Welcome to the course

Theory (philosophy, history, and social studies) of science

Please observe: The course language is Danish.

Purpose:
To investigate the character of scientific research as a special form of knowledge; the potential and limits of natural science; similarities and differences between different sciences; their contribution to general conceptions of the world including the relation between man and nature; specific theories of science; science studies; and ethical issues related to scientific research.

Teaching place:
the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen

Lecturers:
Scientists from various departments in the the Faculty of Science and invited philosophers, sociologists, or other specialists.

Target group:
Studens in natural science (or philosophy) who have followed at least 2 years of study for their B.Sc. degrees, or are masters students; and students from the humanities with a B.A. who are studying a natural science subject. (If approved by the Ph.D. supervisor, the course can also be followed as a Ph.D.course).

Extent:
The course runs over the first half ("blok 1") of the Autumn semester, and includes weekly lectures and discussion sessions, and a final paper written by the participant. The student credit for the course is normally 7,5 ECTS, but students can also follow a variant of either 5 ECTS (course variant "N"), 10 ECTS (variant "H-F"), or 15 ECTS (variant "H"), according to specifications for the final paper.

Requirements:
The lectures are public. Students who want merit for the course by delivering an essay must have at least two years of study within a university subject as background.

Content:
The course deals with epistemological, ontological and ethical problems related to the modern sciences; theories about scientific development; methodology; the relations between physics, chemistry, biology, geology etceteras; theory of science; science and technology studies; and the boundaries between science, religion and other forms of knowledge. The specific content may change slightly each year. Also themes such as determinism, predictability and indeterminism, quantum interpretation, constructivism, reductionism, evolutionism, and emergentism are included.

Exam / evaluation:
To be announced.

Reading:
* A collection of articles on the subject (to be announced)
Supplementary reading:
* Peter Godfrey-Smith, 2003: Theory and Reality: an introduction to the philosophy of science. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press.
* A.F. Chalmers, What is this thing called Science? (Third ed.).

Course home page: http://www.nbi.dk/~natphil/kur/naturvidenskabsteori.html (back to that page)

Organizer:
Claus Emmeche, Ph.D., centre director. Address: Center for the Philosophy of Nature and Science Studies (CPNSS), Niels Bohr Institute, Blegdamsvej 17, DK-2100 København Ø, Denmark. Email: emmeche [at] nbi . dk