Conducting the course 'From the Closed World to the Infinite Universe: The Scientific Revolution as Narrated by Alexandre Koyré

The Institute for the History of Science at the University of Tehran, in cooperation with the Iranian Institute of Philosophy (IRIP), will hold a specialized course titled “From the Closed World to the Infinite Universe: The Scientific Revolution as Narrated by Alexandre Koyré.”

This course will be presented by Dr. Amir Mohammad Gmini, a faculty member of the Institute for the History of Science at the University of Tehran.

The course will be held weekly on Saturdays from 17:00 to 19:00, starting from October 5, 2025 [Note: Converted from Mehr 13, 1404], at the premises of the Iranian Institute of Philosophy (IRIP).

The core of this course is the examination of the valuable book From the Closed World to the Infinite Universe by Alexandre Koyré, which is considered one of the foundational texts in the analysis of the Scientific Revolution. In these sessions, the epistemological, philosophical, and cosmological transformations of the modern era will be scrutinized based on Koyré's narrative. Furthermore, the roots and contexts of the Scientific Revolution within Greek, Christian, and Islamic traditions will be carefully examined, and concepts such as space, place, mathematics, and the role of religion in these developments will be analyzed.

Some of the central questions to be addressed and examined in this course are:

• What change did the Scientific Revolution bring about in the understanding of the cosmos?

• What is the difference between the concepts of place and space in ancient and modern traditions?

• Was the Scientific Revolution the result of a gradual evolution or a fundamental rupture?

• What role did religion play in these transformations?

• How was the place of mathematics in constructing scientific reality defined?

• What is the relationship between Koyré's narrative and the scientific and philosophical heritage of the Islamic period?

The structure of the sessions will include topics such as the critique of traditional philosophy concerning the cosmos, Copernican cosmology, the views of Galileo and Kepler, and finally, the ideas of Newton.

This course presents a valuable opportunity for researchers and enthusiasts in the history of science, philosophy of science, and cosmology to familiarize themselves with one of the most significant theoretical explanations of the Scientific Revolution.