The program in history and philosophy of science is devoted to the study of the historical evolution and philosophical underpinnings of the physical and biological sciences. Work in history and philosophy of science may be pursued as an undergraduate option, a graduate minor, or on a course-by-course basis. Historical research in the program includes the origins of experimental practice, the social and institutional contexts of science, the origins and applications of quantitative methods, specific developments since antiquity in physics, biology, and chemistry, as well as biographical and comparative studies. Philosophical research in the program deals with issues in causation, explanation, scientific inference, the foundations of probability and decision theory, philosophy of mind, psychology and neuroscience, and scientific fraud and misconduct.
