Department of

Graduate Courses (Click on a title for course materials)

2501 Philosophy of Science
03-1 09377 Earman
Cross-listed with PHIL 2600
1. This course will begin with a survey of some of the major methodological problems in the philosophy of science, such as (1) the demarcation of science from pseudo-science, (2) the testing and confirmation of scientific hypotheses, (3) the nature and structure of scientific theories, including syntactic vs. semantic views of theories, the realism vs. instrumentalism debate, and scientific change, (4) the analysis of 'laws of nature', and (5) the nature of scientific explanation. The remainder of the course aims to introduce students to substantive issues that arise from particular sciences, such as absolute vs. relational accounts of motion, determinism, and the measurement problem in quantum mechanics.
2. Prerequisites: This course is intended for beginning graduate students.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected size: 10.
5. This course is offered annually, but with different instructors and different contents from year to year.
6. Students not enrolled in the graduate programs in Philosophy or HPS must obtain permission of the instructor.

2502 History of Science 1
03-1 01512 McGuire
1. This course is designed as a survey of specific movements in the history of science from antiquity to the early 17 th century. Highlighted during this course will be topics in the history of mathematics, physics, optics, astronomy, biology, and medicine. Most readings will be drawn from primary source materials. This course is the first part of a two-part series. The second course, History of Science II, will deal with specific issues from the 17 th century up to the present. The courses are designed so that they can be taken independently. The specific topics treated in these survey courses vary from year-to-year and from professor-to-professor.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 15 students.
5. This course is offered each Fall Term.
6. Special permission is required for this course and is designed for HPS majors only.

2525 Twentieth Century Biology
03-1 38017 Griffiths
1. In this course we will consider the interaction between developmental and evolutionary biology in the C20, both as a topic in the history of biology and for the issues it raises for the philosophy of biology. We will read and criticize the standard historical accounts of the negative impact on traditional embryology of the rise of Mendelian genetics and the failure of developmental biology to become part of the modern synthesis. We will also examine the less well-known episode of the behaviorist critique of the instinct concept in the inter-war period, the revival of the instinct concept with rise of an evolutionary science of behavior starting in the late 1930s and the 'nature/nurture' disputes that have plagued behavioral biology, in various guises, until the present day. Finally, we will consider the various forms of 'evolutionary developmental biology' that are currently attempting to reintegrate the study of development and the study of evolution. Readings will be made available on a weekly basis. There is no set text, but useful background reading before the seminar begins would include: Gould, S.J.: 1977, Ontogeny and Phylogeny, Belnap/Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA ; Gilbert, S.F.,ed. 1991, A Conceptual History of Modern Embryology,. New York : Plenum.
2. Prerequisite: None.
3. Recitation: None.
4. This course is not offered on a regular basis.

2622 Recent Topics in Philosophy of Science
03-1 24588 Glymour
Cross-listed with PHIL 2625
1. The Topic will be: Data Mining, The Very Idea. For most of the 20th century, the very idea that valuable scientific information could be extracted by computerized analysis of compilations of data was routinely denounced by philosophers, physicists and statisticians. Today, data mining efforts are routine, as arguably they always have been in subjects such as astronomy, with or without the aid of computers. The debate over data mining is entangled with a whole variety of issues: Is there a "logic" of discovery? Can causal information be obtained without experimental interventions? Does sound science forbid testing hypotheses on data used to generate those hypotheses? These and related issues will be considered through an examination of the philosophical and scientific literatures.
2. Prerequisite: Students must have graduate or advanced undergraduate standing.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 15 students.
5. This course is not offered on a regular basis.

2649 Science and Values
03-1 38026 Machamer/Mitchell
Cross-listed with CLST 2649
1. This seminar will examine the ways in which values interact with data, theories, concepts and scientific practice. We shall begin by examining the epistemic/non-epistemic (social) distinction amongst kinds of values, and considering the basic three positions on this distinction: (1) Science is only epistemic (value free science) (2) Social values are important, but only for how they externally affect epistemic values (external contextual values) (3) Values of many kins may affect science in every aspect. It is corollary that there is no philosophically interesting, principled way of drawing a distinction between the epistemic and the social (or between facts and values, if one prefers the older language). A related by slightly different focus will come after, when we switch to looking at recent work on the concept of objectivity in science and values. Authors to be read will include Hugh Lacey, Helen Longino, Philip Kitcher, Tara Smith, Carl Hempel, Miriam Solomon, Lorraine Daston, Larry Laudan.
2. Prerequisite: None.
3. Recitation: None.
4. Expected class size: 25 students.
5. This course in not offered on a regular basis.

2692 Topics in History of Recent Philosophy of Science
03-1 38021 McGuire/Krips
1. This seminar will examine some of the classic texts of twentieth century philosophy concerning the connections between language, truth and reality. Through the works of Russell, Wittgenstein, and Quine as well as the writings of continental philosophers such as Heidegger, Gadamer, and Althusser, we will engage questions such as "Is there a mind independent reality", "To what extent can language capture truth about the world", "Is reality merely an artifact of language", "Is language always and already implicated in ideology", "Does science provide a royal road to the truth". The seminar will be conducted as a series of closed reading from set texts. Each student will be expected to contribute at least one such reading in the form of a class presentation. Assessment: In addition to class presentation, one final essay of 10,000 words, to be handed in at a time to be arranged.
2. Prerequisite: Students must have graduate or advanced undergraduate standing.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 10 students.
5. This course is not offered on a regular basis.

2673 Studies in Aristotle
03-1 33630 TBA
Cross-listed with PHIL 2041 and CLASS 2314
1. This course will focus on one or more texts by Aristotle.
2. Prerequisite: Knowledge of Greek is not required, but there will be a separate Greek reading section for those who would like to read the texts in the original.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 10 students.
5. This course is offered on an irregular basis.
6. For permission to enter this class when it is closed, you must see the instructor.

2679 Philosophy of Mathematics
03-1 32863 Manders
Cross-listed with PHIL 2580
1. Description available later from Philosophy Department.
2. Prerequisites: This course is intended for graduate students in the Philosophy Department. Other students need the permission of the instructor.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 15 students.
5. This course is not offered on a regular basis
6. For permission to enter this class when it is closed, you must see the instructor.
 

Undergraduate Courses (Click on a title for course materials)

History and Philosophy of Science
0410 Einstein for Everyone
03-1 38034 Norton
1. Do astronauts age more slowly? Can a finite universe have no edge? Is time travel possible? Can time have a beginning? Does the moon change because a mouse looks at it? Surprisingly, modern science answers yes to all these questions. This course provides simple-to-understand explanations of these and other related questions, their broader philosophical significance and their histories. The course is suitable for students with no science background but with an interest in the world of modern science.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Estimated Class Size: 120 students.
5. This course is not offered on a regular basis.

0427 Myth and Science
03-1 11346
Cross-listed with CLASS 0330
1. How can we understand our world? In western culture, science dominates all our answers to this question. But there are other ways. They can be found in the mythologies of ancient and modern peoples. This course will compare the scientific and mythological ways of seeing the world and their more subtle connections. In particular, we will turn to the remarkable events in Ancient Greece of 800-400 B.C. and discover how the scientific approach actually grew slowly out of mythological thought itself.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 30 students.
5. This course is offered on a regular basis.

0515 Magic, Medicine and Science
03-1
Cross-listed with HIST 0089
1. This course is a partial survey of some important strands in the Western intellectual history. We will start with ancient Greek speculations in cosmology, philosophy, and medicine. Then we will look at some important subsequent developments in these areas and how they were influenced by the Greek tradition. These include, among other topics, the magical tradition that flourished during the Renaissance period. The latter half of the course will focus on the profound intellectual transformations in the 17th century which constitute what we often call The Scientific Revolution. The great scientific achievements of figures such as Descartes, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton will be discussed in detail. Overall, this course is meant to provide a broad picture of some of the most important elements in the Western intellectual tradition and their interactions in history.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 30 students.
•  This class is offered on a regular basis.

0605 Nature of Emotions
03-1 38043 Lennox
1. Joy, sadness, fear, anger, love, hate-it would be hard to imagine life without them. Our emotions are both extremely important to our lives as human beings, and at the same time extremely baffling. Philosophers, artists, and scientists throughout history have tried hard to understand, and HPS 0605 begins by a careful study of what some of history's greatest thinkers have had to say about the emotions. In the second half of the course, we will consider whether recent work in neuroscience-the study of the brain-has helped us to better understand the emotions. Throughout the semester we will be thinking about how our beliefs and values are related to our emotions, why different people have different emotional responses to the same events, why we respond emotionally to works of art like poetry, music, films and paintings, and what goes on in the brain when we feel the emotions, and whether, and if so how, scientists and philosophers can explain our emotions.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: One hour per week.
4. Estimated Class Size: 80
5. This class is not offered on a regular basis.

0611 Principles of Scientific Reasoning
03-1 21824
1. The course will provide students with elementary logic skills and an understanding of scientific arguments. Ours is an increasingly scientific and technical society. In both our personal life decisions and in our work we are daily confronted by scientific results which influence what we do and how we do it. Basic skills in analyzing the structure of arguments in terms of truth and evidence are required to make this type of information accessible and useful. We hear, for example, that drinking alcoholic beverages reduces the chances of heart disease. We might well ask what sorts of tests were done to reach this conclusion and do the tests really justify the claim? We read that certain geographical configurations in South America "prove" that this planet was visited by aliens from outer space. Does this argument differ from other, accepted scientific arguments? This course is designed to aid the student in making sense of a variety of elementary logic skills in conjunction with the application of those skills to actual cases.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 30 students.
5. This course is offered on a regular basis.

0613 Morality and Medicine
03-1 13693
03-1 21829 Machamer
03-1
1. Ethical dilemmas in the practice of health care continue to proliferate and receive increasing attention from members of the health care profession, ethicists, policy makers, and the general public as health care consumers. In this course we will examine a number of ethical issues that arise in the context of contemporary medical practice and research by analyzing articles and decision scenarios. Topics to be covered typically include the physician-patient relationship; informed consent; medical experimentation; termination of treatment; genetics; reproductive technologies; euthanasia; resource allocation; and health care reform. Students who successfully complete this course will be able to identify and analyze different philosophical approaches to selected issues in medical ethics; have gained insight into how to read and critically interpret philosophical arguments; and have developed skills that will enable them to think clearly about ethical questions as future or current health care providers, policy makers, and consumers.
2. Prerequisites: None. However, this course is part of a core sequence leading to certification in the Conceptual Foundations of Medicine Certificate Program, and is a companion course to HPS 0612 (Mind and Medicine) but may be taken independently. The course is of particular interest to pre-medical and pre-health care students.
3. Recitations: One hour per week in the fall section 21829.
4. Estimated Class Size: 30 students in the 6WK2 session, 160 students in the Fall session and 30 students in the Fall evening session.
5. This course is offered every term.

0621 Problem Solving: How Science Works
03-1 14767
03-1
1. A scientist announces that the sun contains a new, so-far unknown chemical element, even though there is no hope of getting a sample. Another is sure that a famous predecessor has faked his data, even though he has seen nothing but the perfect, published results. Astonishingly, both claims prove to be sober and sound. We will explore the approaches and methods that make such miracles part of the routine of everyday science. This course is intended for students with little or no background in science.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: None .
4. Expected class size: 30 students.
5. This course is offered every term.

0630 Science and Pseudoscience
03-1 19007
1. When we encounter news of bizarre and weird occurrences, how should we think about the reported incidents? Why should we take an announcement of a scientific discovery differently from another reported sighting of Bigfoot? These questions will be explored while we examine popular controversial claims, from the existence of extraterrestrials on this planet to the effectiveness of the latest alternative medical theory. We will compare the evidence and reasoning behind these frequently dismissed stories with the evidence presented for new theories in areas of established science, such as dinosaur extinction theories and global warming models. By exploring the outlandish, the accepted, and the controversial, we will find ways of approaching both science and its fringe.
2. Prerequisites: None.
3. Recitations: None
4. Expected class size: 30 students
5. This course is offered on a regular basis.

1410 Change, Progress and Ideology
03-1 38103 McGuire
1. This course aims to give students a comprehensive view of the dynamics of change in society as well as in our systems of belief. In this regard, special attention will be paid to the positive and negative roles that ideologies play in relation to social change and progress. Second, the course hopes to impart to students the analytic skills requisite for understanding the structure of social systems and their forms of change. The methodology is analytic-historical and will relate the content of the course both to current world events and to classical writings in the field.
2. Prerequisites: None
3. Recitations: None
4. Estimated Class Size: 30 students.
5. This course is offered every year.

1620 Philosophy of Biology
03-1 38039 Mitchell
Cross-listed with PHIL 1650
1. Philosophy of Biology will consider foundational conceptual issues in biology like the nature and structure of biological explanation, the possibility of laws in evolutionary theory, the relationship between different causal components of biological processes (genetics and development), the problem of species reality and classification, the explanatory character of ascription of biological function, and the extension of biological explanations to human psychology and culture. It is designed for both the philosopher who can explore central epistemological and metaphysical issues in the context of biological science and for the biologist who wants to explore the conceptual foundations and presuppositions of her science. The students will read primary historical and philosophical texts, engage in discussion and write essays. The format of the course will be a combination of lecture and discussion.
2. Prerequisite: None.
3. Recitations: None.
4. Expected class size: 30.
5. This class is not offered on a regular basis.

1653 Introduction to Philosophy of Science
03-1 38277 Griffiths
Cross-listed with PHIL 1610
1. What distinguishes astrology from astronomy, or alchemy from chemistry, if anything? This course critically examines the most important attempts to define the ‘scientific method', to draw a line dividing science from pseudo-science and to justify the high status and reliability generally accorded to scientific knowledge. The ‘philosophies of science' studied include Popper's idea that truly scientific theories are ‘falsifiable', and that certain theories are unfalsifiable ‘pseudo-science'; Kuhn's proposal that science consists of a series of ‘paradigms' separated by ‘scientific revolutions'; and Feyerabend's ‘anarchist' claim that there are no objective criteria by which science can be distinguished from pseudoscience.
2. Prerequisites: No specific prerequisites; but at least one prior course in some area of science is desirable.
3. Recitations: One hour per week.
4. Expected class size: 80.
5. This course is offered each year, but the term may vary from year to year.

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