Undergraduate Module Descriptor

PHL3026: Philosophy of Science

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

The course seeks to open up and address key questions concerning scientific knowledge, practice and the world. You will engage with a range of canonical texts in the philosophy of science and become familiar with central debates in the field. You will also think critically about the nature of science and its place in the modern world. 

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. acquire a variety of conceptual tools for analysing the nature of science as a body of knowledge and a field of practice
2. adopt a stance of critical distance from one of the most powerful and authoritative cultural formations in the contemporary world, and to achieve a sophisticated appreciation of current issues and problems surrounding science in our society;
Discipline-Specific Skills3. engage with key philosophical debates on topics including the nature of knowledge, representation, classification, epistemology, practice and ontology;
4. acquire interdisciplinary experience in integrating such thinking with sociological perspectives concerning the social nature of scientific practice and the institutional position of science in its broader social context
Personal and Key Skills5. learn to think, write and argue logically through class discussions and written assignments
6. challenge and think in new ways about science as an authoritative body of knowledge and a key social institution
7. reconsider your personal understanding of science and its place in their own culture;

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Selections from:

Barnes, B., Bloor, D., & Henry, J. (1996) Scientific Knowledge: A Sociological Analysis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Cartwright, N. (1983) How the Laws of Physics Lie. Oxford: Clarendon.

Curd, M., Cover, J.A. and Pincock (Eds.) (2012) Philosophy of Science: The Central Issues. New York: Norton.

Godfrey-Smith, P. (2003) Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Goodman, N. (1954) Fact, Fiction, and Forecast. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Kuhn, T. (1970) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: Chicago University Press.

Latour, B. (1987) Science in Action: How to Follow Scientists and Engineers through Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Lipton, P. (1991) Inference to the Best Explanation. New York: Routledge.

Okasha, S. (2002) Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: OUP.

Popper, K. (1959) The Logic of Scientific Discovery. London: Routledge.

Psillos, S. (1999) Scientific Realism: How Science Tracks Truth. London: Routledge.

Van Frassen, B. (1980) The Scientific Image. Oxford: Clarendon.