PHIL 240 - Philosophy of Science

2020-2021 Catalog Year

Credit(s): 3
Lecture: 3
Non-Lecture: 0
This course will examine the nature of science. What makes the difference between scientific theories and nonscientific ones? Is there a special kind of reasoning for science, or just a special subject matter? Does science have a greater claim to knowledge? What are the limits of science? Can religion and morality be turned into sciences, or is there a fundamental gap of some sort between these different realms? We will consider these questions both naively and in terms of a set of philosophical theories of science that have been developed over the past century. We will also examine a variety of long-standing conceptual problems in particular sciences, including mathematics. Finally, we will look at the important consequences of science in today’s society, in particular the pressing issue of “junk science.”

Offered: Not on a regular basis