Suggested Thesis prompts (choose one):

1. Compare Bacon’s prescription for scientific investigation to the presentations given by

Copernicus and Galileo. To what extent do Copernicus and Galileo avoid or commit
the errors that Bacon describes as Idols of the Mind? To what extent do they follow
his advice on how scientists ought to conduct their investigations?

2. In his Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina, Galileo attempts to reconcile the conflict
between the claims of science and religion. To what extent does he achieve this goal?
Defend your answer with a well-constructed argument. Merely summarizing salient
features of Galileo’s argument is not sufficient to prove your answer.

3. To what extent do Newton’s methods (see, for example, Newton’s “Rules for
Reasoning in Philosophy”) conform to Bacon’s prescriptions for scientific
investigation?

4. Compare and contrast Mach’s analysis of space and time with that of Newton. In
what way does Mach disagree with Newton’s “method(s) of reasoning”? What
might Bacon make of Mach’s (or Newton’s) approach to reasoning in “natural
philosophy”?

5. How does Swift's caricature of scientists reveal his attitudes about politics? The
Enlightenment is sometimes portrayed as the practical attempt at realizing Plato's dream
of a society run by "philosophers" (remember that until the nineteenth century, scientists
were called "natural philosophers"). What do you suppose Swift would make of such a
project? What would be its strengths? What would be its failings?

Your thesis must be, among other things, a claim that it is reasonable to disagree with.
That is, your thesis must require an argument. A summary of a given text, even if written
in your own beautifully crafted sentences, is not adequate. You must provide thoughtful
analysis of a text or texts that you are discussing.