| PHIL 3310 Webster University Spring 1998 Tu, Th 10:00-11:20 Pearson House 3 | Dr. Bruce Umbaugh
office: Pearson House basement phone: 961-2660 x7826 (office) or 968-7170 (PHIL office) office hours: Tu 1:30-2:30 & Th 11:30-12:00 and by appointment e-mail: bumbaugh@webster.edu or bumbaugh@well.com |
This course serves as an introduction to the main issues in philosophy of science, with special emphasis on the development of science as an intellectual process in cultural and historical context. It stresses, first, the role scientific developments have played in shaping philosophy and philosophy of science and, second, the influence of philosophy and philosophy of science on the development of science. In addition, it surveys noteworthy philosophical accounts of the scientific enterprise, including characterizations of confirmation, explanation, scientific realism, the nature of theories, and the growth of scientific knowledge.
We begin with an overview of competing contemporary philosophies of science. In succeeding weeks, the approach of the course will be primarily historical as we take up the history of philosophy of science and contemporaneous developments in science. Episodes to be covered include the Copernican-Galilean-Keplerian-Newtonian revolution, the transition from phlogiston to oxygen theories in chemistry, the probabilistic revolution in physics, atomism and quantum mechanics, and various other topics. The latter part of the course aims at judging, on the basis of the background acquired in the course, which among various competing accounts get things right.
Students who complete the course satisfactorily will better understand the scientific enterprise, its history, and issues now of concern to philosophers of science. The course presupposes no special scientific or philosophical background.
| 13 | Introduction. What is Philosophy of Science? | |
| 15 | What is Philosophy of Science? Logical positivism and competing accounts. | [Read Kourany, "Philosophy of Science: An Overview," Giere, Preface, Ch. 2, and skim Ch. 1.] |
| 20 | The ancient traditions. | [Fabric 11-89] |
| 22 | The ancient traditions. | [Fabric 90-152] |
| 27 | The "new science." | [Fabric 153-209] |
| 29 | The "new science." | [Fabric 210-272] |
| 3 | The "new science." | No new reading. |
| 5 | Reason, experience, and the status of philosophy. | No new reading. |
| 10 | Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century chemistry. | Read Leicester, handout. |
| 12 | Nascent probabilism. | No new reading. |
| 17 | Exam I. | |
| 19 | Nineteenth-century philosophy and science. More probabilism. | Read Losee "Inductivism," and Oldroyd, "Nineteenth-century Postivism," handouts. |
| 24 | The "inference experts." | TBA. |
| 26 | The newer physics. |
| 3 | Quantum mechanics. | TBA. |
| 5 | Quantum mechanics. | |
| 10 | Spring recess. | No class meeting. No new reading. |
| 12 | Spring recess. | No class meeting. No new reading. |
| 17 | Logical Positivism. | Rudolph Carnap, "The Confirmation of Laws and Theories," Carl Hempel, "Explanation in Science," Paul Oppenheim and Hilary Putnam, "Unity of Science as a Working Hypothesis." [Kourany] |
| 19 | Logical Positivism. | No new reading. |
| 24 | Falsificationism. | Karl Popper, "Science: Conjectures and Refutations," Imre Lakatos, "Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes." [Kourany] |
| 26 | The empirical basis of scientific knowledge. | Norwood Russell Hanson, "Observation," and one of Shapin, Oakley, or Pickering (to be assigned). [You may also choose to read Karl Popper, "The Problem of the Empirical Basis."] |
| 31 | Realism. | Grover Marshall, "The Ontological Status of Theoretical Entities," Bas van Fraassen, "Arguments Concerning Scientific Realism," and Ernan McMullin, "A Case for Scientific Realism." [Kourany] |
| 2 | Realism. | Michael Gardner, "Realism and Instrumentalism in Pre-Newtonian Astronomy," and Ian Hacking, "Experimentation and Scientific Realism." [Kourany] |
| 7 | A new philosophy of science. Kuhn. | Thomas Kuhn, "The Function of Dogma in Scientific Research," "The Nature and Necessity of Scientific Revolutions," and "Objectivity, Value Judgment and Theory Choice." [Kourany] |
| 9 | Kuhn. | No new reading. |
| 14 | Some other critiques of the scientific enterprise and philosophies thereof. | Gerald Holton, "On the Psychology of Scientists and Their Social Concerns," Marguerite Holloway, "A Lab of Her Own," Bruno Latour and Steven Woolgar, "An Anthropologist Visits the Laboratory," Evelyn Fox Keller, "Critical Silences in Scientific Discourse". [Kourany] |
| 16 | Giere. | Giere, "Models and Theories," (Ch. 3) |
| 21 | Giere. | "Constructive Realism," and "Realism in the Laboratory" (Chs. 4 & 5). |
| 23 | Giere. | "Explaining the Revolution in Geology," and "Epilogue" (Ch. 8 and ff.). |
| 28 | The supposed unity of science. | TBA. |
| 30 | The scientific enterprise. | No new reading. Exam II due. |
| 5 | Exam III, 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. |
| 8 | no class |
Grading features two in-class exams: one in the sixth week and the final. Both will mix "objective" questions about philosophical views and historical episodes with essay-type questions. The out-of-class exam will give you an opportunity to reach some judgment on how particular philosophies of science measure up against the evidence we have acquired in the course. Taken together, the exams account for sixty-five percent of your course grade.
After Exam I, each student will have some special responsibility for discussion one day and to take notes and distribute a discussion summary another. These acts, together with other forms of collegial participation that contribute to your classmates' education, will be evaluated and account for thirty-five percent of your grade.
Technically speaking, attendance in class is not required. The basic structure of grading in the course does not involve me awarding you credits in virtue of your presence in the classroom each Tuesday and Thursday. Nonetheless, students are encouraged to attend every class. Much information will be presented in class, including lecture, elaboration, and illustration not duplicated in our texts. Announcements will be made. You are responsible for knowing all this and for having any additional materials distributed in class. Although I will make myself available to help students outside class, students who do not attend class meetings should not expect to be rewarded with intensive assistance. Finally, note that I reserve the right to reward students who have attended class faithfully, displayed significant effort, and made significant contributions to the class.
Students in this class are expected to do their own work and not to rely on the work of others. While students are welcome to work with one another to understand the material, any student plagiarizing, cheating on a quiz or exam, aiding another student to cheat, or committing any other act of academic dishonesty will be referred for appropriate disciplinary action. Please consult with me if you have any questions in this regard, either about your own work or that of another person.