Philosophy 230/230H: Scientific Reasoning

• William Harms
• Spring 1998
• Tuesday/Thursday 11:30-12:15
• Office: 312 Shatzel
• Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 2:00-3:00
• Phone: 372-7219
• E-mail: wfharms@bgnet.bgsu.edu

Texts:

1. Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 3^rd Ed. U. Chicago Press, 1962.
2. Ronald M. Giere, Understanding Scientific Reasoning, 4^th Ed. Holt, Reinhart & Winston, 1997.

The Course: This course has two main objectives. 1) If one studies the history of science, one finds that our understanding of what science is and how it works has changed rather dramatically over the past four centuries. In this course, we will not be primarily concerned with how science has been understood in the past, but more with how philosophers are thinking about science today. We do, however, need to understand something about why it is that we have the current conception of science that we do.

2) We are bombarded with information about the latest scientific "discoveries". We hear arguments to the effect that some of these "discoveries" are not good science. What makes the difference between good science and bad? How can you tell? The second objective of this course is to help you to become better informed consumers of science.

In order to get a sense of where our understanding of science stands today, the course will begin with a reading of Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. This book is of enormous importance, not only for what it says, but for the influence it has had as well. Fortunately, it is not tremendously difficult, as you will see.

The remainder of the course will be devoted to Giere's Understanding Scientific Reasoning. It is an introductory text, but one that reflects our most contemporary understanding of science. Topics will include theoretical hypotheses, causal and statistical hypotheses, and the processes by which scientific knowledge leads to public policy and action.

Course Requirements: Two midterms and a final. The midterms are worth 30%, the final 40%. If you are taking the course for Honors credit, there will be a term paper as well. In this case, the term paper will be worth 40%, and the exams worth 20% each. A rough draft consultation is required.

Attendance Policy: The class has 30 scheduled meetings. Unexcused absences beyond the first five will result in an automatic grade reduction -- 1/3 of a grade per absence. Note that this can be very important if you are on the border.