Research management and science foundations

The student has multiple sources of information at his or her disposal, generally constituting a random mosaic of knowledge, as opposed to that logically dispensed by books and lectures. Lectures can structure reasoning, but often erase the originality of the knowledge taught. The history of science courses offered in this module therefore aim to give Science back its historical and epistemological foundations, so that students understand that scientific knowledge appears in a precise context, with multiple dimensions (social, philosophical, economic, political, scientific, etc.).
Secondly, the Foundations of Science project aims to develop individual reflection and personal acquisition, which are truly formative. The objectives are as follows:

To give science back its historical and epistemological foundations.
To show that scientific knowledge emerges in a precise context with multiple dimensions (social, philosophical, economic, political, scientific, etc.)
To develop the critical spirit of future engineers in relation to science and technology
To establish strong links between the science courses given to future engineers and society in its multi-dimensionality.

General culture and curiosity...

Conference on ethics in the workplace: 2h
Information on bibliographical research, presentation of search tools and engines, and plagiarism (definition, risks). 1 TD slot

History of science, content subject to change depending on the speaker, 3 h
The history of science and technology: what for?
Bibliography The image of science, past and present History of science and scientific culture.
History of the scientific method

Its first theorists: Bacon, Descartes and Galileo The experimental method according to Cl. Bernard (1865) This method is not self-evident: Bacon, Descartes and Galileo The experimental method according to Cl. Bernard (1865) This method is not self-evident The difficulties of objective observation The discussed interest of experiment The first experimenters: Galileo, Redi, Lavoisier, etc. Diderot's synthesis (1753) and the Encyclopédie's point of view From laboratory experiment to collective experiment.
Conclusion: There is no definitive science (cf. the number of planets) Importance of debate and controversy Science is not neutral.




Histories of science

The scientific history of science The philosophical history of science The historian's history of science. Is the history of science continuous or discontinuous? Scientific progress according to Auguste Comte (law of three states) (1830) Epistemological obstacles/ruptures according to Gaston Bachelard (1938) The workings of science (paradigms, crises, scientific revolutions, etc.) according to Thomas Kuhn (1962) The work of Paul Feyerabend.