The nature and extent of experimentation in ancient Greek and Roman science remains controversial. In this lecture, Heinrich von Staden, Professor in the School of Historical Studies, analyzes experiments conducted by biologists and physicians on living animals from the fourth century BC to the second century AD. He looks closely at the motivations of the ancient scientists, their methods, their results, and the range of animal species—indigenous and exotic—on which they performed experiments, as well as the limits, ethical or other, on animal experimentation in antiquity. Significant changes over time, in particular the bold move from conducting such experiments only before a small circle of students to performing them in public spaces, often before a sizable audience, are also examined.

The ordinary homology of a subset S of Euclidean space depends only on its topology. By systematically organizing homology of neighborhoods of S, we get quantities that measure the shape of S, rather than just its topology. These quantities can be used to define a new notion of fractional dimension of S. They can also be effectively calculated on a computer.

The mathematical problems arising from modern celestial mechanics, which originated with Isaac Newton’s Principia in 1687, have led to many mathematical theories. Poincaré (1854-1912) discovered that a system of several celestial bodies moving under Newton’s gravitational law shows chaotic dynamics. Earlier, Euler (1707–83) and Lagrange (1736–1813) found instances of stable motion; a spacecraft in the gravitational fields of the sun, earth, and the moon provides an interesting system of this kind. Helmut Hofer, Professor in the School of Mathematics, explains how these observations have led to the development of a geometry based on area rather than distance.

Humanitarianism, which can be defined as the introduction of moral sentiments into human affairs, is a major component of contemporary politics—locally and globally—for the relief of poverty or the management of disasters, in times of peace as well as in times of war. But how different is the world and our understanding of it when we mobilize compassion rather than justice, call for emotions instead of rights, consider inequality in terms of suffering, and violence in terms of trauma? What is gained—and lost—in this translation? In this lecture, Didier Fassin, James D. Wolfensohn Professor in the School of Social Science, attempts to comprehend humanitarian government, to make sense of its expansion, and to assess its ethical and political consequences.