Advanced Studies in the Philosophy of Natural Sciences B [ LFILO2241 ]

Basic instruction in philosophy of natural science ;
Reading knowledge of English sufficient to allow for study of contemporary texts in the philosophy of natural science.

Philosophical analysis of contemporary scientific practices in accordance with a two-fold approach. Methodologically, to ask questions about the applicability and the limits of validity of scientific explanations, relative to other approaches to reality. In terms of content, to learn to see the contributions of natural science as a more general means of comprehending particular phenomena.

Upon completion of the course the student should be able
- to pose critical questions about the importance and the limits of the validity of natural science
- to connect scientific discourse with other forms of discourse about the same phenomenon

In this course we will examine the representational and modelling practices in science. We will mainly draw on Bas van Fraassen’s work. In his last book Scientific Representation. Paradoxes of Perspective, van Fraassen discusses various strategies and modes of representing in art, caricature, ingeneering, cartography etc. Such an analysis permits him to shed light on important features of scientific representation. We will assess the consequences of van Fraassen’s views on the current debate on scientific realism.