Undergraduate Course: Philosophy of Science (Honours) (PHIL10242)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The aim of this course is to discuss topics in the Philosophy of Science for Honours students. In any year, it can cover various areas of the philosophy of science. Pre-honours Philosophy of Science 1 is not a prerequisite.
In the mid-20th century new tools, such as X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy brought about a paradigm shift in biology by allowing scientists to look inside the cell and to understand life, not as a mysterious 'vital' force, but rather as the operation of complex molecular machinery ¿ programmed by a genetic code and directed by the same forces that apply throughout all of the physical universe. The core targets of biology were no longer living organisms but rather the molecular units, such as genes, that compose them. More recent developments, however, have called into question the tenability of this reductionist approach. This course will consider such developments, the extent to which they do or do not undermine accepted frameworks in biology, and what the prospects are for third-way between non-naturalistic 'vitalism' and reductionism in the science of life.
Potential questions include:
1) Is the genome best understood as a code, and, if not, what role does it play in the cell?
2) Are organisms just 'evolved machines'? And, if not machines, then what are they?
3) Is cognition only an attribute of creatures with a nervous system?
4) How do we identify biological individuals?
5) To what extent do the experimental tools available to scientists constrain their theorizing?
6) What are the limits of formal models when it comes to understanding living systems?
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| Course description |
This course aims
a) To look at how philosophical tools can aid in the revision of scientific concepts and frameworks when they are rendered untenable by new empirical discoveries.
b) To consider how these discoveries may also prompt a revision to more foundational philosophical theories, for instance regarding our understanding of individuality, agency, rationality, anthropocentrism, and the relation between models and reality.
c) To consider real-world examples of the factors that either drive the revision of scientific concepts or guard them against revision in the face of new evidence.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 10 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
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) |
Midterm Essay 35% (1500 words)
Final Essay 50% (2500 words)
Presentation 15% |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Critically evaluate theories in the philosophy of science.
- Present and defend arguments in written form and/or in the form of a presentation.
- Analyse the relation between science and philosophy
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Reading List
Reading list
Ball, P. (2023). How Life Works: A User¿s Guide to the New Biology. University of Chicago Press. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/H/bo207403562.html
Boden, M. A. (1999). Is Metabolism Necessary? The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 50(2), 231¿248. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjps/50.2.231
Godfrey-Smith, P. (2011). The evolution of the individual. Lakatos Award Lecture, LSE, June. https://www.petergodfreysmith.com/Evo_Ind_PGS_Lakatos_2011_Web.pdf
Hein, H. (1969). Molecular Biology vs. Organicism: The Enduring Dispute between Mechanism and Vitalism. Synthese, 20(2), 238¿253. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4330573
Chapter Two of Sterling, P., & Laughlin, S. B. (2017). Principles of neural design. MIT press. https://direct.mit.edu/books/monograph/3078/chapter-abstract/84207/Why-an-Animal-Needs-a-Brain?redirectedFrom=fulltext |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Research and enquiry
Communication; Personal and intellectual autonomy
Enquiry and lifelong learning |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Kate Nave
Tel:
Email: Kate.Nave@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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