Introduction to Philosophy of Science

Introduction to Philosophy of Science

Instructor: Arvind Kumar

Credits: 2

Duration:

Day/Time: Weekly sessions will be held on Mondays (10.00 am-1.00 pm, with a break of about 30 minutes).

Course Content:

1. Glossary of some common terms in Philosophy of Science

2. Bacon's notion of the 'scientific method'.

3. Logical positivism

4. Logical empiricism

5. Falsification (Popper)

6. Kuhn; Normal Science and Revolutions

7. Lakatos and Laudan

8. Feyerabend

9. Sociology of Science: Merton, Hull, Kitcher

10. Sociology of Science; The Strong Program

11. Naturalistic philosophy

12. Scientific Realism

References:

(1) Peter Godfrey Smith: Theory and Reality (Univ. of Chicago) 2003

(2) James Ladyman: Understanding Philosophy of Science (Routledge) 2002

Assessment: