Philosophical Perspectives on Nature and Science
Overview
Modern science has been a major force in shaping our views on nature and humanity. This unit examines the relationship between scientific ideas and society with the aim of understanding both the contexts and consequences of scientific inquiry. With an emphasis on the history of the environmental sciences, science will be investigated historically as a cultural phenomenon that interacts with, and is influenced by, the development of societies and their politics. We will see how ideologies of progress have been expressed historically, how they find expression today, and how they may yet find expression when it comes to questions about the future of humanity and life on earth.
Requisites
02-November-2025
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Correctly use appropriate terms for the eras, movements, ideologies and philosophies studied
- Draw upon primary and secondary sources to understand key ideas underlying the social, political, and intellectual movements studied, and their implications for the periods studied.
- Investigate the implications that the ideas and theories studied have for 21st century conceptions of nature, humanity, society, and justice.
- Describe important ways in which evolutionary theorising in either the environmental, social, psychological, health or life sciences has transformed conceptions of nature and humanity.
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-campus Lecture | 1.00 | 12 weeks | 12 |
| On-campus Class | 2.00 | 12 weeks | 24 |
| Specified Activities Various | 5.00 | 12 weeks | 60 |
| Unspecified Activities Independent Learning | 4.50 | 12 weeks | 54 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay 1 | Individual | 0 - 35% | 1,2,3 |
| Essay 2 | Individual | 0 - 45% | 1,2,3,4 |
| Presentation | Individual | 0 - 10% | 1 |
| Reflective Journal | Individual | 0 - 10% | 2,3 |
Content
- Ideals of Progress in Early Modernity
- Science and Philosophy in the “Age of Reason”
- A Tale of Two Enlightenments? Competing Ideas of Progress in the Radical and Moderate Enlightenments
- Static vs Evolutionary Worldviews: The Debate in Historical Context
- The Triumph of Evolutionary Worldviews: Darwinism and Neo-Darwinism
- The Social and Political Implications of Darwinism: Social Darwinism and Sociobiology
- What is Science? The Nature of Scientific Paradigms and Scientific Revolutions
- The Limits of Scientific Materialism
- Indigenous Approaches to Knowledge, Nature, and Humanity
- Ecology and Environment: Reductive vs Holistic Approaches
- From Machine to Organism: Holistic Approaches to Nature and Humanity
- Creating the Future: Implications of the Theories, Ideologies, and Paradigms Studied
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.