| Wk | Date | Topic | Reading Due | Coursework |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oct 06 | Philosophy of Science | Lecture 1 Okasha, "What is science?" |
SAQ 01-03 (submit below) |
| 2 | Oct 13 | Radical empiricism | Lecture 2 Ayer, "The Elimination of Metaphysics" (old poorly-edited version) Optional: Godfrey-Smith, "Logic plus empiricism" |
SAQ 04-06 (submit below) |
| 3 | Oct 20 | Scientific Theories | Lecture 3 Craver, "Structure of Scientific Theories" Optional: Halvorson, "What Scientific Theories Could Not Be" (you may also be interested in the follow-up debate here and here), Frigg, "Models in Science" |
SAQ 07-09 (submit below) |
| 4 | Oct 27 | Theory Change 1: Revolutions | Lecture 4 Kuhn, "Revolutions as Changes of World View" Optional: Kuhn, The structure of scientific revolutions, Norton, "Epistemic Virtues and Epistemic Values: A Skeptical Critique" |
SAQ 10-12 (submit below) |
| 5 | Nov 03 | Theory Change 2: Research Programmes | Lecture 5 Lakatos, "History of science and its rational reconstructions" Optional: Lakatos, "Critiism and the methodology of scientific research" |
SAQ 13-15 (submit below) |
| 6 | Nov 10 | Scientific Realism | Lecture 6 part 1 and Part 2 Devitt, "Realism/Anti-Realism" Optional: Psillos, "Resisting the pessimistic induction" |
SAQ 16-18 Essay 1 (submit online below before 1pm) |
| 7 | Nov 17 | Idealization | Lecture 7 Ladyman, "Idealization," and Norton, "Approximation and Idealization" Optional: Batterman, "Asymptotic Reasoning" |
SAQ 19-21 (submit below) |
| 8 | Nov 24 | Laws of nature | Lecture 8 Chalmers, "Why should the world obey laws?" Optional: Roberts, "There are no laws in the social sciences" |
SAQ 22-24 (submit below) |
| 9 | Dec 01 | Reduction | Lecture 9 Cartwright, "Fundamentalism vs the Patchwork of Laws" and Hoefer, "For Fundamentalism" Optional: Findlay-Hendry, excerpt from "Chemistry" |
SAQ 25-27 (submit below) |
| 10 | Dec 08 | Probability | Lecture 10 Galavotti, "Probability" and Gillies, "Varieties of Propensity" Optional: Hájek, "Interpretations of Probability" and van Fraassen, "Relative Frequencies" |
SAQ 28-30 (submit below) Essay 2 Due before FRIDAY, Dec 12 before 5pm. (Submit online below.) |