History of the Foundations of Physics
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
The course aims to provide students with a comprehension of the development of early-modern and contemporary physics through a 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 physics and its relationships with philosophy.
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course, the student
- knows the fundamental elements of the development of early-modern and contemporary physics
- knows the details, including some mathematical demonstrations and experimental results, of some important discoveries of early-modern and contemporary physics
- understands the relationships between the history of scientific thought and the history of philosophy and the philosophy of science
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course the student
- can apply the knowledge acquired in situating authors and texts historically
- can apply the scientific lexicon of early-modern and contemporary physics to the analysis and discussion of texts and problems
- can apply the understanding of the historical relationships between science and philosophical doctrines to the analysis and discussion of texts and problems.
- knows the fundamental elements of the development of early-modern and contemporary physics
- knows the details, including some mathematical demonstrations and experimental results, of some important discoveries of early-modern and contemporary physics
- understands the relationships between the history of scientific thought and the history of philosophy and the philosophy of science
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course the student
- can apply the knowledge acquired in situating authors and texts historically
- can apply the scientific lexicon of early-modern and contemporary physics to the analysis and discussion of texts and problems
- can apply the understanding of the historical relationships between science and philosophical doctrines 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
The mathematisation of "natural philosophy" (the discipline whose purpose was to investigate the causes of natural phenomena) underwent considerable development from the early 17th century to the early 18th century. From the time of Galileo, some innovative mathematicians began to apply mathematics to the study of nature with unprecedented success. To achieve this goal, it was necessary to innovate mathematics. However, this innovative approach was often rejected and dismissed by defenders of methods rooted in the Aristotelian and in the Euclidean traditions. Furthermore, it was not clear among the innovators which mathematical methods should be defended and developed and what was the nature of mathematical objects. The debate concerning the nature and aims of mathematical natural philosophy touched on many philosophical themes, such as the relationship between symbolism and reality, the certainty of the mathematical sciences, the relationship between geometry and algebra, and the nature of the continuum and infinitesimal quantities. The course explores these debates by focusing on the positions held by some of the protagonists, such as Galileo, Descartes, Newton and Leibniz, and by drawing on secondary literature that often offers contrasting images of this chapter of the so-called "scientific revolution". The course has a twofold purpose: to introduce students to a chapter of the history of science that is often overlooked in philosophy courses and to critically consider the historiography dedicated to it.
Prerequisites for admission
There are no specific requirements other than those requested for admission to the MA degree in philosophical sciences.
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
N. Guicciardini, "Mathematics and the New Science", in The Oxford Handbook of the History of Physics, Jed Buchwald and Robert Fox (eds.), Oxford University Press, 2013, pp. 226-264. [Not available online. The author's word file will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
N. Guicciardini "Un Altro Presente: on the historical interpretation of mathematical texts", BSHM Bulletin: Journal of the British Society for the History of Mathematics, 33(3) (2018), pp. 148-165 [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
M.Schneider, "Contextualizing Unguru's 1975 Attack on the Historiography of Ancient Greek Mathematics", in V.R. Remmert et al. (eds.), Historiography of Mathematics in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Trends in the History of Science, Springer International Publishing Switzerland, 2016, pp. 245-267 [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
D. E. Rowe, "Neugebauer's Vision for Rewriting the History of Ancient Mathematics", in V.R. Remmert et al. (eds.), Historiography of Mathematics in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Trends in the History of Science, in Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016, pp. 123-141. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
A. Musgrave and C. Pigden, "Imre Lakatos", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (edizione primavera 2023), Edward N. Zalta e Uri Nodelman (a cura di) [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
D. Gillies, Lakatos and the Historical Approach to Philosophy of Mathematics, Elements in the Philosophy of Mathematics, Cambridge University Press, 2023.[available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
D. Bloor, "Polyhedra and the Abominations of Leviticus", The British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Nov., 1978), pp.245-272. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
J. Worrall, "A Reply to David Bloor", The British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Mar., 1979), pp. 71-81. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Massimo Mazzotti, "Introduction Mathematics as Social Order", in Reactionary Mathematics: a Genealogy of Purity, Chicago University Press, pp. 1-16. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Leo Corry, "Kuhnian issues, scientific revolutions and the history of mathematics", Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 24(1) (1993), 95-117. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Giuseppina D'Oro and James Connelly, "Robin George Collingwood", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (a cura di) [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Q. Skinner, "Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas." History and Theory 8 (1969), pp. 3-53. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
W. K. Wimsatt Jr. and M. C. Beardsley, "The Intentional Fallacy", The Sewanee Review, Vol. 54, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1946), pp. 468-488. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
D. Dutton, "Why Intentionalism Won't Go Away," in Literature and the Question of Philosophy, edited by Anthony J. Cascardi, pp. 192-209. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987). [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Additional material only for the the program 9 cfu
N. Guicciardini , "Chapter 1: Introduction: The historical interpretation of mathematical texts and the problem of anachronism'", in N. Guicciardini ed., Anachronisms in the History of Mathematics: Essays on the Historical Interpretation of Mathematical Texts, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021, pp. 1-41. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
N. Guicciardini, "Henk J. M. Bos (1940-2024): A first assessment of his legacy in the field of history of mathematics", Historia Mathematica, 2024, pp. 40-48. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Bos, H.J.M., "Philosophical challenges from history of mathematics". In: Hoff Kjeldsen, T., et al. (Eds.), New Trends in the History and Philosophy of Mathematics, University Press of Southern Denmark, Odense, 2004, pp. 51-66. [not available online, the lecturer's slides on this text will be uploaded shortly before the start of the course on the course MyAriel page]
N. Guicciardini "On Newton's Mathematical Writings: Disciplinary Boundaries and Circulation", Historia Scientiarum, 32 (1), pp. 5-16. [Not available online. The author's word file will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
For students who are not attending the lectures.
To the above texts add:
Course 6CFU
Thomas S. Kuhn, "Mathematical vs. Experimental Traditions in the Development of Physical Science", The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Summer, 1976), pp. 1-31.[available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Course 9 CFU
Thomas S. Kuhn, "Mathematical vs. Experimental Traditions in the Development of Physical Science", The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Summer, 1976), pp. 1-31. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Gingras, Yves, "What Did Mathematics Do to Physics?" History of science, (2001), Vol.39 (4), p.383-416 [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
N. Guicciardini, "Mathematics and the New Science", in The Oxford Handbook of the History of Physics, Jed Buchwald and Robert Fox (eds.), Oxford University Press, 2013, pp. 226-264. [Not available online. The author's word file will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
N. Guicciardini "Un Altro Presente: on the historical interpretation of mathematical texts", BSHM Bulletin: Journal of the British Society for the History of Mathematics, 33(3) (2018), pp. 148-165 [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
M.Schneider, "Contextualizing Unguru's 1975 Attack on the Historiography of Ancient Greek Mathematics", in V.R. Remmert et al. (eds.), Historiography of Mathematics in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Trends in the History of Science, Springer International Publishing Switzerland, 2016, pp. 245-267 [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
D. E. Rowe, "Neugebauer's Vision for Rewriting the History of Ancient Mathematics", in V.R. Remmert et al. (eds.), Historiography of Mathematics in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Trends in the History of Science, in Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016, pp. 123-141. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
A. Musgrave and C. Pigden, "Imre Lakatos", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (edizione primavera 2023), Edward N. Zalta e Uri Nodelman (a cura di) [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
D. Gillies, Lakatos and the Historical Approach to Philosophy of Mathematics, Elements in the Philosophy of Mathematics, Cambridge University Press, 2023.[available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
D. Bloor, "Polyhedra and the Abominations of Leviticus", The British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Nov., 1978), pp.245-272. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
J. Worrall, "A Reply to David Bloor", The British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Mar., 1979), pp. 71-81. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Massimo Mazzotti, "Introduction Mathematics as Social Order", in Reactionary Mathematics: a Genealogy of Purity, Chicago University Press, pp. 1-16. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Leo Corry, "Kuhnian issues, scientific revolutions and the history of mathematics", Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 24(1) (1993), 95-117. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Giuseppina D'Oro and James Connelly, "Robin George Collingwood", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (a cura di) [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Q. Skinner, "Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas." History and Theory 8 (1969), pp. 3-53. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
W. K. Wimsatt Jr. and M. C. Beardsley, "The Intentional Fallacy", The Sewanee Review, Vol. 54, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1946), pp. 468-488. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
D. Dutton, "Why Intentionalism Won't Go Away," in Literature and the Question of Philosophy, edited by Anthony J. Cascardi, pp. 192-209. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987). [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Additional material only for the the program 9 cfu
N. Guicciardini , "Chapter 1: Introduction: The historical interpretation of mathematical texts and the problem of anachronism'", in N. Guicciardini ed., Anachronisms in the History of Mathematics: Essays on the Historical Interpretation of Mathematical Texts, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021, pp. 1-41. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
N. Guicciardini, "Henk J. M. Bos (1940-2024): A first assessment of his legacy in the field of history of mathematics", Historia Mathematica, 2024, pp. 40-48. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Bos, H.J.M., "Philosophical challenges from history of mathematics". In: Hoff Kjeldsen, T., et al. (Eds.), New Trends in the History and Philosophy of Mathematics, University Press of Southern Denmark, Odense, 2004, pp. 51-66. [not available online, the lecturer's slides on this text will be uploaded shortly before the start of the course on the course MyAriel page]
N. Guicciardini "On Newton's Mathematical Writings: Disciplinary Boundaries and Circulation", Historia Scientiarum, 32 (1), pp. 5-16. [Not available online. The author's word file will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
For students who are not attending the lectures.
To the above texts add:
Course 6CFU
Thomas S. Kuhn, "Mathematical vs. Experimental Traditions in the Development of Physical Science", The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Summer, 1976), pp. 1-31.[available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Course 9 CFU
Thomas S. Kuhn, "Mathematical vs. Experimental Traditions in the Development of Physical Science", The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Summer, 1976), pp. 1-31. [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Gingras, Yves, "What Did Mathematics Do to Physics?" History of science, (2001), Vol.39 (4), p.383-416 [available online with unimi user-name and password, shortly before the start of the course it will be uploaded on the MyAriel page of the course]
Assessment methods and Criteria
Students must submit a written paper on a topic agreed upon with the instructor (approximately 5,000 words), which will be evaluated according to the following criteria: 1. relevance to the topics discussed during the course; 2. originality of the chosen topic and methodology; 3. analytical competence and depth of interpretation; 4. formal quality of the presentation (appropriate terminology, coherence of argument, accuracy of critical apparatus).
The paper must be sent to the instructor by email at least one week before the exam date, which will consist of a discussion of the texts included under "Reference Material" in the programme, starting from the teacher's comments on the written paper.
The paper must be sent to the instructor by email at least one week before the exam date, which will consist of a discussion of the texts included under "Reference Material" in the programme, starting from the teacher's comments on the written paper.
Modules or teaching units
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.