SVH-8008 Philosophy and Theory of Science (core version) - 3 stp

The course invites PhD candidates to investigate some of the fundamental epistemological and ontological assumptions underlying their research. It covers some of the central issues in the philosophy and theory of science, and provides the participants with opportunities to relate those issues to their own fields and projects.

Topics covered include:

• Demarcating science: What is science, and why does it matter whether something qualifies as science or not? What characterizes scientific research in various disciplines/areas?
• The role of evidence: How does data (in various forms) provide evidence for or against scientific hypotheses/theories/claims? What is considered data, and how is data produced and treated within different fields?
• Scientific objectivity: What does objectivity mean and is it possible? To what extent are scientific theories accepted because of something like objective evidence, and to what extent are they shaped by historical, political and cultural forces?
• The aims of science: What are the aims of scientific research, and how might this differ between different fields? Does scientific research generally aim at truth ("scientific realism"), or might it rather aim at something like "empirical adequacy" or understanding? To what extent can we think of scientific research as aiming to uncover facts that are "already there", as opposed to facts that are socially constructed as part of the scientific process?

PhD candidates or holders of a Norwegian Master´s Degree of five years or 3+2 years (or equivalent) may be admitted. PhD candidates must upload a document from their university stating that they are registered PhD candidates.

Holders of a Master´s Degree must upload a Master´s Diploma with Diploma Supplement / English translation of the diploma. Applicants from listed countries must document proficiency in English. To find out if this applies to you see the following list: https://hkdir.no/en/foreign-education/lists-and-databases/higher-education-entrance-qualification-gsu/language-requirements-Higher-Education-Entrance-Qualification

For more information on accepted English proficiency tests and scores, as well as exemptions from the English proficiency tests, please see the following document: https://uit.no/Content/254419/PhD_EnglishProficiency_100913.pdf

The following course code must be used: Course code 9301 - Singular courses at PhD level

Knowledge

After completing the course, the student…

• has knowledge of historically influential attempts to demarcate science from pseudoscience/non-science, as well as more recent approaches to this issue.
• has insight into central questions concerning the nature of data/evidence, how data is produced, and how data supports or undermines theories and hypotheses.

• has knowledge of how ideas about scientific objectivity have been challenged and defended.
• has knowledge of competing conceptions of the aims of scientific research - including "scientific realism", and opposing views such as "instrumentalism", "(social) constructivism" and "pragmatism"
• has knowledge of how schools of thought within their own fields have dealt with issues from the philosophy of science.
• is aware of how issues in the philosophy of science come up in fields other than their own.

Skills

After completing the course, the student is able to…

• identify philosophical presuppositions in scientific research conducted in their own fields.
• connect central issues from the course to their own projects and research in their own fields.
• critically evaluate and take a stance on central issues within the philosophy of science.

General competence

After completing the course, the student is able to…

• discuss abstract and foundational issues related to their scientific research in a systematic, informed and critical way.
• orient themselves within the philosophy of science landscape and schools of thought within their own fields.
• reflect on how epistemological and ontological assumptions vary between different scientific fields and between different schools of thought within their own fields.
• discuss foundational issues in the philosophy of science with researchers in other disciplines.

This is a three-day course consisting of two main parts: 1) a common part where all the participants are introduced to some central and overarching questions in general philosophy/theory of science; 2) more specialized sessions where the participants delve deeper into the ways in which such questions arise within their own fields and in relation to their own projects.

There will be one day devoted to the common part, which will consist mainly of lectures and Q&A sessions. And there will be two days devoted to specialized sessions, which will consist mainly of seminar discussions, workshops and other forms of teaching that emphasize student participation.

The specialized sessions will include broad sessions devoted to the various scientific fields, as well as sessions devoted to more specific issues. The sessions on more specific issues may vary from semester to semester but may include topics such as "making causal claims", "indigenous research" and "the nature of social constructs".