The Origins of Scientific Thought

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The Origins of Scientific Thought

The goal of this seminar is to study the historical events and philosophical discussions that have led to our modern understanding of logic and of the scientific method. We will focus primarily on three broad periods in history. The first is the ancient Greek period, including Zeno's Paradoxes, the teachings of Aristotle and Plato, and the competing schools of thought on the nature of matter and the universe. The second is the flowering of Arabic mathematics and science in the centuries around the turn of the second millennium.  The third is the seventeenth century, including Descartes, Newton, and the beginnings of the scientific method.

Dr. Goldstine is an Associate Professor of Mathematics who received her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1998.  Her research interests include number theory, algebraic dynamics, and integral lattices.