Particularly suitable für students of D-BIOL, D-HEST, D-CHAB, D-USYS
Abstract
This course explores the relation between the scientific investigation of life and cultural notions of death from a historical perspective (assuming there is no such thing as the scientific investigation of death). While the course covers the times from antiquity up to the present, the main emphasis will be placed on the modern life sciences since the 19th century.
Learning objective
There is only one certainty in life: death. This brute fact has animated much thought and work in theology, art and philosophy - but also in the natural sciences, such as biology and medicine. Questions regarding health and disease, evolution, extinction and immortality have played a crucial role in this connection. This course aims to explore above relations - the relations between the scientific investigation of life and cultural notions of death - from a historical perspective (assuming there is no such thing as the scientific investigation of death). While the course covers the times from antiquity up to the present, the main emphasis will be placed on the modern life sciences since the 19th century.
