THE NUCLEAR REVOLUTION
Charles Shapiro, Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Kurt Nutting, Lecturer in Philosophy
Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:35 – 1:50 P.M., Thornton Hall 326
(Prerequisite: English 214 or equivalent)
This course will examine scientific and humanistic aspects of the
Nuclear Revolution. We shall present the physics and engineering
associated with nuclear weapons, nuclear reactors, and nuclear accidents;
and we shall explore the history of the Nuclear Age and its relationships
to philosophy, literature, art, politics and law.
Re: the Scientific Aspects: Our aim is to promote an understanding
of the threat of a nuclear holocaust, the promise and danger of
nuclear power, and the problems of international control over nuclear
energy. Topics will include the effects of a nuclear war, nuclear
weapon proliferation, nuclear terrorism, reactor safety, waste storage,
radioactive fallout, and radiation effects on humans.
Re: the Philosophical Aspects: We will examine the relations between
scientific and humanistic ways of understanding the world and acting
in it. We will explore questions relating to the moral responsibilities
of scientists and non-scientists in an age in which scientific knowledge
makes possible the destruction of millions of human lives in a few
hours. We will explore nuclear deterrence and nuclear warfare beginning
in 1945 in light of the much older philosophical theories about
the “just war.” And we will look at the moral, political,
philosophical, and legal problems and possibilities of controlling
or eliminating nuclear weapons, including such international efforts
as the nuclear non-proliferation, anti-ballistic missile, and comprehensive
test-ban treates.
Re: the NEXA Aspects: Through reading and discussing Jacob Bronowski,
Science and Human Values, selections from Assessing the Nuclear
Age (Ackland and McGuire, editors), selections from Thomas Kuhn,
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, “Disciplinary Interdependencies”
(Shapiro and Silver), and Michael Frayn’s play Copenhagen,
we will strive to gain an understanding of how the Sciences and
the Humanities can be integrated in the exploration (and, perhaps,
in a resolution) of crucial scientific-philosophical-political-ethical-artistic
issues.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Jacob Bronowski, Science and Human Values, revised edition with
a new dialogue, “The Abacus and the Rose” (New York:
Harper & Row / Perennial Library, 1965)
Michael Frayn, Copenhagen (New York: Random House, Inc. / Anchor
Books, 2000)
Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (3rd edition;
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1996)
Jonathan Schell, The Gift of Time: The Case for Abolishing Nuclear
Weapons Now (New York: Henry Holt and Company / Metropolitan Books,
1998)
Michael B. Stoff, Jonathan F. Fanton, and R. Hal Williams, eds.,
The Manhattan Project: A Documentary Introduction to the Atomic
Age (New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000)
NEXA 340 Course Reader: seleected works from
David Rittenhous Inglis, Nuclear Energy – Its Physics and
Its Social Challenge (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing
Compnay, 1973)
James C. Warf, All Things Nuclear (Los Angeles: Southern California
Federation of Scientists, 1989)
Len Acklund and Steven McGuire, editors, Assessing the Nuclear
Age (Chicago: Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, 1986)
Charles Shapiro and Laura M. Silver, “Disciplinary Interdependencies,”
The Humanities Journal, vol. XI (1979)
BASES FOR GRADE:
Midterm Examination 30 %
Project and Presentation 30 %
Final Examination 30 %
Class Participation 10 %
