| 2005 Summer Seminar |
—Christopher Robinson, Ph.D.
Course Description:
(This talk is part of the symposium on philosophy of science)
As one of the oldest sciences, astronomy is full of examples allowing us to test ideas about intellectual discoveries. In this chapter from history, Dr. Robinson will look at the only discoveries of planets in recorded history: discoveries of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. These discoveries illustrate interesting psychological phenomena, offer challenges to our notions of successful predictions, show the uniformity of nature, and show how arbitrary definitions can thwart our ability to carve nature at her joints. This talk is for a general audience.
Christopher Robinson is currently a professor of psychology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, teaching classes at every undergraduate level. He is also the co-author of a young adults’ encyclopedia on astronomy. For the past several years, he has been researching episodes in the history of science to illuminate issues in psychology and philosophy.
Schedule: Thursday, 8 PM
Track: Philosophy