Through a consideration of early modern ideas including free will and determinism, the finite and infinite universe, teleology and mechanism, theism and deism, and deduction and intuition, this course investigates some of the period’s key metaphysical and methodological assumptions, and reveals how an evolving scientific understanding informed the Renaissance worldview.0 credits Course readings, lectures, and activities will explore changing perspectives on nonhuman nature across time, from medieval bestiaries to early modern cabinets of curiosities, from colonial botany to more recent legends of Yetis, Bigfoots, and other fantastical creatures of cryptozoology.
Through a consideration of early modern ideas including free will and determinism, the finite and infinite universe, teleology and mechanism, theism and deism, and deduction and intuition, this course investigates some of the period’s key metaphysical and methodological assumptions, and reveals how an evolving scientific understanding informed the Renaissance worldview.0 credits Course readings, lectures, and activities will explore changing perspectives on nonhuman nature across time, from medieval bestiaries to early modern cabinets of curiosities, from colonial botany to more recent legends of Yetis, Bigfoots, and other fantastical creatures of cryptozoology.
