Science on Trial

Catalog description

This course provides insights into the nature, methods, and contexts of modern science by examining historical and recent episodes in which a scientist or scientific concept, theory, or practice has come under investigation either in a court of law or a formal inquiry. The episodes, which focus on Europe and the U.S., range from the trial of Galileo before the Roman Inquisition in the 17th-century and the investigation into mesmerism in 18th-century Paris, in which Benjamin Franklin served as one of the commissioners, to several trials involving evolution theory, the trial of earth scientists following a devastating earthquake in Italy, and the recent U.S. Supreme Court case over patenting the breast cancer gene. Each episode will bring out a different facet of science and its relationship to the legal matters at hand, and each requires some understanding of the social, cultural, and political context, which will be supplied through readings, informal lectures, and class discussion. Recurring themes include the relationship between scientific and legal reasoning, the place of authority in science and the state,the uses of evidence in science and law, and the role of scientific expert witnesses in courts of law. Sources will include original court transcripts along with secondary literature, such as Maurice Finocchiaro's The Galileo Affair, Tal Golan's Laws of Men and Laws of Nature, and a variety of periodical articles.