[aleph_minus_one]

> It's essentially a big data dump of formulas that doesn't explain the "why". [...] But at the very least, the formulas are derived from and relate to empirical observations. You don't teach chemistry by treating it as a set of math axioms, right?

It is common in science to define/treat some objects as "axiomatically defined black boxes", because this enables a much faster lecture pace and thus teaching the student a lot more deep material.

But it is common that the lecturer (at least if asked) loves to gives literature references to much deeper textbooks that give these explanations. But you should keep in mind that these textbooks are typically not for the faint of heart, because they demand a lot from the student. That is actually the reason why such topics are not treated in introductory courses for the students who don't want to major in this subject. But nearly always: if you are interested, simply ask the lecturer for literature references and be prepared to learn brutally hard from the literature references that he gives.