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Philosophy of Science 2008 - Schedule

Paul Grobstein's picture
 
22 Jan MK, PG Introduction and the demarcation problem past and present
See Evolution and Intelligent Design: Perspectives and Lakatos
29 Jan MK Realism and the Aim of Science I
Karl Popper in Popper Selections, Chapters 11, 12, 17
5 Feb MK Realism and the Aim of Science II
Karl Popper in Popper Selections, Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10
12 Feb MK, PG Constructivism and Scientific Revolutions I
Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Chapters 1-9
19 Feb MK, PG

Constructivism and Scientific Revolutions II

Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Chapters 10-13 and Postscript
Donald Davidson, "On the very idea of a conceptual scheme"
Available: video on quantum physics

Paper #1 Due noon, Friday February 22
26 Feb PG

Scientific Realism

Nelson Goodman, "The Way the World Is"
Michael Mckenna, "A Metaphysics for Krausz"
Carl Hempel, "Comments on Goodman's Wonderful Ways of Worldmaking"
4 March
MK Appearance and Reality in Physics

Kosso, Appearance and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Physics, Chapters 1,2,8

Spring Break
18 March
PG Science and the Brain Grobstein, "Getting It Less Wrong the Brain's Way"
Krausz, "Replies to Grobstein"
25 March PG Science and Story Telling Grobstein, "Science as Story Telling and Story Revising
Paper #2 Due noon, Friday March 28
1 April
MK Relativism and Science

Krausz, "Mapping Relativisms"

Krausz, "Interpretation and Its Objects: A Synoptic View"

8 April
PG Evolution, Complexity, Emergence

Daniel Dennett, Darwin's Dangerous Idea, selections

Steven Johnson, Emergence, Introduction and Chapter 1

15 April
PG Emergence as a Framework for Science
Grobstein, From Complexity to Emergence and Beyond: Towards Empirical Non-Foundationalism as a Guide to Inquiry
22 April PG Multiple Paths to Non-Foundationalism
William James, Pragmatism's Conception of Truth

Imre Lakatos, Science and Pseudoscience
Paul Feyerabend, Against Method

Feminist Epistemology and Philosophy of Science
George Lakoff, Philosophy in the Flesh

Kyle Stanford, Science, History and the Problem of Unconceived Alternatives
29 April MK, PG, class
Conclusions and Extensions  
Paper #3 Due noon, Friday May 2

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