Philosophy of Science

Catalog description

The course emphasizes the important questions that define Philosophy of Science: an exploration of the way philosophers and scientists alter their world view as a consequence of scientific discoveries during the last two millenia. Initial readings present criteria for inclusion of any activity as scientific. The philosophical implications of induction and falsification theory as scientific methods will be explored. The nature and logic of scientific laws, theories and explanations, which are at the core of the scientific enterprise will be discussed and critically evaluated. Criteria for evaluating the truth of a theory will be explored and compared with the nature of a paradigm shift in science, as explicated by Kuhn, looking at how this interpretation redefined how changes in established scientific thinking occurs. Theoretical frames are introduced and how they provide a different yet related lens through which to view empirical data. Chaos and String Theories will be discussed and compared to all of the traditional scientific theories. The end result should be an appreciation of how this very abstract yet logically-based thought process prepares students to write in a graduate Ph.D. level program and cohesively integrate ideas together to form derived conclusions using traditional scientific form.