Postgraduate Course: Philosophy of Mathematics MSc (PHIL11045)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | A one-semester course on the foundations of mathematics. Sketch of the views of Plato and Aristotle through to Kant and Mill. The various foundational positions: realism, logicism, constructivism, formalism and finitism. Logicism. Varieties of formalism. Finitism and Hilbert's programme. The significance of Godel's Incompleteness Theorems and related results concerning truth and computability. Constructivism and intuitionism. The emergence of axiomatic set theory as foundation for all mathematics. Set-theoretic realism. Structuralism. The applicability of mathematics and the indispensability of mathematics.
Shared with UG course PHIL10052 Philosophy of Mathematics.
For courses co-taught with undergraduate students and with no remaining undergraduate spaces left, a maximum of 8 MSc students can join the course. Priority will be given to MSc students who wish to take the course for credit on a first come first served basis after matriculation. |
| Course description |
Not entered
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2017/18, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 8 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
One 2,500 word essay (100%)
Word limit: 2500 words maximum (excluding references) |
| Feedback |
- Students have the opportunity to submit a formative essay by week 6 deadline on Turnitin via Learn. The essay cannot be draft of summative essay but it can be on the same topic.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate a good overall grasp of the main foundational positions concerning mathematics: Platonism, realism, logicism, intuitionism, etc
- assess the various arguments in favour of, and against, these positions
- understand the relation between debates about the foundations of mathematics and other topics (such as the applicability of mathematics in science)
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Casey Mccoy
Tel: (0131 6)50 3484
Email: Casey.Mccoy@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Becky Verdon
Tel: (0131 6)51 5002
Email: Rebecca.Verdon@ed.ac.uk |
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