Phil382

PHIL 382 Scientific Method II
Spring 2001-2002

OFFICE MATTERS :

Office : Room B139 in the Social Sciences Building.
Office hours : Tue 14:40-16:30, Wed 15:40-16:30. Other meeting times with the instructor are also possible by prior appointment.
Office phone : On campus: 5339; off campus: 210-5339. You can leave a message on the answering machine.
E-mail : esayan@metu.edu.tr

COURSE DESCRIPTION :

In this course philosophical theories concerning the concepts, procedures, and the development of science will be discussed. The major topics and problems discussed in this course and PHIL 381 SCIENTIFIC METHOD I are the following:

·Elements of Logic: propositions, arguments, truth-value, validity, soundness, deductive and inductive arguments. · What is philosophy? What is science? · What is Philosophy of Science? · Logical Positivism and the Verifiability Criterion of Meaning. · The Problem of Induction and various attempts to solve it. · Popper’s falsificationism. · The Grue Paradox. · Laws and accidental generalizations. · Counterfactual conditonals. · Scientific Realism and Anti-Realism. · Underdetermination of theory by evidence. · Confirmation in science. · The Raven Paradox and the Tacking Paradox. · Elementary probability calculus. · Interpretations of the meaning of ‘probability.’ · The Bayesian confirmation theory. · The Problem of Old Evidence. · Explanation in science. · Problems with the Covering-Law Account of explanation. · Causation and explanation. · Problems with Hume’s account of causation. · Scientific theories. · Logical Positivism, Popper, Kuhn, Lakatos, Laudan, Feyerabend and Earman on the methodology of science. ·

COURSE REQUIREMENTS :

  • There will be two midterms. Both of them will be composed, for the most part, of questions requiring short answers, such as true-false, fill-in-the blank, and multiple-choice questions. There may be, however, a couple of “classical-style” questions on the midterms, each requring at most half-a-page-long answer.
  • For the final exam you will be required to write an essay in class.
    • On the day of the essay-writing you will be given a few topics to choose from for your essay. You won’t be given this list of topics in advance. The questions will be designed to measure your understanding of the issues discussed in class and your ability to think on your own (or “philosophize”) about those issues.
    • The length of the essay will be at most 3-4 pages.
    • You’ll be allowed to consult the course readings (listed in “The Sequence of Readings” below) and your class notes while writing your essay. You can also bring dictionaries to class on the essay-writing day. You won’t be allowed to bring any other books or material, however. You must, of course, avoid plagiarizing from the material you are allowed to bring to class.
    • The quality of your English, punctuation and even your handwriting will affect the grade you get on your essay, along with the organization and the philosophical content of it.
  • Attendance to classes is required. You will be expected not only to attend but also to actively participate in class discussions by asking questions, answering questions, and showing genuine interest in the problems being discussed.
  • Class attendance will be taken randomly throughout the semester. Students can have three unexcused absences without hurting their grades. After three absences, the student’s total score will be lowered by 3 points per unexcused absence. Class attendance may be taken at the beginning of the class period as well as at the end. When it is taken at the beginning, latecomers will be counted as absent.
  • The requirements of the course will be weighted as follows:

1. Midterm : 35 pts.
2. Midterm : 35 pts.
Final (in-class essay) : 30 pts.
TOTAL : 100 pts.
Participation in class discussion : up to +8 pts.
Every unexcused absence after 3 unexcused absences : -3 pts.

The final letter grades for the course will be assigned via an “informal curve” to be set up on the basis of the students’ total scores at the end of the semester.

  • Make-ups for the exams will normally be given in cases of certified illness or certified emergency. Be warned that the make-ups will tend to be harder than the regular exams. The make-up will be especially harder in the case of students who present less than compelling reasons to take a make-up.
  • If our class hours conflict with those of another course you are taking, then you are expected to spend half of those conflicting hours in our class, rather than spending them entirely in the other class during the whole semester. At the end of the semester, you will be given a form which will be signed by the teacher of the other course as proof of the class-hour conflict, and your absences during those hours will be discounted to an appropriate extent.

SEQUENCE OF READINGS :

A. “Basic concepts of logic”
B. Moody: “Philosophy ‘of’ Anything”
C. Klemke et al.: “Introduction: What is Philosophy of Science?”
Lambert & Brittan: “Introduction”
D. Papineau in Guide: “Introduction”, sects. 1.1-1.2.2
E. Papineau in Guide: sects. 1.3-1.4
Zucker: pp. 149-158 (Popper)
F. Papineau in Guide: sect. 1.5
G. Papineau in Guide: sect. 1.7
H. Papineau in Guide: sects. 2.1, 2.2, 2.6
I. Papineau in Guide: sects. 3.1-3.6
Papineau in Companion: sect. 1.7
J. Papineau in Guide: sects. 4.1-4.3
K. Salmon et al.: pp. 67-73
L. Papineau in Guide: sects. 4.4-4.6 & 1.2.3
Papineau in Companion: sect. 2.5
M. Papineau in Guide: sects. 4.7-4.9
Papineau in Companion: sect. 1.4
N. Papineau in Guide: sects. 5.1-5.5.2
Papineau in Companion: sect. 2.1
O. Papineau in Guide: sect. 5.5.3
Papineau in Companion: sect. 2.6
P. Lambert & Brittan: pp. 85-128
Q. Klemke et al.: pp. 55-65
R. Zucker: pp. 186-189 (Feyerabend) & 158-167 (Kuhn)
S. Papineau in Companion: sect. 1.6
T. Zucker: pp. 167-172 (Lakatos) & 174-186 (Laudan) & 198-200 (Earman)
U. “Scientific Method” in Routledge

The above readings are from the following texts:

E.D. Klemke, Robert Hollinger, and A. David Kline (eds.), Introductory Readings In the Philosophy of Science (Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1980).

Karel Lambert and Gordon G. Brittan, Jr., An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science, 4th ed. (Atascadero: Ridgeview, 1992).

Todd C. Moody, Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1993).

Papineau in Guide Þ David Papineau, “Methodology: The Elements of the Philosophy of Science,” Ch. 3 in A. C. Grayling (ed.), Philosophy: A Guide through the Subject (New York: Oxford U. P., 1995).

David Papineau, “Philosophy of Science,” Ch. 9 in N. Bunnin & E. P. Tsui-James (eds.), The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy (Oxford: Blackwell, 1996).

Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Version 1.0 (London and New York: Routledge, 1998).

M. H. Salmon, J. Earman, C. Glymour, J. G. Lennox, P. Machamer, J. E. McGuire, J. D. Norton, W. C. Salmon, K. F. Schaffner, Introduction to the Philosophy of Science (Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1992).

Arthur Zucker (ed.), Introduction to the Philosophy of Science (Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1996).