Re-examining the Deterministic World of Matter
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever thought about the following question?
"If we have the wisdom to understand all the laws of nature, does it mean that we could predict everything about our future?"
People was once benefited from the method of science and the idea of determinism to gain knowledge about our material world. However, it is still debatable whether science and determinism were sufficient to understand the whole material world. Through reviewing our understanding of the origins of the (i) Universe, (ii) Earth, (iii) Life, (iv) Mankind and (v) Civilization, the module helps us to reflect our understanding of the material world along the historical timeline and we would analyse the role of determinism in our perception of the material world.
Outcomes
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students will learn about
(i) determinism as an idea to build up our understanding of the material world.
(ii) the problems of deterministic view in understanding of the material world.
(iii) how the understanding of the material world was shaped by the method of science.
(iv) the multi-discipline approach to understand the history of the Earth, life, mankind and civilisation.
(v) the limitations of scientific method to understand history.
(vi) how to form rigorous arguments with the support of evidence.
In general, through the process of literature review, classroom discussions, students will learn to make connections between pieces of historical information and scientific knowledge. The cross-discipline skill could benefit students by providing a multi-disciplinal perspective in understanding the material world.
Organization and Topics
| Week | Topic | Key Concepts | Student Activities Required | Readings (on days when/if approp) | Assessments (on days when/if approp |
| 1 |
Thinking about Determinism Signposting: The 5 big examples in science - The origins of Universe, Earth, Life, Mankind & Civilisation |
Historical determinism Geographical determinism Indeterminism Idea of "Big History" |
Discussion: 1.Was everything coming with a reason? 2.The role of determinism in science. |
Karl Popper, Of Clouds and Clocks: An Approach To The Problem Of Rationality And The Freedom Of Man John Earman, A Primer on Determinism |
|
| 2 |
A Brief History of our Material World Universe & Cosmic Expansion |
The timeline of cosmic evolution, Hubble constant Static vs Dynamic Universe |
Discussion: Was Einstein Wrong? |
Steven Weinberg, First Three Minutes Chap 1: Big History: Between Nothing and Everything |
|
| 3 |
Elements & Stars Deterministic and Indeterministic nature of cosmology |
Recombination, Gravity and Large Scale Structure | Discussion: What's wrong with cosmology? | Smeenk, Christopher and Ellis, George, "Philosophy of Cosmology", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.) | Problem Set 1 due Friday of Week 3 (10%) |
| 4 |
The Emergence of the Sun & the Solar System Chaos |
Physical forces that drive the cosmic evolution Deterministic Chaos |
Using parallax effect to measure distances Exercise: Three-body motion |
Michael Turner, The Early Universe Leonard Smith, Chaos: A Very Short Introduction |
|
| 5 | The birth of our Earth |
Core, Mantle & Tectonic plates Geological and Radiometric Dating |
Discussion: How old is our Earth? | Stacey, Frank D. (2000). "Kelvin's age of the Earth paradox revisited". Journal of Geophysical Research. 105 (B6): 13155-13158 |
Problem Set 2 due Friday of Week 5 (10%) Formation of Project groups |
| 6 | The Emergence of Life |
Abiogenesis Goldilock conditions for life to emerge |
Discussion: Why is it so difficult to study the origin of life? | Alberts B, Johnson A, et al. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 4th ed. 2002. The RNA World and the Origins of Life. | Midterm Test (20%) |
| Recess | Open Consultation to students for group project decision | ||||
| 7 | The Code of Life |
Protein and DNA Gene and Meme |
Discussion: Is life purely material? | James Watson, DNA: The Secret of Life | Group project topics to be confirmed. |
| 8 | Hominines, Humans and the Paleolithic Era |
DNA sequencing The Out-of-Africa theory |
Game: DNA sequencing | Chap 4: Big History: Between Nothing and Everything | |
| 9 | Homo Sapien | The difference between Human (Sapien) and Neanderthals |
Discussion: Why Sapien survived, but not the Neanderthals? Survival for the fittest? |
Paabo, Neanderthal Men | |
| 10 | Origins of Agriculture and the Early Agrarian Era | Domestication of crops and animals |
Discussion: 1.Why would some of the human change from hunting to farming? |
Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel | |
| 11 | Civilisations |
The 4 major civilisations Geographical determinism |
Discussion: Could geography explain the emergence of civilisations? | Antrosio, Jason, 2011. "Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond: Against History." | |
| 12 |
(Optional) Our Future Group Project Presentations |
How much science could tell about the future of our material world? | Group Project Presentations + Q&A by students and teacher | Group Project Presentations(25%) | |
| 13 | Group Project Presentations | Group Project Presentations + Q&A by students and teacher | Final reflective essay** due on the last day of teaching (25%) |
Assessment
ASSESSMENT
(i) Classroom participation 10% (continuous)
(ii) Problem Sets 20% (10% x 2)
(iii) Mid-term Test 20% (Week 7)
(iv) Group project presentation 25% (Week 12)
(v) Individual reflective essay 25% (Week 13)
Reference readings
Reference readings (subjected to changes)
1. David Christian, Cynthia Brown and Craig Benjamin, Big History: Between Nothing and Everything; McGraw-Hill Education (2013).
2. Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species, 1st Edition.
3. James Watson, DNA: The Secret of Life
4. Svante Paabo, Neanderthal Man – In Search of Lost Genomes
5. David Lindberg, The Beginnings of Western Science, 2nd Edition.
6. The Big History Project website: https://www.bighistoryproject.com
7. John Earman, A Primer on Determinism
8. Steven Weinberg, First Three Minutes
9. Leonard Smith, Chaos: A Very Short Introduction
10. Karl Popper, Of Clouds and Clocks: An Approach To The Problem Of Rationality And The Freedom Of Man
11. Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel
12. Stacey, Frank D. (2000). "Kelvin's age of the Earth paradox revisited". Journal of Geophysical Research. 105 (B6): 13155–13158