Ateneo - UPO

What is science? How is it distinguished from non-science? What is scientific rationality? Is there really scientific rationality? Are the entities described by accepted scientific theories real? The course will focus on the debate in contemporary philosophy of science around general questions of this kind. The main case study will be the 16th century Copernican revolution in astronomy, which opened the door to modern science.

The textbooks are the same for both attending and non-attending
students:

1) Lecturer's handouts available on DIR.
2) Ladyman, J. (2012). Understanding Philosophy of Science. London: Routledge.

The fundamental educational objective of the course is the knowledge of the main themes of contemporary philosophy of science, with particular attention to the problems of scientific rationality and scientific realism. A more advanced educational objective is becoming able to argue for or against the theories that will be the subject of the course, mastering the technical details and indicating their strengths and weaknesses.

No prior knowledge of the course topics is required.

Lectures including some interactive participation.

Students with physical disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs can request specific services and tools through Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, by consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learningdisabilities Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted Staff di Ateneo, can refer to the course coordinator to define special exam modalities.

Oral exam of a maximum duration of 30 minutes aimed at verifying the achievement of the Educational Objectives and the Expected Learning Outcomes. The evaluation will be based for 30% on the learning of the notions covered in the course, for 30% on the autonomy of critical judgment, for 20% on the clarity of exposition and for 20% on the mastery of scientific terminology. For honours, the ability to establish original and rigorous connections between the topics of the course is required.

These are the main topics of the course (we may however deviate from this program depending on the specific interests of the participating students).

1: Introduction to the philosophy of science (essentials)-

PART ONE: The question of scientific rationality
2: The historical case of the Copernican revolution in astronomy;
3: Baconian inductivism;
4: Karl Popper's falsificationism;
5: Thomas Kuhn on the structure of scientific revolutions;
6: Imre Lakatos's research programme methodology and Paul Feyerabend's objections;
7: Conclusions on scientific rationality.

PART TWO: Formal approaches to scientific methodology
8: Carl Hempel on the logic of confirmation;
9: The hypothetico-deductive method;
10: Bayesian confirmation theory.

PART THREE: The question of scientific realism
11: Scientific realism and Its enemies;
12: The no-miracle argument;
13: The Problem of the empirical underdetermination of theories;
14: The argument from pessimistic meta-induction;
15: Conclusions on scientific realism.

At the basic level, the expected learning outcomes are the following:(1. Knowledge and ability to understand) familiarity with the key notions and arguments of contemporary philosophy of science;(2. Applied knowledge and ability to understand) identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the theories and arguments proposed;(3. Independent judgment) development of reasoned opinions on the topics of the course;(4. Communication skills) ability to clearly illustrate the main lines of the contemporary debate;(5. Learning skills) independent exploration of basic research topics in contemporary philosophy of science.At the advanced level, the expected learning outcomes are the following:(1. Knowledge and ability to understand) knowledge and understanding of the technical details of contemporary philosophy of science;(2. Applied knowledge and ability to understand) ability to evaluate the effectiveness of the technical details in the analysis of the main questions posed by contemporary philosophy of science;(3. Independent judgment) ability to use advanced technical notions in developing reasoned opinions on the topics of the course;(4. Communication skills) ability to clearly illustrate technical details even to those who are not familiar with contemporary philosophy of science;(5. Learning skills) ability to independently explore some technical aspects of the contemporary debate.