About Us

This faculty pursues research in the fields of history and philosophy of natural sciences and humanities and includes three departments: Department of Philosophy of Science and Technology, Department of History of Science and Department of Methodology of Science.

The members of this faculty are all graduates of basic sciences, engineering and medicine who have obtained their PhD in the field of philosophy of science and technology or history of science.

 

About the departments

Philosophy of Science & Technology Department

The Department of Philosophy of Science and Technology is active in the field of natural science studies, mathematics, and social and medical sciences as well as technology studies. These studies are done with a philosophical, anthropological, sociological and psychological approach to science and technology. According to the goals envisaged in the major programs of the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, this department is responsible for the expansion of research and academic education in these fields of study; criticism and evaluation of the crude perception of philosophy, science and technology in Western civilization, the understanding the relationship of philosophy, science and technology of the West with culture, society and religion in contemporary Iran, interdisciplinary studies of fundamental ontological studies and cognitive knowledge about philosophy, science and technology in Western civilization, studying the sociological, psychological and anthropological foundations of philosophy, science and technology in Western civilization, examining the relation of humanities and social sciences to natural sciences, the understanding the characteristics of scientific activity and how it evolves; the examining the answers of different schools about what the scientific method is; how scientific theories explain the world and how they are verified; the reality or instrumentality of scientific identities; what are the laws of science; studying the nature and philosophical, logical and sociological foundations of science and technology and investigating their effectiveness and influence on politics, culture and society with historical, analytical, sociological and anthropological methods; research on ethical issues surrounding science and technology and also, the study of specific questions in the philosophy of medicine, the philosophy of mathematics and logic, the philosophy of biology, the philosophy of physics, the philosophy of technology and the philosophy of social sciences, such as the nature of space, time and matter, the nature of mathematics, the concept of health and disease, the concept of causality in medicine, the concept of life and evolution, the difference between social sciences and natural sciences, the distinction between understanding and explanation in social sciences, the determinism of technology and the relationship between science and religion are among the other issues of concern and interest in this department.

This department has been training doctoral students in philosophy of science and technology since 2007, and its graduates are employed as faculty members or researchers in scientific centers.

 

Department of History of Science

Main research and focus of the activities of the History of Science Department have been on the history of science in the Islamic world and especially cultural Iran. The research that has been conducted in the field of science studies in the world, has created the impression that the Muslim civilization was an intermediary link for the transfer of the scientific heritage of Greece and Rome to the West in the modern era. However, historical research shows that although Muslim scientists have benefited a lot from these works, they have tried to add new perspectives to this body which were the results of their considerations and thoughts. Therefore, with the aim of historical study of the formation and evolution of science and technology in the Islamic era, the department of History of Science and Civilization was formed about a decade ago at the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies.

Considering that the Islamic civilization has dominated a large part of the world for many centuries, it is obvious that such a civilization was necessarily based on important scientific and technological achievements. Therefore, examining these achievements in the fields such as physics, astronomy, chemistry, medicine and pharmaceuticals is one of the most important fields of research in this department. In the field of technology, topics related to mechanical tools, architectural and construction technologies, military technology, metal smelting technology and chemistry, and finally technologies related to agriculture are among the topics for research in this department.

This department has been training doctoral students in the history of science since 2007, and now the graduates of this field are working and researching in prominent universities and research centers of the country.

 

Methodology of Science Department

The Methodology Department of the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies was established with the motive to examine the methods used in the production of knowledge and its arguments. Various fields of knowledge try to explore and research their subject based on different principles, rules and methods. Reflecting on the opinions of researchers and experts in different fields shows that they are not aware of the assumptions and methods of their fields, and therefore they face a lot of controversies due to wrong ideas. Resolving these disputes depends on clarifying the presuppositions and methods used in various sciences, which is the task of the methodology science.

The relation of natural sciences and technology to humanities and social sciences are among the fields that the researchers of this department try to investigate the scientific activities of their researchers from a methodological perspective. The purpose of research in this department is to be able to use the results of their work firstly to clarify the controversies in this field and secondly to provide foundations so that research in any field of knowledge can lead to fruitful and efficient results.

 

Journals of the faculty

The faculty publishes two scientific journals. The Journal of Philosophy of Science, and the Journal of Science and Religion Research.

 

About the Journal of Philosophy of Science

Journal of Philosophy of Science is the first journal of this field in Iran, which tries to publish the latest findings of researchers, academic staff members and students in this field, to form a "specialized society of philosophy of science" and to expand the studies of this field in the Persian-speaking scientific community.

Topics in general philosophy of science, epistemology and ontology of science, methodology of science, history of philosophy of science, schools of philosophy of science, science and society and relationship between history and philosophy of science are published in this journal. In this journal, subjects such as philosophy of physics, philosophy of mathematics and logic, philosophy of chemistry, philosophy of biology, and philosophy of medicine are discussed. Sociological, psychological and anthropological studies of science and continental philosophy of science, philosophy of technology and philosophy of humanities and social sciences are of interest to the editorial board of this journal.

 

About the Journal of Science and Religion Research

The journal of "Science and Religion Research" publishes articles with the aim of expanding academic research in the field of "science and religion" in the Persian-speaking scientific community and examining its various aspects by domestic and international experts.

Classical topics of science and religion/relationship between science and religion in today's world/metaphysics, history and philosophy of natural sciences and mathematics/metaphysics, history and philosophy of medicine and biology/case studies of scientific theories such as the theory of evolution of theology, philosophy and science among ancient and modern thinkers / science, technology and civilization in the Islamic world / the rise of modern sciences and the scientific revolution / natural theology and modern sciences / theology, humanities and modern social sciences / science and secularism / science, technology and ethics in fields such as environment, biotechnology, genetic engineering / philosophical and metaphysical theology / scientific theology and ethics / theology, art, technology and architecture are among the topics of interest in this journal.

 

Aims and future plans of the faculty:

• The networking of history and philosophy researchers of the country
• The signing memorandums of understanding with related research centers
• The transforming the History of Science department into a research center for the history and philosophy of medicine
• The creating a history of science journal with an emphasis on the history of humanities and social sciences and historiography of science
• The holding joint interdisciplinary courses with three departments of the faculty
• The holding a national conference entitled New Perspectives in Historiography of Science
• The criticism of works in the field of history and philosophy of science (priority is given to newly published books)
• The methodical evaluating the macro policies of the country in the scientific, economic, political, social and cultural fields
• The investigating the methodological shortcomings of the studies conducted in the field of science and technology
• The signing memorandums of understanding with related centers
• The interaction with macro policy centers in the field of science and technology in the country
• The methodological comparative studies with other countries in the field of science and technology
• The recruiting and completing the faculty members of the departments
• The directing the research of new members in line with the department's goals

 

Activities:

• The holding educational courses for the doctoral course in history and philosophy of science
• The holding specialized meetings and lectures
• The publishing of two specialized journals "Philosophy of Science" and " Science and Religion Research"
• The holding specialized workshops
• The holding scientific and specialized conferences
• The defining specialized research projects of academic staff members and publishing them in the form of articles and books