spring 2018
SVF-8600 Philosophy of science and ethics - 6 ECTS
Application deadline
Application deadline is 1 December. Application code 9304 in SøknadsWeb. Remember to state which course you apply for.PhD students registered to PhD program at UiT: Apply for admission by registering for class in StudentWeb before 15. December
Admission requirements
The course is open for students admitted to a PhD programme. Priority will be given to PhD students from the BFE faculty, participants in international project in which the faculty has an educational responsibility, PhD students from the NT faculty, PhD students from other faculties at UiT, and PhD students from UNIS. The number of participants is limited to 36.Contact Ingjerd Gauslaa Nilsen (Ingjerd.nilsen@uit.no) at the BFE-faculty if you have any questions regarding registration to the course or other queries.
Course content
The course aims to introduce the participants to core issues in the philosophy and ethics of science. The course will convey different concepts and positions regarding the demarcation of science from non-science, the nature of the scientific method, theories of explanation and confirmation, the rationality and progress of theory change, modelling and inference under uncertainty, the role of science and technology in society, and the ethical responsibilities of scientists.Objectives of the course
By the end of the course students will be expected to understand:
- the basic issues in the philosophy of science, such as the demarcation problem, the debate among competing accounts of the scientific method, the problem of induction, and the concepts of paradigms and scientific revolutions;
- the role and place of science and technology in a modern society;
- various ethical positions and the main ethical issues relating to science.
By the end of this course students will be expected to have gained the following skills:
- the ability to communicate key philosophical and ethical concepts;
- the ability to engage in contemporary debates about the nature and role of science;
- the ability to see their own research in a wider perspective, and to critically reflect upon the basic assumptions and challenges of their research projects.
Teaching methods
Teaching runs as an intensive course over two weeks with 20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of group discussions and seminars. The teaching is given from 29 January to 9 February, Monday, Wednesday and Friday in both weeks.
NB! You have to participate in at least 80 % of the teaching to be allowed to take the exam. Attendance at lectures will be registered.
Recommended reading/syllabus
The required reading consists of journal articles and book chapters, in total about 350-400 pages. Most of the literature will be made available on Fronter prior to the course start.
All students are advised to read one of the following books before the course starts:
- Samir Okasha (2016): Philosophy of Science: Very Short Introduction. Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Mel Thompson (2012): Understand Philosophy of Science. London: Holder Education.
- James Ladyman (2002): Understanding Philosphy of Science. London, New York: Routledge.
- Alex Rosenberg (2012): Philosophy of Science. Third Edition. New York, London: Routledge.
- About the course
- Campus: Tromsø |
- ECTS: 6
- Course code: SVF-8600
- Responsible unit
- Norges fiskerihøgskole
- Undersider
- Kontaktpersoner
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