INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

Course Objectives:

This course aims to develop an understanding of the notion of science, to introduce various arguments on the scientific method in the context of philosophy of science and to make students able to analyze scientific developments by means of these notions and arguments. The course also aims to develop student’s abilities in understanding scientific texts, searching literature, applying abstract notion to concrete situations, developing arguments and giving oral presentations. The ultimate intention of the course is that students become aware of the relation between science and philosophy and that they develop a critical approach in their fields of study.

Course Content:

The course covers the definition of the scientific knowledge (with comparison to metaphysical, religious and philosophical knowledge), fundamental concepts in the philosophy of knowledge and science (experiment, observation, logic, induction, deduction, rationalism and empricism) and the discussions on scientific methods (verification theory, falsification theory, Lakatos’ research programmes, Kuhn’s paradigms). During the course, students are required to perform case studies by choosing and analysing a particular scientific development among various disciplines (astronomy, chemistry, physics, geology, psychology, genetics, evolutionary biology, sociology).