PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
PHI 3400 (3 sem. hrs.)
Spring 2008 Class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00-12:15 in Bldg 11, rm 223
Dr. Nick Power
Course Description
This course is intended to familiarize you with the major philosophical issues surrounding science and scientific
explanation. These issues include: what demarcates science from non- or pseudo-science; how scientific hypotheses
or theories are confirmed (and justified); how and when theory-change comes about; the realism/anti-realism
debate; reductionism and the unity of science; the role of values in science; as well as philosophical questions
concerning the most fundamental assumptions at work in some of the specific sciences (namely, physics, biology,
psychology, and the social sciences).
No prior knowledge of philosophy or logic is required for this course, though it would certainly help, as would a
general interest in science; some of what you will read here will be among the most challenging material you will
ever read at the university level.
Student Learning Outcomes
I. In terms of content, and hence knowledge and understanding, successful students of this course will be
able to describe:
1. the overall nature of science, scientific theories, and scientific explanation
2. the major philosophies of science: Positivism, Pragmatism, Social Constructivism and Realism
3. the role of methods in science, specifically: the Observational/Theoretical distinction criticized, holism and the
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7.
Quine-Duhem Thesis, reductionism and the Unity of Science Program
how science uses levels of explanation; the role of laws of nature and the role of causation and natural kinds
Kuhn’s model of scientific change and its implications for historicism, relativism, and realism
the sociology of knowledge and the feminist critique
Scientific Creationism, Intelligent Design Theory, and their challenge to Science
II. In addition to this, there are general philosophical skills which students will gain and or sharpen:
1. An ability to identify underlying issues in various debates within anthropology, psychology, and
biology, and of course within the history of philosophy itself.
2. Grasp of some philosophical problems regarding the mind and its relation to the body, mentioning
arguments for or against proposed solutions.
3. Understanding of the importance of careful interpretation of a variety of texts.
4. Familiarity with the use of specialized philosophical terminology.
5. Awareness of the nature of sound arguments and logical fallacies, an appreciation of how
generalizations can be supported or weakened by detailed discussion, and greater facility with many tools
of logic.
III. Also, as the student will gain some experience in engaging in philosophical discourse, students will be
better able than before to do the following:
1. Ability to conduct arguments about matters of the highest moment without recourse to insult or
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susceptibility to take offence.
2. Willingness to evaluate opposing arguments, to formulate and consider the best arguments for different
views and to identify the weakest elements of the most persuasive view.
3. Ability to cross traditional subject boundaries, examining the limitations and virtues of other disciplines
and practices, and recognizing philosophical doctrines in unfamiliar places
4. Ability to apply philosophical skills and techniques to issues arising both in everyday life, as well as in
future academic courses.
COURSE SCHEDULE/READING LIST
This is subject to change as we proceed.
Topic 1: Logical Positivism and its critics
Week 1: Introductory matters; the Demarcation Problem; Science vs. Pseudo Science
Have read: Parsons Chapter 1; Klee Introduction
Homework Question #1 assigned (that is, the first of ten “response papers” as per the syllabus.)
Week 2: Positivism
Reader: Chapter 1-2
Homework Question #1 due at the start of class; Homework Question #2 assigned
***Classes suspended on Monday 1/15 for MLK Day***
Week 3: Criticism of Positivism
Reader: Chapters 3-5 (Putnam, Maxwell, van Fraasen readings.)
Homework Question #2 due at the start of class; Homework Question #3 assigned
Week 4: Underdetermination of Theory by Data
Parsons Chapter 2
Reader: Chapters 7-10 (Duhem, Popper and both Quine readings.)
Week 5:
***Withdrawal deadline with partial refund: 2/04***
***In-class essay #1***
Topic 2: The Internal workings of Science
Week 5: Reductionism
Klee Reader: Chapters 12-15, (Nagel, Oppenheim & Putnam, Fodor and Kim readings)
Homework Question #4 due at the start of Monday’s class; Homework Question #5 assigned
***Withdrawal deadline with partial refund: 2/04***
***In-class essay #1***
Week 6: The Logic of Scientific Explanation
Klee Reader: Chapters 16-18 (Hempel & Oppenheim, Kitcher, and Humphreys’ readings)
Homework Question #5 due at the start of Monday’s class; Homework Question #6 assigned
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Topic 3: Contemporary Philosophies of Science
Week 7: Kuhn and Historicism
Parsons Chapter 3
Klee Reader: Chapters 19-20 (Both Kuhn readings)
Homework Question #6 due at the start of Monday’s class; Homework Question #7 assigned
Week 8: Kuhn’s legacy
Parsons Chapter X
Klee Reader: Chapters 21-22 (Hacking and Feyerabend readings)
Homework Question #7 due at the start of Monday’s class; Homework Question #8 assigned
Week 9: Social Constructivism
Klee Reader: Chapters 23-26 (Bloor, Latour & Woolgar, and Brown and Boghossian readings)
Homework Question #8 due at the start of Monday’s class; Homework Question #9 assigned
Week 10: The Feminist Critique of Science
Klee Reader: Chapters 27-29 (Harding, Pinnick, Gross & Levitt readings)
Homework Question #9 due at the start of Monday’s class; Homework Question #10 assigned
***Classes suspended for Spring Break 3/17-3/21***
Week 11: Realism/Anti-realism
Klee: Chapter 10
Reader: Chapters 30-34 (Putnam, van Fraasen, Kitcher, Brown and Musgrave readings)
Other Readings to be announced
Homework Question #10 due at the start of Monday’s class
***Individual course withdrawal deadline with grade of “W”: 3/24***
***Your Mid-term Opportunity will follow the close of this topic, around March 30th***
Topic 4: Applications
Week 12: Reductionism within the Philosophy of Biology
Reading to be announced
Week 13: Realism and anti-realism within the Philosophy of Physics
Reading to be announced
Week 14: Scientific Creationism and Evolutionary Theory “On Losing a Debate to Creation Science” available
online at http://uwf.edu/npower/
Loose ends
***In-class essay #2 ***
Week 15: “Deadweek” -- Loose ends
***Our Final Exam is scheduled for Friday, 5/4 at 11:00 sharp***
***Your Term Report is due at the Final Exam***
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Texts
1.
Copernican Questions: A Concise Invitation to the Philosophy of Science. Keith Parsons, MCGraw Hill,
2006.
2.
Scientific Inquiry: Readings in the Philosophy of Science. Edited by Robert Klee. Oxford University Press,
1999.
3.
Various articles on reserve and web pages. Be advised that these may change as the term progresses, so wait
until I instruct you to retrieve them.
Instructor
Office: Bldg. 50, Rm. 230; Office hours: Monday and Wednesday, 12:30-1:30 and by appointment.
Phone: 474-2677
E-mail: npower@uwf.edu; Web: http://www.uwf.edu/npower
Course Requirements
Grading/Evaluation: Your grade for the course is a function of the number of points you earn out of a possible 100,
with their letter-grade equivalents determined as follows:
95-100 points = A
91-94 = A88-90 = B+
84-87 = B
81-83 = B78-80 = C+
74-77 = C
71-73 = C68-70 = D+
64-67 = D
60-63 = D0-59 = F
where the 100 available points will be distributed in the following way:
I. 30 points - 10 short (100-word) "response-papers" to questions posed by me concerning the text(s) on a weekly
basis throughout the term, each worth 3 points and each graded on a scale where: 0/5 means "no response”; 1/3
means "weak response"; 2/3 means "satisfactory response”; 3/3 means “outstanding response.” (The specific criteria
for these evaluations will be discussed in class.) These are designed to motivate you to critically read your text(s)
closely, a necessary condition for success in any philosophy course. Response papers need not be turned in late, as
they are designed to allow you to engage that week’s reading assignment.
II. 30 points – Term Report, consisting of either an essay (roughly 5 pages in length) which will be a philosophical
exploration of a pre-approved case study from the history of science, in particular, of the life and thought of either
Darwin, Freud, or Einstein. It will illustrate the course’s philosophical content (some idea such as realism,
movement such as positivism, episode such as a Kuhnian “paradigm shift,” etc.) in a way that demonstrates your
clear understanding of that concept. Further details on how these reports are graded, and some guidelines in writing
them, can be found on the handout titled: “Report Guidelines.”
III. 30 points – Midterm and Final examinations/opportunities, to be based on the lecture topics and readings; the
former is in-class, and mostly consists of essay questions, the latter is take-home, and all essay.
IV. 10 points – Self-assessment on Class Participation, where for 5 weeks over the course of the term, I will ask you
to assess your class participation for that week. I will hold 5 points in reserve, and thus your grade here is a result of
a consensus. If you know you are going to miss a class, let me know ahead of time, and if justifiable, you will be
excused. Contributions in class are important because they both develop your own understanding of the material and
stimulate the thinking of others. The criteria for these grades are also forthcoming, but they include evidence of the
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ability to listen to others as well as to yourself, by the way. As the class starts at 8:00am, a persistent (≥ 3, say)
tardiness—let alone narcoleptic—condition will result in a full letter-grade reduction in the overall course grade
(from an “A-“ to a “B-“ say) and an untreatable condition in a recommended withdrawal from the course.
Other policies and procedures include the following:
The Final Exam is of the take home variety and is due, along with the term report, to me by the Friday, August 5th
by 5:00pm. If I don’t acknowledge receipt of your submissions, via reply email or in person, then they haven’t been
submitted.
Special Technology Utilized by Students
This course uses the Argus system of e-communication. Students ought to be able to take advantage of this
service, as well as be able to access their UWF e-mail account. I do not guarantee that I will open attachments sent
from other e-mail accounts, nor that I will send class materials to them.
Plagiarism Policy
It is your responsibility to be familiar with the university’s Academic Conduct Policy, its Plagiarism Policy,
and the Student Handbook in general.
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged, or insufficiently acknowledged, use of another’s ideas and/or their expression.
This applies to equally to borrowing from books and articles, notes taken/works prepared in other classes, or from
the work of other students. Whenever an idea is not the result of the student’s own primary research and thinking
and is not reasonably understood to already be part of the public domain, its source must be properly identified in a
footnote or other format; otherwise, plagiarism results. Plagiarism combines theft with fraud, and within the
academy, no offense is more destructive, hence no offense is penalized more. At my discretion, I may fail you for
that assignment, for the course, and I may recommend that you be suspended from UWF. I take this policy very
seriously.
Assistance
Students with special needs who require specific examination-related or other course-related accommodations
should contact Barbara Fitzpatrick, Director of Disabled Student Services (DSS), dss@uwf.edu, (850) 474-2387.
DSS will provide the student with a letter for the instructor that will specify any recommended accommodations.
Capstone Course
Senior philosophy majors intending to use this course as their capstone course have additional responsibilities; see
me, and bring the sign-up form available in the department office, within the first week of classes.
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