Black Mountain College Bulletin/ Bulletin-Newsletter, Vol. VII, No. 3. May 1949 - Page 1 |
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BLACK
B LAC K
MOUNTAIN COLLEGE
MOUNTAIN, NORTH
BULLETIN
CAROLINA
PHYSICS FOR LIBERAL ARTS STUDENTS
by Natasha Goldowski
A paper presented at the fifteenth annual meeting of the Southeastern Section
of the American Physical Society, April 1949
It has become apparent during recent years that there is a growing
tendency to include physics in the curriculum of the liberal arts.
But, although a general agreement seems to exist upon the necessity
of teaching physics, two main questions still remaih unsettled. First.
what is the reason for introducing this science subject into the field
of the humanities? Second, how should the subject be approached?
The purpose of this paper is to search for answers- to these two · concomitant
questions in connection with the preparation of a physics
textbook. Actually, the number of textbooks in physics is, according
to the publishers. larger than in any other branch of science, yet
apparently too few of these books are suitable for liberal arts students.
Why is this? Can it be because the approach to physics, and the
reason for teaching it at all, are not clear?
The teaching of physics within a curriculum of a definite scientific
training for a definite purpose follows a definite pattern. This pattern
reflects two requirements: transference of definite data to the mind
of the student, and development in the student of a scientific method
of approach to the subject. By scientific method one means the ability
to form a logical development of thought within given limits. -
Premedical or engineering preparation stresses the first of these
requirements - that of transferring data to the student's mind; for
science st4dents going into graduate work, and particularly on the
graduate level, the second prevails - that of developing a scientific
method of approach.
This pattern disappears when physics enters other curricula. If
physics is not to be taught for the sake of physics one has to define
the reason for the sake of which it is to be taught. The many possible
answers to this _ question can be divided into three main categories
according to whether the answer stems from the technical, the philosophicaL
or the psychological point of view.
From the technical point of view, one may assume thatphysics should
be taught to everyone in order to enable him to learn the functioning
Object Description
| Title | Black Mountain College Bulletin/ Bulletin-Newsletter, Vol. VII, No. 3. May 1949 |
| Other Title | Physics for Liberal Arts Students by Natasha Goldowski |
| Creator | Black Mountain College (Black Mountain, N.C.) |
| Contributor |
Goldowski, Natasha. |
| Date | 1949 |
| Subjects |
College publications--North Carolina Education, Humanistic--North Carolina Physics--Study and teaching |
| Place |
Black Mountain, Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States |
| Time Period | (1945-1989) Post War/Cold War period |
| Description | Original bulletin containing "Physics for Liberal Arts Students" by Natasha Goldowski"a paper presented at the fifteenth annual meeting of the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society, April 1949." Released by Stuart Atkinson. |
| Physical Characteristics | 1 sheet, folded |
| Format |
Periodicals Informational pamphlets |
| Rights | Courtesy of Western Regional Archives. Prior permission from the State Archives of NC is required for any commercial use.; |
| Requirements for Use | Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader for PDF files. |
| Language |
English |
| Collection | Black Mountain College Research Project. North Carolina Museum of Art. Western Regional Archives |
| Local call no. | BMCRP, Series VI, Box 75, Folder 31 |
| MARS ID | 61.12.6 (Sub Series) |
| Digital Collection | Black Mountain College |
| Digital Format |
application/pdf |
| Audience |
All |
| Full Text | BLACK MOUNTAIN COLLEGE BULLETIN BLACK MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA PHYSICS FOR LIBERAL ARTS STUDENTS by Natasha Goldowski A paper presented at the fifteenth annual meeting of the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society, April 1949 It has become apparent during recent years that there is a growing tendency to include physics in the curriculum of the liberal arts. But, although a general agreement seems to exist upon the necessity of teaching physics, two main questions still remaih unsettled. First. what is the reason for introducing this science subject into the field of the humanities? Second, how should the subject be approached? The purpose of this paper is to search for answers- to these two · concomitant questions in connection with the preparation of a physics textbook. Actually, the number of textbooks in physics is, according to the publishers. larger than in any other branch of science, yet apparently too few of these books are suitable for liberal arts students. Why is this? Can it be because the approach to physics, and the reason for teaching it at all, are not clear? The teaching of physics within a curriculum of a definite scientific training for a definite purpose follows a definite pattern. This pattern reflects two requirements: transference of definite data to the mind of the student, and development in the student of a scientific method of approach to the subject. By scientific method one means the ability to form a logical development of thought within given limits. - Premedical or engineering preparation stresses the first of these requirements - that of transferring data to the student's mind; for science st4dents going into graduate work, and particularly on the graduate level, the second prevails - that of developing a scientific method of approach. This pattern disappears when physics enters other curricula. If physics is not to be taught for the sake of physics one has to define the reason for the sake of which it is to be taught. The many possible answers to this _ question can be divided into three main categories according to whether the answer stems from the technical, the philosophicaL or the psychological point of view. From the technical point of view, one may assume thatphysics should be taught to everyone in order to enable him to learn the functioning and repair of the various " automata" in use in any household, farm, office, or plant. Consequently, the teaching of physics will consist of the study of progressively complicated mechanisms of all kinds so as to unravel for the student the multiple automatic or semi- automatic devices. In short, it will be a " technical" study of a number of mechanisms wEose selectio WI e 8etermme y e relative lffiportance given to the various necessities of life. one approaches the subject from the philosop lcal point of view, en emphasis falls on the role science has played and is playing in our civilization The method of teaching relevant here has been described by James B. Conant in an illuminating article 1 where he states that " the understanding of sGience by a layman can be best ac . ved th? aU'gn: a few relativel sim e case histories in which the four followmg pomts wou e illustr2. ted: The influence of new techniques of experimentation their connection with practical arts. The evolution of new concepts from experiment. The difficulties of experimentation and the significance controlled experiment. . The development of science as an organized social activity." From e standpoint of the third category, the " psychological" point of view, physics becomes not the goal but a means of learning, leading to the development of a scientific method of approach to all types of human activities. This point of view - in which I am interestedis substantiated by · two considerations. .' t the ~ esent interes of scientific inve tigation seems to center upon the study of " man" and . iSJ- EUafums witb.. Jh. e. surroundin m Cli.- 9, a study, I may say, J~ ndert en by: means., ; 8ele. Qtiffc mellio . :' TIle secone consiaeration is e appearance of the " borderline" sciences which have been eveloping along with the present tendency to revert to " universality." As a matter of fact, we seem to have progressed very far in our knowledge of the physical world consisting of " periodic crystals," but we seem very far behind in understandin the living organisms formed essentially by " aperiodic crystals." 2 e study of the functioning of cells remained for a long time in the purely descriptive or cataloging stage.) It is only within recent decades that some progress has been made - for which we are mainly indebted to the physicists, chemists, and mathematicians who migrated into ilie fields of biology, h siology, and neurolog . . . The results of this " transference" of scientific technique brought about y the in asion of one field with the technique of another are quite surprising. Before this transference, certain separate mechanisms underwe exhaustive investigation and were thoroughly understood. hen it ecame clear that e understanding of a phenomenon as a whole Olald Bot anie out oy; s ecialists in one field. Finall there began to take place a mergence of the work of different specialists, each offering the interpretation of some aspect of the multifold manifestations of the same mechanism. This tendency grew more and more app~ ent as the mechanism under consideration increased Black Mountain College Bulletin Volume 7 Number 3 May 1949 Issued four times a year, in March, April, May, and November. Entered as secondclass malter November 4, 1942, at the Post Office at Black Mountain, North Carolina, under the Act of August 24, 1912. in complexity, and reached its preeminent position when the phenomenon of " man" became the object of study. Thus were born the " borderline" sciences, whose history and implications are set forth with great clarity by Norbert Wiener in his book on Cybernetics. 3 is mergence of sciences implies quite clearly that humanity, emergmg from the era of specialization, is moving toward the " universality of knowledge" which characterized the human tendency of say a century ago. The universality we are approaching now is, however, infinitely more complex than the universality of a hundred years ago) One hundred years ago it was possible for a scientist to know all the information available at that time in all branches of knowledge. Earlier still, a " physicist" needed to know only the three basic elementswater, air, and fire - in order to " understand" the whole universe. Now, in order to grasp what is known of the ten or so elementary particles of the nucleus one has to spend ten years in sustained and highly specialized study. I the light of this situation it becomes clear that discrete domains of h sics can e enlargea anI y a gifted- aiid rivileged few because . e sUl3jec is alread so far advancea and involved. . as of us may hope to un erstand- on y a fraction of a brandl 0 science. Consequently, it is not only impossible to be universal in all sciences, one cannot be universal even in one science. The borderline sciences, however, can be advanced by common effort on the part of different specialists who speak a common language. To participate in the borderline sciences demands on the one hand a profound knowledge of a particular field and on the other hand some understanding of other fields or at least of the language of the others. If this is so in the realm of science, it is still more so in the domain a the social sciences. If this outline of the present situation is valid, if the factors I have mentioned grow more and more dominant in the development of human knowledge, then teaching physics to students of the humanities acquires a definite reason. In the future the student will, as a matter of course, encounter the scientific approach to, and scientific interpretation of, various data and therefore will have to carry with him a training enabling him to understand and to perform these processes. Of what does this training consist, aside from accumulating positive data which can be acquired from any textbook? In my opinion it consists mainly in the development of the capacity of systematic analysis of data - any data - followed by equally strict and systematic synthesis. To ac this capacity the mind has to be trained to a mental discipline. So far as I know, this discipline can be acquired best and most bro dly through the study of the precise sciences, among which physics represents a particularly adequate operational medium because it requir s one or more strictly logical sequences of ideas within definite limits. Furthermore, the knowledge of physics, which is the root of severa ranches of human knowledge, will allow the student to approach, understand, and correlate a great many borderline subjects. Thus ph sic _ a subject of the " Humanities" curriculum becomes priman y not a goaLout a means of developing the mind so . that it is able to pursue a logical trend of thought within the limits 9f the material un er cons1 era' 1ven 1S approac to the teaching of physics, the ne important point is the selection of the material to be presented. The choice must, it seems, be guided by two independent considerations: the mathematical background of the tudent, and the importance of the material in relation to other fields. In other words, the material to be presented to the student can cover all the fundamental ideas and principles of physics whose final formulation can be expressed in simple mathematical language. But this material is rather extensive and the problem of its presentation becomes a very difficult one. Since the main object of teaching physics falls into two categoriestraining in logical thinking, ana- correiation of data obtained in one field with data obtained in other fields - part of the material has to be presented with the two goals in mind. The first can be achieved by emphasizing the step- by- step process and the second by taking the fundamental results and correlating them with social science, literature, etc) . For example, notions such as the kinetic theorY, oj gqses ( introducing the importance of probability), entropy ( pointing out the role oLdissymetry, ilie aw a gravitation, etc., are particu arly suitable for general interpretation. I 1S, nowever, important to point out that physical laws do not explain - tEey demonstrate. ach branch of physics can be explored from the dual point of view-) rigorous analysis and synthesis, and relationship to the branches of different areas of human activities. If contemporary thought is to be dominated by the notions of univer~ sality, of the interpenetration of highly complex fields, and of the scientific approach to the exploration of the phenomenon - manthen scientific training such as I have described should be highly valuable, indeed almost essential, to all students, whether they are destined to become artists, businessmen, farmers, housewives, or scientists. t James B Conant: ' On Understanding of Science"- American Scientist ( 947) p 33 2 Erwin Schrodinger: WHAT IS LIFE?- MacMillan 1947 p 3 3 Norbert Wiener: CYBERNETICS- Wiley 1948 4 Alfred Einstein and Leopold Inleld: THE EVOLUTION OF PHYSICS- Simon and Schuster 1942 p 29 |
| Type |
Text |
Description
| Title | Black Mountain College Bulletin/ Bulletin-Newsletter, Vol. VII, No. 3. May 1949 - Page 1 |
| Full Text | BLACK B LAC K MOUNTAIN COLLEGE MOUNTAIN, NORTH BULLETIN CAROLINA PHYSICS FOR LIBERAL ARTS STUDENTS by Natasha Goldowski A paper presented at the fifteenth annual meeting of the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society, April 1949 It has become apparent during recent years that there is a growing tendency to include physics in the curriculum of the liberal arts. But, although a general agreement seems to exist upon the necessity of teaching physics, two main questions still remaih unsettled. First. what is the reason for introducing this science subject into the field of the humanities? Second, how should the subject be approached? The purpose of this paper is to search for answers- to these two · concomitant questions in connection with the preparation of a physics textbook. Actually, the number of textbooks in physics is, according to the publishers. larger than in any other branch of science, yet apparently too few of these books are suitable for liberal arts students. Why is this? Can it be because the approach to physics, and the reason for teaching it at all, are not clear? The teaching of physics within a curriculum of a definite scientific training for a definite purpose follows a definite pattern. This pattern reflects two requirements: transference of definite data to the mind of the student, and development in the student of a scientific method of approach to the subject. By scientific method one means the ability to form a logical development of thought within given limits. - Premedical or engineering preparation stresses the first of these requirements - that of transferring data to the student's mind; for science st4dents going into graduate work, and particularly on the graduate level, the second prevails - that of developing a scientific method of approach. This pattern disappears when physics enters other curricula. If physics is not to be taught for the sake of physics one has to define the reason for the sake of which it is to be taught. The many possible answers to this _ question can be divided into three main categories according to whether the answer stems from the technical, the philosophicaL or the psychological point of view. From the technical point of view, one may assume thatphysics should be taught to everyone in order to enable him to learn the functioning |
