The course will provide students with essential knowledge of the main problems, approaches, concepts and methods of philosophy of science. Strong emphasis will be placed on the capacity to discuss problems in this field in a rigorous and clear way.
At the end of the course the student: will have a non-superficial knowledge of the problems, methods and arguments characteristic of the philosophy of science; will be able to understand and critically analyze a philosophical and philosophical-scientific text written by others; will be able to autonomously elaborate a philosophical analysis of the problems discussed in class.
General knowledge of the main scientific discoveries.
Teacher’s lectures, class discussions on the texts and the ideas, individual work.
Oral exam with questions ranging over the topics covered in the course. Questions will be aimed at establishing that the student has met the educational goals (knowledge of the main issues in the philosophy of science, critical analysis of texts, independence of thought). The grade reflects how well the educational goals have been met as follows:
-fair (18-23/30), satisfactory (24-26/30), good (27-28/30), excellent (29-
30/30).
We will look at some central questions in the philosophy of physics, connected to epistemology and metaphysics. Are physical theories approximately true? If so, what is the nature of physical entities? Are there necessary laws of physics? What is the nature of space and time?
Slides, notes, additional articles or sources, incidental announcements will be loaded on the e-learning platform Moodle which students have to periodically check.
Attending the class is highly recommended. The material is the same for students attending and not attending classes.
Students who cannot attend classes, visiting and Erasmus students, or
students with PDP or PEI may contact the teacher by e-mail for an
individual talk that will help them to better succeed in the course.
The teacher will receive the students on appointment (either in person or remotely).
Examination texts are listed in Leganto website.
