Philosopher of science,

Find a book-length work of history on one of the major figures or topics from the course. The object of your analysis should be a piece that has been written recently (in the past 30 years or so) by a historian or philosopher of science, not a historical piece. E.g. you should be writing a book report on a book that is ABOUT Aristotle or Islamic mathematicians, NOT something written BY them. (For a list of course figures and topics see the Schedule below.) You will then offer a concise and focussed critical analysis of your chosen book, including what other reviewers have said about it.

The book report is to be on the book PREFACE TO PLATO by ERIC A. HAVELOCK.

You are to find a historical or philosophical book on any of the historical figures we
discuss in this class (not just the ones we have discussed thus far), or on any of the topic
issues for any of the units on the Course Syllabus. The book is supposed to be a historical
or philosophical treatment OF the period, not FROM the period. In other words, it would
be fair game to read a historical account of Descartes’ place in anatomical science. BUT
DON’T READ A BOOK BY DESCARTES.
You will carefully read the book and assess its merits. You
then have two main tasks:
(1) Clearly convey to your reader what the main ideas of the text are, and what is special
about this text. For example, if you are reading a book about Newton’s account of
Absolute Space and Absolute Time, what makes THIS book different from other books on
the subject? What is the author’s thesis, or most important novel claim? How is the book
structured differently than other books on the subject? (Authors usually give you answers
to these questions in a Preface or Introduction.)
(2) You must critically assess the work. Do you think the author supports his or her claims?
Why or why not? Do you think the author focusses on the right material? Why or why
not? How do you think the work could be improved?