Schedule

Week 1 (Introduction)

(1) Th, Sep 6
  • Introduction to the course
(2) Fr, Sep 7
  • General themes in philosophy of science
  • Readings:
    • Godfrey-Smith, Ch. 1 "Introduction"
    • Klemke, Ch. 4 (Thagard)
    • Handout 1: "Towards a general framework for talking about scientiļ¬c theories" (MyCourses)

Week 2 (Historical background)

(3) Tu, Sep 11
  • Greek physics and astronomy
  • Readings:
    • Handout 2: "Greek physics and astronomy" (MyCourses)
(4) Th, Sep 13
  • Homework 1 due
  • The scientific revolution
  • Readings:
    • Handout 3: "The scientific revolution" (MyCourses)
    • Cohen (MyCourses)
    • Kilgour (MyCourses)
(5) Fr, Sep 14
  • Classical empiricism
  • Readings:
    • Handout 4: "Quotations from Locke, Berkeley, and Hume on ideas" (MyCourses)

Week 3 (Logical empiricism)

(6) Tu, Sep 18
  • Homework 2 due
  • Logical empiricism: Background
  • Readings:
    • Godfrey-Smith, Ch. 2 "Logic plus empiricism"
    • Klemke, Ch. 17 (Carnap)
(7) Th, Sep 20
  • Logical empiricism: Scientific theories
  • Readings:
    • Handout 5: "Formal theories" (MyCourses)
    • Nagel (MyCourses)
(8) Fr, Sep 21
  • Logical empiricism: Critiques
  • Readings:
    • Klemke, Ch. 18 (Putnam)
    • Quine (MyCourses)

Week 4 (Induction and confirmation)

(9) Tu, Sep 25
  • Homework 3 due
  • Inductive reasoning
  • Readings:
    • Handout 6: "The problem of induction in Hume's words" (MyCourses)
    • Godfrey-Smith, Ch. 3 "Induction and confirmation"
    • Klemke, Ch. 25 (Giere)
(10) Th, Sep 27
  • Hempel's ravens
  • Readings:
    • Klemke, Ch. 27 (Hempel)
(11) Fr, Sep 28
  • Goodman's new riddle
  • Readings:
    • Klemke, Ch. 28 (Frank)

Week 5 (Popper: Conjecture and refutation)

(12) Tu, Oct 2
  • Homework 4 due
  • Popper on falsification
  • Readings:
    • Godfrey-Smith, Ch. 4 "Popper: Conjecture and refutation"
(13) Th, Oct 4
  • The problem of demarcation
  • Readings:
    • Klemke, Ch. 1 (Popper)
(14) Fr, Oct 5
  • Objections to Popper
  • Readings:
    • Essay 1: Topic announcement
    • Klemke, Ch. 5 (Kitcher)

Week 6 (Kuhn and normal science)

(15) Tu, Oct 9
  • Homework 5 due
  • A role for history
  • Readings:
    • Godfrey-Smith, Ch. 5 "Kuhn and normal science"
    • Kuhn, Preface and Ch. I
(16) Th, Oct 11
  • The route to normal science
  • Readings:
    • Kuhn, Ch. II–III
(17) Fr, Oct 12
  • Essay 1: Comments on full draft
  • Normal science as puzzle solving
  • Readings:
    • Kuhn, Ch. IV–V

Week 7 (Kuhn and revolutions)

(18) Tu, Oct 16
  • Homework 6 due
  • Essay 1 due
  • Anomalies and crises
  • Readings:
    • Kuhn, Ch. VI–VII
(19) Th, Oct 18
  • Response to crises and revolutions
  • Readings:
    • Kuhn, Ch. VIII–IX
(20) Fr, Oct 19
  • Changes of world view
  • Readings:
    • Kuhn, Ch. X

Week 8 (Kuhn and progress)

(21) Tu, Oct 23
  • Homework 7 due
  • Essay 2: Topic announcement
  • Resolutions of revolutions
  • Readings:
    • Kuhn, Ch. XI–XII
(22) Th, Oct 25
  • Progress through revolutions
  • Readings:
    • Kuhn, Ch. XIII and Postscript-1969
    • Godfrey-Smith, Ch. 6 "Kuhn and revolutions"
    • Klemke, Ch. 26 (Kuhn)
(23) Fr, Oct 26
  • No class.

Week 9 (Lakatos, Laudan, Feyerabend, and frameworks)

(24) Tu, Oct 30
  • Homework 8 due
  • Lakatos's Methodology of Scientific Research Programs
  • Readings:
(25) Th, Nov 1
  • Laudan's Research Traditions
  • Readings:
    • McMullin (MyCourses)
(26) Fr, Nov 2
  • Essay 2: Comments on full draft
  • Feyerabend and anything goes
  • Readings:
    • Klemke, Ch. 3 (Feyerabend)

Week 10 (Sociology of science, feminism, and science studies)

(27) Tu, Nov 6
  • Homework 9 due
  • Essay 2 due
  • The challenge from sociology
  • Readings:
    • Godfrey-Smith, Ch. 8 "The Challenge from Sociology of Science"
(28) Th, Nov 8
  • The Sokal hoax
  • Readings:
    • Godfrey-Smith, Ch. 9 "Feminism and Science Studies"
(29) Fr, Nov 9
  • Term paper: Topic announcement
  • Feminist philosophy of science
  • Readings:
    • Klemke, Ch. 33 (Giere)
    • Longino (MyCourses)

Week 11 (Scientific realism)

(30) Tu, Nov 13
  • Homework 10 due
  • Scientific realism and terminology
  • Readings:
    • Godfrey-Smith, Ch. 12 "Scientific Realism"
    • Klemke, Ch. 20 (Stace)
(31) Th, Nov 15
  • Term paper: Milestone 1
  • Instrumentalism
  • Readings:
    • Klemke, Ch. 21 (Toulmin)
    • Van Fraassen (MyCourses)
(32) Fr, Nov 16
  • Arguments for and against realism
  • Readings:
    • Klemke, Ch. 22 (Maxwell)

Week 12 (Explanation)

(33) Tu, Nov 20
  • Homework 11 due
  • The covering law model of explanation
  • Readings:
    • Godfrey-Smith, Ch. 13 "Explanation"
    • Klemke, Ch. 11 (Hempel)
(34) Th, Nov 22
  • Term paper: Milestone 2
  • Criticisms and the causal model of explanation
  • Readings:
    • Klemke, Ch. 13 (Cartwright)
    • Klemke, Ch. 14 (Salmon)
(35) Fr, Nov 23
  • Pragmatics and unification
  • Readings:
    • Klemke, Ch. 15 (van Fraassen)
    • Klemke, Ch. 16 (Kitcher)

Week 13 (Bayesianism)

(36) Tu, Nov 27
  • Homework 12 due
  • Term paper: Comments on full draft
  • Interpretations of probability
  • Readings:
    • Audi (MyCourses)
(37) Th, Nov 29
  • Bayesianism
  • Readings:
    • Godfrey-Smith, Ch. 14 "Bayesianism and Modern Theories of Evidence"
    • Klee (MyCourses)
(38) Fr, Nov 30
  • Term paper due
  • Review

Week 14 (Analogical reasoning)

(39) Tu, Dec 4
  • Two ways of analogy
  • Reading:
Instructor:
Dirk Schlimm
Department of Philosophy
Leacock 916

Links