Paradigm Shifts & the Nature of Human Knowing
Facilitator: Phil Kesten, Physics
At some time or another, many perhaps all disciplines have experienced a sea change in thought, when one or more scholars have pushed beyond the limits of the fields traditional approaches, assumptions, and understandings. Such dramatic, often rapid, changes that result in a shift away from previously accepted ways of thinking about a discipline can provide the opportunity for you to explore how people learn and how we think. In addition, understanding the sometimes wildly different ways knowledge is constructed and evidence interpreted in different disciplines can help you reflect more insightfully on your own education. This pathway includes courses that address ways of thinking within a discipline that are departures from the accepted norms and courses that include the usual ways of knowing and understanding in a discipline.
Exploring the pathway:
Look for the ways in which the topics in your Paradigm Shifts & the Nature of Human Knowing pathway courses are connected to the themes of the pathway. You might find it helpful to explore questions such as these:
What are the ways that knowledge, approaches, and assumptions are identified?
How can you apply this understanding to gaining insight into how you yourself come to know and understand? Can you tie this insight to an understanding of your past and future educational choices? Can you tie this insight to an understanding of your vocational choices?
Identify specific examples of a paradigm shift in your pathway courses. In what ways did a departure from the accepted norms in a discipline come about? What similarities and differences can you find between the ways departures from previously accepted ways of thinking occur in different disciplines?
Can you identify the emergence of an issue associated with the themes of this pathway in more than one of your pathway courses, that is, can you find a thread that is common to a number of these disciplines
Can you identify either overlapping or opposing approaches to the way we know and understand, based on your pathway courses?
Can you identify connections between the themes of this pathway and topics you have studied in your major?
You may discover that some of your instructors in courses in the Paradigm Shifts & the Nature of Human Knowing pathway don't directly mention a paradigm shift or directly address the nature of knowing. That's okay it's up to you to find the connections and common threads in these courses. By reflecting on and synthesizing that understanding across a number of courses for yourself, rather than having your instructors make the connections for you, you will learn more deeply in a way that can complement other aspects of your Santa Clara education.
Associated Courses
Foundations Courses
(Please note that only the specific Foundation course topics qualify for the Pathway requirements,
and only one Foundations course may be applied to a Pathway)
ENGL 2A Paradigms of Knowledge (effective 1/1/11)
ENGL 2H Paradigms of Knowledge (efffective 9/1/09)
ENGL 2A Science, Technology, and Self (effective 9/1/09)
PHIL 12A Human Nature & Moral Theories (effective 3/1/17)
PHIL 12A Justice: Self/Others/Community (effective 03/25/16)
PHIL 12A Personal Identity & Community (effective 1/1/16)
PHIL 12H Personal Identity and Community (effective 1/1/16)
PHIL 12A Philosophy of Law
PHIL 12H Philosophy of Law (effective 1/1/16)
Art History
ARTH 22 Art in the Age of Exploration: Introductions to Early Modern Europe (effective 9/1/09)
ARTH 23 Art and Revolution: Europe and the United States, 18th-20th Centuries (effective 9/1/09)
ARTH 120 Keeping up with the Medici: Fame and Family in Renaissance Florence (effective 9/1/09)
Biology
*BIOL 108 Genetics (effective 9/1/09)
*BIOL 110 Genetics L&L (effective 9/1/09)
*BIOL 122 Neurobiology L&L (effective 9/1/09)
*BIOL 173 Evolution L&L (effective 9/1/09)
*BIOL 175 Molecular Biology L&L (effective 9/1/09)
*BIOL 178 Bioinformatics (effective 9/1/09)
Chemistry
CHEM 33 Organic Chemistry III (effective 3/25/20)
*CHEM 151 Spectroscopy (effective 9/1/09)
Classics
CLAS 51 History of Philosophy: Classical and Medieval (cross-listed with PHIL 14; effective 9/1/16)
CLAS 171 Ancient Science and Technology (effective 3/28/16)
Computer Engineering
COEN 19 Discrete Mathematics (cross-listed with MATH 51; effective 9/1/09)
*COEN 179 Theory of Algorithms (cross-listed with CSCI 163; effective 9/1/09)
Computer Science
*CSCI 10 Introduction to Computer Science (effective 9/1/09)
*CSCI 10B Introduction to Computer Science B (effective 1/1/15)
*CSCI 161 Theory of Automata and Languages I (effective 9/1/09)
*CSCI 162 Theory of Automata & Languages II (effective 9/1/09)
*CSCI 163 Theory of Algorithms (cross-listed with COEN 179; effective 11/2/2016)
*CSCI 164 Computer Simulation (effective 9/1/09)
Electrical Engineering
*ELEN 160 Chaos Theory, Metamathematics and the Limits of Science: An Engineering Perspective on Religion (cross-listed with ELEN 217; effective 9/1/09)
ELEN 160L Chaos Theory, Metamathematics and the Limits of Science: An Engineering Perspective on Religion Lab (ELEN 160 is a co-requisite; effective 9/1/09)
*ELEN 217 Chaos Theory, Metamathematics and the Limits of Science: An Engineering Perspective on Religion (cross-listed with ELEN 160; effective 9/1/09)
Ethnic Studies
ETHN 12 Native Spiritual Traditions (cross-listed with RSOC 91; effective 12/21/2015)
ETHN 176 Race & Sex in Modern America (cross-listed with HIST 105 and WGST 174A; effective 3/25/23)
Finance
*FNCE 116 Mathematical Finance (cross-listed with MATH 125; effective 9/1/09)
History
HIST 21 Saving the World?: A Critical History of Human Rights and Humanitarianism (effective 3/25/21)
HIST 27/127 Digital History (effective 1/1/21)
HIST 30 The French Revolution, an Introduction (effective 9/1/17)
HIST 33 This is What Democracy Looks Like (effective 01/01/22)
HIST 43 The Haitian Revolution in World History and Memory (cross-listed with HIST 143; effective 3/25/21)
HIST 65 Parties and Presidents (effective 9/1/20)
HIST 71/171 The New Nation: U.S. From Hamilton to Jackson (effective 1/1/19)
HIST 72/172 The Civil War Era (effective 9/1/19)
HIST 75 Natives & Newcomers: Early North America (effective 01/01/2018)
HIST 84 United States Women's History (cross-listed with WGST 57; effective 1/1/11)
HIST 97 The Modern Middle East (effective 03/25/22)
HIST 103 This is What Democracy Looks Like? Populism and Fascism in Comparative Perspective (effective 1/1/22)
HIST 105 Race and Sex in Modern America (cross-listed with ETHN 176 and WGST 174A; effective 03/25/23)
HIST 112 The Haitian Revolution in World History and Memory (effective 03/25/18)
HIST 115 Revolutions in Sex, Race & Rights (cross-listed with WGST 169; effective 1/1/18)
HIST 118 Representation, Rights, and Democracy, 1050-1792 (effective 1/1/17)
HIST 119 Gender, Sexuality & Social Movements in the 20th U.S (effective 9/1/20)
HIST 121 Saving the World?: A Critical History of Human Rights and Humanitarianism (effective 1/1/17)
HIST 122 The Holocaust (effective 4/1/17)
HIST 133 History of Sexuality (cross-listed with WGST 137; effective 1/1/16)
HIST 136 Gender and National Identity in 20th-Century Eastern and Western Europe (cross-listed with WGST 172; effective 3/25/16)
HIST 137 The Soviet Experiment (effective 9/1/09)
HIST 143 The Haitian Revolution in World History and Memory (cross-listed with HIST 43; effective 3/25/21)
HIST 165 Parties and Presidents (effective 09/19/16)
HIST 174 Turbulence and Change: America in the 1960s and 1970s (effective 01/09/2017)
HIST 175 Natives & Newcomers: Early North America (effective 01/01/2018)
HIST 176 Contemporary America: 1980 to the Present (effective 04/03/2017)
HIST 177 Gays and Lesbians in United States History (cross-listed with WGST 138; effective 1/1/11)
HIST 184 American Historical Geography (effective 03/25/18)
HIST 188S The Making of Modern America: The Progressive Era (formerly HIST 188; effective 9/1/09)
Management
MGMT 40 Foundational Knowledge of Managing for Sustainability (effective 9/1/17)
MGMT 41 Foundational Skills of Managing for Sustainability (effective 1/1/18)
MGMT 42 Leading from the Triple Bottom Line (effective 03/25/18)
Mathematics
*MATH 14 Calculus & Analytic Geometry IV (effective 11/2/2016)
MATH 51 Discrete Mathematics (cross-listed with COEN 19; effective 9/1/09)
MATH 101 Survey of Geometry (effective 9/1/09)
*MATH 113 Topology (effective 9/1/09)
*MATH 122 Probability & Statistics I (effective 9/1/09)
*MATH 123 Probability & Statistics II (effective 9/1/09)
*MATH 125 Mathematical Finance (cross-listed with FNCE 116; effective 9/1/09)
*MATH 170 Development of Math (9/1/09)
Music
MUSC 119 Music, Technology & Society (effective 9/1/15)
*MUSC 156 Improvisation (effective 1/1/11)
MUSC 189 Sacred Music and the Church (effective 1/1/16)
MUSC 194 Music of the Romantic Period (effective 9/1/15)
MUSC 196 Music Since 1945 (effective 1/1/17)
Operations Management & Information Systems
OMIS 41 Statistics and Data Analysis II (effective 03/25/22)
Philosophy
PHIL 14 History of Western Philosophy: Classical and Medieval (effective 9/1/14)
PHIL 14H History of Western Philosophy: Classical and Medieval: Honors (effective 11/25/2015)
PHIL 19 Knowledge and Reality (effective 9/1/14; formerly PHIL 90)
PHIL 20 Introduction to Philosophy (effective 9/1/09)
PHIL 40 Science, Technology, and Society (effective 9/1/09; formerly PHIL 80)
PHIL 125 Moral Epistemology (effective 9/1/09)
PHIL 135 Existentialism (effective 9/1/09)
PHIL 140 Philosophy of Science (effective 10/8/2012)
PHIL 142 Problems of Knowledge (effective 9/1/09)
PHIL 145 Contemporary European Philosophy: Existentialism (formerly PHIL 135; effective 9/1/09)
PHIL 150 Wittgenstein (effective 10/11/2016; formerly PHIL 145)
PHIL 152 Problems of Moral Knowledge (effective Fall 2016; formerly PHIL 125)
PHIL 153 Philosophy of Science (formerly PHIL 140; effective 9/1/09)
PHIL 156 Knowledge, Truth, and Belief (formerly PHIL 142)
PHIL 174 Uncertainty, Conflict & Self Development: Chinese Perspectives
The normal prerequisite for all Philosophy upper division courses is upper division standing.
Physics
*PHYS 34 Physics for Scientists & Engineers IV (effective 9/1/09)
*PHYS 121 Quantum Mechanics I (effective 9/1/09)
Psychology
PSYC 50 Ways of Knowing (effective 9/1/09)
Religious Studies
*RSOC 91 Native Spiritual Traditions (cross-listed with ETHN 12; effective 1/1/11)
*SCTR 35 Science vs. The Bible: The Genesis Debates (effective 9/1/09)
*SCTR 35H The Genesis Debates: Honors (effective 11/25/2015)
*SCTR 39 Biblical Women and Power (cross-listed with WGST 47; effective 1/1/19)
*SCTR 128 Human Suffering and Hope (effective 9/1/09)
*SCTR 165 Gender & Sexuality in Biblical Interpretation (cross-listed with WGST 148; effective 2/3/2016)
*SCTR 165R RSS: Gender & Sexuality in Biblical Interpretation (cross-listed with WGST 148; effective 9/1/09)
*SCTR 170 Darwin & God (effective 1/1/11)
*SCTR 170R RSS: Darwin & God (effective 9/1/09)
TESP 2 Magicians, Athletes and God: Fantasy Literature and Christian Theology (effective 1/1/11)
TESP 16 Religion, Science and Ecology (effective 9/1/18)
*TESP 50 Catholic Theology: Foundations (effective 3/1/10)
*TESP 50H Catholic Theology: Foundations: Honors (effective 11/25/2015)
*TESP 58 Theology of Vatican II (effective 12/21/2015)
*TESP 72 Darwin, God & the Poets (effective 9/1/09)
*TESP 124 Theology of Marriage (effective 9/1/09)
*TESP 124R RSS: Theology of Marriage (effective 9/1/09)
*TESP 127 Theology of Family (effective 9/1/09)
*TESP 142 Conscience, Christianity and Politics (effective 01/01/18)
*TESP 149 Radical Theology: Death of God (effective 01/01/21)
*TESP 176 Nature, Humanity, Spirituality (effective 9/1/09)
Sociology
SOCI 117 Sociologys Analytical Frameworks and Conceptual Approaches (effective 9/1/09)
*SOCI 119 Sociological Theory (effective 9/1/09)
Women's and Gender Studies
*WGST 47 Biblical Women and Power (cross-listed with SCTR 39; effective 1/1/19)
WGST 57 Women in American Society (cross-listed with HIST 84; effective 9/1/09)
WGST 137 History of Sexuality (cross-listed with HIST 133; effective 1/1/16)
WGST 138 Gays and Lesbians in United States History (cross-listed with HIST 177; effective 9/1/09)
*WGST 148 RSS: Gender & Sexuality in Biblical Interpretation (cross-listed with SCTR 165R; effective 9/1/09)
WGST 169 Revolutions in Sex, Race & Rights (cross-listed with HIST 115; effective 1/1/18)
WGST 172 Gender and National Identity in 20th-Century Eastern and Western Europe (cross-listed with HIST 136; effective 9/1/09)
WGST 174A Race & Sex in Modern America (cross-listed with HIST 105 and ETHN 176; effective 3/25/23)
* Indicates Course Has Prerequisites