Philosophy of Science

PHIL20261 Philosophy of Science 20 Semester 1 Undergraduate Level 2 Christopher Daly Unit coordinator School of Social Sciences 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Middle part of Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 10.0 This course introduces several major controversies in the philosophy of science and uses them to investigate the nature of science, its methods, and its accomplishments. Topics covered include inductivist vs. falsificationist methodology, Kuhnian relativism, scientific realism, theory and evidence, and laws of nature. This course introduces several major controversies in the philosophy of science and uses them to investigate the nature of science, its methods, and its accomplishments. Topics covered include inductivist vs. falsificationist methodology, Kuhnian relativism, scientific realism, theory and evidence, and laws of nature. The course aims to: - Introduce students to key issues in the philosophy of science. - Enhance their skills at understanding and evaluating philosophical problems. - Acquaint students with some of the special concepts used in characterising scientific methodology. <ul><li>Introduce students to key issues in the philosophy of science.</li><li>Enhance their skills at understanding and evaluating philosophical problems.</li><li>Acquaint students with some of the special concepts used in characterising scientific methodology.</li></ul> <ul><li>Knowledge of some central problems in the philosophy of science and of certain possible solutions to them.</li><li>The ability to assess some received wisdom about the nature and purpose of science and of scientific method.</li><li>An understanding of key philosophical concepts such as inductive reasoning, refutation, confirmation, law of nature, and explanation.</li></ul> <ul><li>Interpret and criticise both primary and secondary texts.</li></ul>  <ul><li>critical thinking, discussion, independent research) enhance employability and key to many routes to employment.</li><li>undertake independent research and apply theoretical knowledge to complex issues</li></ul> Analytical skills Group/team working Innovation/creativity Oral communication Problem solving Research Written communication <ul><li>Lectures (20 hours): delivery of content </li><li>Tutorials (10 hours): small group discussion will facilitate student engagement </li><li>Office Hours: students will have access to the course convenor through regular office hours </li><li>VLE: learning materials (reading lists, lecture slides, etc.) available online (asynchronous) </li><li>Essay Plans: students will be encouraged to submit essay plans for formative feedback</li></ul> 0 Other 100% <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-family:"Aptos Narrow", Calibri, "sans-serif", "Mongolian Baiti", "Microsoft Yi Baiti", "Javanese Text", "Yu Gothic";font-size:14.6667px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:pre-wrap;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">2000 Word Essay (33%) <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-family:"Aptos Narrow", Calibri, "sans-serif", "Mongolian Baiti", "Microsoft Yi Baiti", "Javanese Text", "Yu Gothic";font-size:14.6667px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:pre-wrap;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">2 Hour Exam (67%) The School of Social Sciences (SoSS) is committed to providing timely and appropriate feedback to students on their academic progress and achievement, thereby enabling students to reflect on their progress and plan their academic and skills development effectively. Students are reminded that feedback is necessarily responsive: only when a student has done a certain amount of work and approaches us with it at the appropriate fora is it possible for us to feed back on the student's work. The main form of feedback on this course is feedback on your assessed essay, in the form of in-text comments and a general feedback report, both available through Blackboard. You are also welcome to ask the course convenor to give you some feedback on your exam performance.We also draw your attention to the variety of generic forms of feedback available to you on this as on all SoSS courses. These include: meeting the lecturer and tutor during their office hours; e-mailing questions to the lecturer/tutor; asking questions from the lecturer or tutor (before and after lecture/tutorial); and obtaining feedback on your ideas from your peers and tutor during tutorials. Pre-requisites: 20 PHIL credits at Level 120 PHIL credits at Level 1. N <ul><li>Lisa Bortolotti An introduction to the philosophy of science (Wiley, 2008) </li><li>James Ladyman, Understanding Philosophy of Science (Routledge, 2002)</li></ul> Lectures 20 Tutorials 10 0 170