PH400
Philosophy of Science
This information is for the 2024/25 session.
Teacher responsible
Professor Miklos Redei
Availability
This course is compulsory on the MSc in Philosophy of Science. This course is available on the MSc in Philosophy and Public Policy and MSc in Philosophy of Economics and the Social Sciences. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.
Course content
Science is chock full of miraculous predictions, shocking revolutions, and unexpected results that few science fiction writers could have ever dreamed of. What makes science so special? This course is a tour of the philosophical underpinnings of modern science. No background in any science is needed for this course; everything you need to know will be covered.
Indicative topics include: The logical positivist demarcation of science from non-science, Popper’s falsificationism, Lakatos' Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes, Kuhn's concept of science. Explanation: the deductive nomological explanation, statistical explanation. The positive instance account of confirmation. Foundations of probability and Bayesian confirmation. Laws of Nature: the regularity view of laws, the best systems account. Intertheory relations: reductionism and pluralism. Realism versus Antirealism: Scientific realism and antirealism, the no miracles argument, inference to the best explanation, the pessimistic meta-induction, constructive empiricism, entity realism, structural realism. Models: scientific modelling and scientific representation. Recent trends in operating modes of science.
Teaching
10 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the AT. 10 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the WT.
Formative coursework
Students will be expected to write two essays (one in AT and one in WT), and participate in seminar discussion.
Indicative reading
T S Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions; K R Popper, Conjectures and Refutations; B van Fraassen, The Scientific Image; N Cartwright, How the Laws of Physics Lie.
Assessment
Essay (50%, 2000 words) in the AT.
Essay (50%, 2000 words) in the WT.
Students are expected to produce 1 summative essay in AT and 1 summative essay in WT.
Student performance results
(2020/21 - 2022/23 combined)
| Classification | % of students |
|---|---|
| Distinction | 46.3 |
| Merit | 44.4 |
| Pass | 5.6 |
| Fail | 3.7 |
Key facts
Department: Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method
Total students 2023/24: 19
Average class size 2023/24: 10
Controlled access 2023/24: No
Value: One Unit
Course selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.