Philosophy of Science
syllabus

 

San José State University
Philosophy 160
“Philosophy of Science”
Fall 2004


Prof. Janet D. Stemwedel
Department of Philosophy, FOB 232
jstemwed@email.sjsu.edu
http://www.stemwedel.org
Office Hours: Monday 1:30-3:00 PM, Thursday 10:00 AM-12:00 noon, or by appointment.

Course website: http://www.stemwedel.org/phil160_home.html

Course Description:
This course will explore what science is, what it does, and how it works. We will examine: the features of its methodology which distinguish science from pseudo-science; how theoretical considerations and experiments interact to shape the scientific picture of the world; how scientific theories evolve and how theories from different scientific disciplines are related; and whether science does or should purport to give us a literally true picture of the world. We will consider not only what is peculiar to the culture of science, but also how this scientific culture fits into the culture of the larger society
.
Course requirements:

Reading responses. For 6 of the reading assignments, you will be asked to write a short essay (1 typed, double-spaced page, approximately 300 words) engaging with some issue or issues in the reading. (Specific instructions for the reading response assignments will be distributed in class.) The goal of these assignments is to help you read in an active, engaged way, and to encourage you to develop your own view about these issues. Reading responses are due in class on the dates listed in the program. No late reading responses will be accepted, but I will drop your lowest reading response grade before calculating your final grade. Taken together, the reading responses will count for 20% of your course grade.

Exams. There will be a midterm and a final exam for this course. The exams are intended to evaluate your grasp of material from assigned readings, lecture, and class discussions. Each exam will include shorter objective items (e.g., definitions of key terms) and longer essays that will require that you reflect critically on the course material. More details on the format and content of these exams will be distributed later in the term. The midterm exam will count for 20% of the course grade and the final exam will count for 30% of the course grade.

Research assignment. There will be an assignment that requires you to find articles from the popular and scholarly scientific literature and write a brief (5 page, approximately 1500 words) analysis of these articles. (Specific instructions for this research assignment will be distributed in class.) Late research assignments will be penalized 1/3 of a grade for each calendar day late (e.g., an A paper which is 1 day late becomes an A-). No research papers submitted more than 7 calendar days after the final due date will be accepted. The research assignment (the final write-up plus the preliminary stages of the assignment) will count for 20% of your course grade.

Class participation. Dialogue and discussion will play an important role in our project of analyzing and assessing the central issues of the course raised in reading assignments and lectures. Therefore, I expect that you will come to class with your books, having done the readings and thought about the issues they raise before our class meetings, and ready to participate in general discussion, in-class writing exercises, and periodic small group exercises. Your class participation will count for 10% of your course grade.


Grading:

Reading responses:
 20%
Midterm exam:
 20%
Final exam:
 30%
Research assignment:
 20%
Class participation:
 10%
Total:
 100%


 

 

 

 

Academic Honesty. I expect you to be familiar with university policies on plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic dishonesty. As well, I expect you to understand the difference between proper attribution of the words and ideas of others and plagiarism. If you do not understand the difference, please make an appointment with me to discuss proper attribution as soon as possible. Plagiarism or cheating will result in a failing grade in this course, and offenders may be subject to further administrative sanctions.

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need to make special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours.

Required Texts:
Peter Godfrey-Smith, Theory and Reality: an Introduction to the Philosophy of Science (PGS)
Philosophy 160 Course Reader (CR) — available for purchase at Maple Press

PROGRAM:

Reading assignments are due on the dates for which they are listed.

W-Aug. 25

FIRST CLASS; introductory remarks.

1. The Scientific Method:
To be discussed: What makes science different from other human activities? What does science do? What does science achieve?

M-Aug. 30

PGS, Ch. 1 “Introduction” (1-18).
Stephen S. Carey, “Science,” from A Beginner’s Guide to the Scientific Method (1-7) CR
Carl Hempel, Philosophy of Natural Science, 2.1-2.2 (3-9) CR

2. Logical Empiricism:
To be discussed: What roles do logic and empiricism play in science? How did the logical positivists and logical empiricists understand science?

W-Sept. 1

PGS, Ch. 2 “Logic Plus Empiricism” (19-38).


M-Sept. 6

LABOR DAY (no class)


W-Sept. 8

Herbert Feigl, “Logical Empiricism” CR
Recommended: Peter Galison, “Aufbau/Bauhaus: Logical Positivism and Architectural Modernism” CR


Reading response #1 due.

3. Induction and Confirmation, Theory and Experiment:
To be discussed: What can an experiment tell us about the world? How are scientific theories tested? Can I prove the sun will rise tomorrow?

M-Sept. 13

PGS, Ch. 3 “Induction and Confirmation” (39-56).
David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, §IV CR


W-Sept. 15

Hempel, Philosophy of Natural Science, 2.3 (10-18) CR
Hempel, Philosophy of Natural Science, 3.1-3.5 (19-32) CR


Reading response #2 due

.
M-Sept. 20

Pierre Duhem, “Physical Theory and Experiment” CR
W.V. Quine, “Two Dogmas of Empiricism” CR

4. Popper and Falsification:
To be discussed: What is the distinguishing mark of scientific activity? How do we distinguish science from pseudo-science? Does the problem of induction make science impossible?

W-Sept 22

PGS, Ch. 4 “Popper: Conjecture and Refutation” (57-74).


M-Sept. 27

Karl Popper, “Science: Conjectures and Refutations” CR
Popper, “The Problem of Induction” (426-432) CR
Recommended: Carey, “Fallacies in the Name of Science” (107-126) CR


Reading response #3 due.

5. Kuhn and Scientific Theory Change:
To be discussed: What role does theory play in the everyday practice of science? How do scientists choose between competing scientific theories? Are observations objective? Is theory choice rational?


W-Sept. 29

PGS, Ch. 5 “Kuhn and Normal Science” (75-86).
Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Ch. II, “The Route to Normal Science” (10-22) CR


M-Oct. 4

Kuhn, SSR, Ch. III, “The Nature of Normal Science” (23-34) CR
Kuhn, SSR, Ch. IV, “Normal Science as Puzzle-solving” (35-42) CR
Recommended: Kuhn, SSR, “Postscript,” §§1-3 (176-191) CR
Recommended: Margaret Masterman, “The Nature of a Paradigm” CR


Reading response #4 due.


W-Oct. 6

PGS, Ch. 6 “Kuhn and Revolutions” (87-101).


M-Oct. 11

Kuhn, SSR, Ch. X, “Revolutions as Changes of World View” (111-135) CR


W-Oct. 13

PGS, Ch. 7 “Lakatos, Laudan, Feyerabend, and Frameworks” (102-121).


Phase 1 of research assignment due.

M-Oct. 18

Catch up/review.


W-Oct. 20

MIDTERM EXAM

6. What Do Social Factors Have to Do with Science?
To be discussed: How does the nature of the scientific community affect the scientific knowledge it produces? Are scientific facts discovered or created? How can we achieve objective knowledge of the world?


M-Oct. 25

PGS, Ch. 8 “The Challenge from Sociology of Science” (122-135).


W-Oct. 27

Barry Barnes and David Bloor, “Relativism, Rationalism, and the Sociology of Knowledge” CR
Recommended: B. Latour and S. Woolgar, “The Construction of a Fact” CR


M-Nov. 1

PGS, Ch. 9 “Feminism and Science Studies” (136-148).
The Biology and Gender Study Group, “The Importance of Feminist Critique for Contemporary Cell Biology” CR
Helen E. Longino “Values and Objectivity” CR


Reading response #5 due.

7. Naturalism:
To be discussed: What connection should philosophical theories have to scientific theories? What can science tell us about our philosophical accounts of science? What kind of connection to the world can science give us?

W-Nov. 3

PGS, Ch. 10 “Naturalistic Philosophy in Theory and Practice” (149-162).


M-Nov. 8

PGS, Ch. 11 “Naturalism and the Social Structure of Science” (163-172).


W-Nov. 10

RESEARCH/WRITING DAY (Class will not meet.)

8. Scientific Realism and Anti-Realism:
To be discussed: Must a good theory be a true theory? Should a theory make claims about entities we can’t observe? What counts as observation?

M-Nov. 15

PGS, Ch. 12 “Scientific Realism” (173-189).


W-Nov. 17

Grover Maxwell, “The Ontological Status of Theoretical Entities” CR


M-Nov. 22

Bas C. Van Fraassen, “Arguments Concerning Scientific Realism” CR

Reading response #6 due

.
W-Nov 24

RESEARCH/WRITING DAY (Class will not meet.)


M-Nov. 29

Ian Hacking, “Do We See Through a Microscope?” CR
Charles Chihara and Carol Chihara, “A Biological Objection to Constructive Empiricism” CR

9. Explanation:
To be discussed: Does science explain? What does a good scientific explanation look like?


W-Dec. 1

PGS, Ch. 13 “Explanation” (190-201).
Carey, “Proposing Explanations” (26-44) CR

Research assignment due.


M-Dec. 6

Carl G. Hempel and Paul Oppenheim, “Studies in the Logic of Explanation” CR
Nancy Cartwright, “The Truth Doesn’t Explain Much” CR


W-Dec 8

WRAP-UP/REVIEW

FINAL EXAM:
Wednesday, December 15, 9:45 AM - 12:00 noon

 

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