Aims and objectives
The aim of this course is to give the participants the basic knowledge, tools and critical thinking skills needed to understand the history and current state of the universe and human questions about it. The course will enable participants to begin or continue their scientific or philosophical quest with confidence. It will also introduce to the practical side of the sciences and philosophies of the Universe through training in ‘amateur’ astronomy, as well as philosophy (epistemology and metaphysics). Observation sessions at UNamur’s educational astronomical observatory will enable participants to (re)connect with the sky, an inexhaustible source of wonder and a potential driving force for personal development.
Public
This course is open to anyone interested in understanding the universe and the place of human beings in it. The course will give the basics of practical and theoretical astronomy, useful for starting up amateur astronomy or teaching it and helping others to discover it. Similarly, the teaching in philosophy of science will provide participants with important keys to decoding the popularised and necessarily simplified discourse communicated to the public.
Organisational arrangements
The next edition will run from October 2024 to June 2025. The courses will take place in French on Wednesday afternoons from 2pm to 6pm at the University of Namur, in the form of themed modules of 2 to 3 hours, according to a timetable to be announced in advance. The courses will alternate or mix sciences and philosophies of the Universe.
