ספריה 8

Humanities Courses

Humanities Courses

 WINTER SEMESTER 2026

Courses Offered – Winter Semester 2026  

Faculty of Humanities and Arts / Interdisciplinary Course

2160003 Learning Disabilities – Brain (Faculty of Science and Technology Education)
2140119 Teaching and Learning in Science and Engineering in Higher Education
2140120 Fundamentals of Learning and Teaching
3230033 The Musical Brain – From Centuries to Perception
3240258 Introduction to Guided Listening – Orchestral Giants
3240266 Science and Critique of Science
3240293 Fundamental Insights in Maimonides’ Philosophy
3240269 Ethics in Action
3240267 Body-Soul Relations – From Plato to Neuroscience
3240274 Introduction to Guided Listening – Piano Giants
3240284 Education in China and Israel
3240292 Law, Equality, and Social Justice
3240298 Innovative Israeli Law
3240299 Terror, Jihad and Political Response – Group 10 only English
3240307 A Window into Midrash and Aggadic Literature
3240432 Psychology of Music
3240439 Fundamentals of Japanese Art
3240397 Issues in Philosophy of Life Sciences – For Medical Students Only
3240442 Labor Law in Israel
3240445 Coping with Stressful Situations
3240452 Surveillance: Technology, Theory, and Ethics
3240454 Introduction to Philosophy of Science
3240474 Ethics: Foundations, Norms, and Application
3240518 Innovation, Creativity, and Happiness
3240521 Entrepreneurship in Organizations – Developments and Trends
3240527 Foundations of Entrepreneurship English
3240528 Entrepreneurial Leadership
3240536 High-Tech in Israel
3240879 Selected Issues in Israeli Society – Group 10 only English
3250001 Artist in Residence– Elad Schneiderman (Sound)
3250011 Artist in Residence – Hillel Roman (What is Art?)
3250010 Science, Religion, and Philosophy
3260002 Ethics of Sensory Technologies
3260005 Breakthroughs in the History of Mathematical Thought English
3260009 Anthropological Theories English

* “Artist in Residence” courses may be taken only once per degree.

325007
Strategic Intelligence and Ethics
Winter
2

LINK

325008
New Venture Creation and Venture Capital
Winter
2

LINK

325009
Leaving Your Mark in Science and Art (Eng.)
Dr. Orit Wolf
Winter
2

LINK

326004
Philosophy of Time and Space
Dr. Dustin Lazarovici
Winter
2

LINK

326005
Breakthroughs in the history of mathematical thinking
Dr. Dustin Lazarovici
Spring
2

LINK

3250021
Exploring the Precursors of Modern Mechanics through Texts on the Medieval Concept of Motion
Dr. Daniel Antonio Di Liscia
winter
2
3250022- Philosophical Seminar: Technology and Humanities –  Daniel A. Di Liscia

 

Wednesday 10:30-12:30

 

“From Here to There”: Exploring the Precursors of Modern Mechanics through Texts on the Medieval Concept of Motion.

 

Modern science is credited with having developed a ‘new science of motion’ (Galileo). In our seminar, we will both challenge and support this conviction by analyzing translated original medieval texts about motion. We will begin by focusing on the concept of motion (Sessions 1-2). Session 3 will explore the medieval treatment of motion in terms of space and time, which we will connect in the following session (Session 4) to the geometrical representation of qualities and motions (the ‘doctrine of configurations’). In Sessions 5 to 10, we will focus on various problems in Aristotelian dynamics, analyzing causality, the role of the medium, and resistance. This will include discussions of the impetus theory as applied to projectile motion, the acceleration of falling bodies, and the possibility of motion in an empty space. During the final two sessions, we will examine special cases that are both fascinating and characteristic of the late Middle Ages: the debates on the Earth’s rotation (Session 11), and a unique chapter on angelology (Session 12). Here, we will explore concepts like instantaneous motion and beings passing through walls—with physical explanations. The first session will be dedicated to introducing the general topic of the seminar and the working methodology. In the final session, we will address the problem of continuity between medieval natural philosophy and modern mechanics by reading selected passages from key modern authors.

 

מכאן לשם”: חקר הקודמים למכניקה מודרנית דרך טקסטים על המושג הימי של תנועה.

מדע מודרני זוכה להכרה שפיתח “מדע חדש של תנועה” (גלילאו). בסמינר שלנו, אנו נאתגר ונחזק תפיסה זו על ידי ניתוח טקסטים מקוריים מהתקופה הימיונית שתרגמו על תנועה. נתחיל במוקד על המושג תנועה (מושבים 1-2). מושב 3 יחקור את הטיפול של ימי הביניים בתנועה בהקשר של מקום וזמן, ונקשר זאת במושב הבא (מושב 4) לייצוג הגיאומטרי של תכונות ותנועות (ה’דוקטרינה של קונפיגורציות’). במושבים 5 עד 10, נתרכז בבעיות שונות בדינמיקה האריסטוטלית, ננתח סיבתיות, את תפקיד התווך וההתנגדות. זה יכלול דיונים על תאוריית ההנעה כפי שהיא מיושמת על תנועת פרויקטים, האצה של גופים נופלים, והאפשרות של תנועה בחלל ריק. במהלך שני המושבים האחרונים, נבחן מקרים מיוחדים שהם גם מרתקים וגם אופייניים לסוף ימי הביניים: הדיונים על סיבוב כדור הארץ (מושב 11) ופרק ייחודי על אנגלולוגיה (מושב 12). כאן, נחקור מושגים כמו תנועה מיידית ויצורים העוברים דרך קירות—עם הסברים פיזיקליים. המושב הראשון יהיה מוקדש להקדמה לנושא הכללי של הסמינר ולשיטה העבודה. במושב הסופי, נתייחס לבעיה של רציפות בין הפילוסופיה הטבעית של ימי הביניים למכניקה מודרנית על ידי קריאה של קטעים נבחרים מאתרים מודרניים מרכזיים.

 

 

1 Introduction Presentation of the course: Methodology, readings, and key notions (nature, cosmos and motion within the Medieval worldview).
2 What kind of thing is motion? The sources (Aristotle, Averroes) and Albert the Great’s discussion on “the fluent form” and “flow of the form”.
3 What kind of word is “motion”? Exploring linguistically the limits of a physical theory:  Ockham, Buridan and Pseudo-Marsilus of Inghen.
4 How much motion? Motion according “to the effects” in space and time. Instantaneous velocity. Uniform and accelerated motion. The mean degree theorem according to Heytesbury’s Rules for solving sophismata.
5 How to represent motion? Geometrizing  intensities:  Oresme’s configuration doctrine applied to motion and qualities.
6 Stopping to exist Averroes’ text 71 on the role of resistance and time.
7 Why motion? Averroes and Aquinas on the strong principle of causality in medieval physics.
8 Motion without any contact? Buridan Questions on Physics and the problem of the projectile motion.
9 Even more “motion”? Buridan and Oresme on the acceleration of the falling bodies.
10 Nothing around motion Thomas Aquinas  and Henry of Ghent on the possibility of motion in a hypothetical vacuum.
11 Moving the Earth in the Middle Ages? Nicole Oresme’s arguments regarding the possibility of the Earth’s rotation (Livre du Ciel et du monde II.25)
12 Fast Messengers The motion of the angels in Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologica.
13 Final discussion The continuity between late medieval natural philosophy and modern mechanics (selected passages by Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, Leibniz and Newton).
  1. Course Structure: The course will primarily involve reading original texts that have been translated into English. These texts are expected to be around 20 pages in length.
  2. Participation: Active participation in the course will be crucial, likely involving discussions, presentations, or other interactive elements based on the reading material.
  3. Additional Texts: Depending on the number of participants, there may be additional texts added to the syllabus. This suggests the course might adapt its reading material according to the size of the class. Students will be provided with the reading materials.

 

 

326008
Texts in Western Culture: Non-fiction (Eng.)
Prof. Justin Erik Smith
Winter
2

LINK