Ateneo - UPO

The course explores the historical development of biological and medical knowledge, focusing on the evolution of the concepts of health, disease, the human body, and care, as well as on the progressive definition of the scientist’s role and of the scientific method.
Starting from Greek medicine and the Hippocratic tradition, the course examines Galen’s system, medieval medicine, the Renaissance anatomical revolution with Vesalius, and the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century, with particular reference to Harvey, the circulation of blood, and the introduction of the microscope. The course then addresses the emergence of pathological anatomy, cell theory and Virchow, the development of vaccination and preventive medicine, experimental medicine, the microbiology of Pasteur and Koch, and the rise of modern surgery.
The twentieth century will be considered through the development of biology and pharmacology, advances in diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, and transformations in the relationship between science, medicine, and society. The final part of the course will focus on contemporary medicine and complexity theory as a framework for understanding health and disease as phenomena arising from the interaction of biological, environmental, social, and cultural dimensions.

Conforti M, Corbellini G, Gazzaniga V- Dalla cura alla scienza - EncycloMedia 2011

Cosmacini G - L'arte lunga. Storia della Medicina dall'Antichità ad oggi - Laterza 2011

William Bynum, Breve storia della nuova scienza, Salani, Milano 2015.

The course aims to provide students with the tools needed to understand the history of science as a discipline and to critically analyse the evolution of the scientific enterprise over time, with particular reference to biology and medicine.
By the end of the course, students will be expected to know the main stages in the development of medical and biological thought, from antiquity to the contemporary age, and to understand the evolution of the concepts of health, disease, the human body, and care. Particular attention will also be given to the transformations that have shaped surgery, pharmacology, and therapeutic practices, from the Galenic tradition to the modern introduction of sulfonamides, antibiotics, and antiviral drugs.
The course will focus on the major transformations and “revolutions” that have marked the history of the biological and medical sciences, highlighting how scientific knowledge develops through non-linear processes influenced by historical, cultural, social, and technological contexts.
A further objective is to promote an understanding of science that integrates methodological rigour, historical awareness, and a humanistic perspective, providing students with the conceptual tools required to critically interpret contemporary medicine and the complexity of health and disease.

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Lectures will be complemented by opportunities for discussion and exchange with students, aimed at promoting active participation and critical reflection on the topics addressed.

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The examination consists of an oral assessment comprising four questions on the topics covered throughout the course, together with the discussion of an individual paper prepared by the student on a topic previously agreed upon with the lecturer

Introduction to the History of Science
Meaning, aims, and methods of the discipline. Science as a historical and social construction of knowledge. Scientific communities, institutions, and the circulation of knowledge. The contribution of Robert K. Merton. Scientific change, revolutions, and the non-linear development of knowledge. Introduction to complexity theory.

The Origins of Scientific and Medical Knowledge
From myth to rational explanations of nature. The Greek and Roman world: Hippocrates, Aristotle, Galen, and the first systematic interpretations of living organisms, health, and disease.

The Middle Ages and the Transmission of Knowledge
Translation and circulation of Greek, Arabic, and Latin knowledge. The Salerno Medical School, the rise of universities, and the progressive institutionalisation of knowledge.

The Renaissance, Printing, and the Discovery of the New World
The invention of printing and the dissemination of knowledge. Humanism, observation of nature, voyages, and geographical discoveries. Vesalius and the anatomical revolution.

The Scientific Revolution of the Seventeenth Century
Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton. The experimental method and the mathematisation of nature. Harvey and the circulation of blood. Microscopy, iatrophysics, and iatrochemistry. The rise of scientific academies.

The Enlightenment and New Systems of Classification
Science and reason in the Age of Enlightenment. Linnaeus and the classification of living organisms. The development of the natural sciences and new concepts of health and disease.

The French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the New Organisation of Science
Transformation of scientific and healthcare institutions. Hospitals, laboratories, scientific professions, public health, and social medicine.

The Nineteenth Century and the Biological and Medical Revolution
Cell theory, experimental physiology, cellular pathology, and evolutionism. Darwin and Claude Bernard. Pasteur, Koch, and the germ theory of disease. Vaccination, hygiene, anaesthesia, antisepsis, and the development of modern surgery.

Between the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
The emergence of genetics and the development of microbiology and immunology. The progressive specialisation of the biological and medical sciences.

The Twentieth Century: Molecular Revolution and Big Science
Genetics and molecular biology, the structure of DNA, the development of pharmacology and antimicrobial therapies. Diagnostic and therapeutic innovations. A new relationship between science, the State, industry, and society.

Contemporary Science and Complexity
From reductionism to complex systems: interdependence, networks, emergence, and multiple causation. Applications to biology, medicine, and healthcare systems. Health and disease as biological, environmental, social, and cultural phenomena.

Science, Medicine, and Society Today
Scientific evidence, uncertainty, and decision-making. Personalised medicine, genomics, data, and new technologies. Prevention, health inequalities, sustainability, and the social responsibility of science.

By the end of the course, students will be able to understand the main historical dimensions of the development of science, biology, and medicine, using the appropriate disciplinary terminology. They will also be able to recognise the evolution of major scientific paradigms and to place changes in the concepts of health, disease, and care within their historical, cultural, and social contexts.
The course also aims to foster critical thinking and the ability to analyse scientific knowledge as a historical, dynamic, and non-linear process, drawing also on perspectives from the sociology of science and complexity theory