The Program in History & Philosophy of Science
The Program in History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) at Stanford teaches students to examine the sciences, medicine and technology from myriad perspectives, conceptual, historical and social. Our community of scholars includes core faculty and students in History, Philosophy, and Classics, and affiliated members in Anthropology, English, Political Science, Communication and other disciplines. Together, we draw upon the multiple methods of our disciplines to study the development, functioning, applications and social and cultural engagements of the sciences.
In 2007 the Patrick Suppes Center for the History and Philosophy of Science was reorganized into two divisions, the Logic, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science, and History of Science and Technology. These two divisions, both separately and in cooperation, help to organize and support workshops and conferences, postdoctoral fellows and visiting professors, and senior faculty fellows in order to enrich the study of History and Philosophy of Science at Stanford. The HPS program is grateful for the support of the Suppes Center.
Academically, the HPS program is a collaborative enterprise of the Departments of History and Philosophy. Each department has its own undergraduate and graduate degree program requirements, but these overlap and interact in several ways. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the HPS program, students who come through one department can take courses and work with faculty from an affiliated department. This helps to create a single community of students and faculty, as does the colloquia series, which brings everyone together regularly throughout the year. We offer undergraduate and graduate fellowship funding and we regularly host visiting scholars from around the world. This year we are developing a Freshman Residential Program entitled Science in the Making which will provide students with an intellectually intense opportunity to read, discuss, and debate some of the great scientific and technical writers from antiquity to the present while also introducing them to a variety of current approaches to the history of science, medicine, and technology. The new program was highlighted in the May issue of the Stanford Report. This year also some of the students have initiated a new History of Science Reading group which will meet several times this quarter over dinner to discuss various subfields within the History of Science. All who are interested are welcomed to attend.