge of, and critical understanding of, the topics covered in the works indicated in the "Materiale di riferimento" section of this programme, as well as their ability to express and discuss these topics correctly and fluently.
Evaluation criteria:
The exam will consist of a discussion of the topics covered during the course and included in the reference material ('Materiale di riferimento'). A mark will be obtained based on the following criteria:
- 1-10 points for factual information
- 1-10 points for language skills
- 1-10 points for understanding of technical/scientific content
Parte A e B
M-STO/05 - HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - University credits: 6
Lessons: 40 hours
Parte C
M-STO/05 - HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor(s)
Reception:
Thursday 10:30-13:30. In July and August I will be away but we can arrangi a video call.
If you contact me via mail a Teams/Zoom video call can be arranged.