Preparing for Wed 29 Feb

On Wed 29 Feb, we will continue our discussion of Boyd's article. Pay particular attention to his notion of homeostatic consequentialism. We will also discuss the reading by Charles Taylor now posted on PolyLearn.

Before you start reading the Taylor article, please read the "Guide for Reading Taylor," which includes some reading questions and some background material.

Reminder: If you are writing a response paper this week, you must write on the Taylor article.

Preparing for Mon 27 Feb

On Mon 27 Feb we will discuss Kitcher's "Realism and Scientific Progress" (Chpt. 32). As some of you know, Kitcher's article is largely as response to van Fraassen's anti-realism.

We will then begin discussing foundational issues that explore the relationship between philosophy of science and ethics. We will begin by discussing Richard Boyd's "How to be a moral realist" (posted on PolyLearn). Please be sure to read this selection before class.

Preparing for Wed 22 Feb - Readings + Response Papers

On Wed 22 Feb we will not only discuss the van Fraassen article, on which you are all commenting, but we will also discuss two other articles (see below).

If you have a response paper due this week (check the recently posted "Guidelines for Response Papers II"), you should write a response to Chpt. 32 by Kitcher, "Realism and Scientific Progress."

Here's how to prepare for Wednesday's class:

1. Be sure you have posted a comment or two on the forum concerning Chpt. 31 by van Fraassen NO LATER THAN the end of 21 Feb 2012.
2. Read the first paragraph of Chpt. 30 (p. 317) by Putnam and beginning with "Let us return to the topic of realism..." (p. 319) to the end of the article. The main things you want to understand are (a) How does Putnam characterize scientific realism and (b) According to Putnam, what is the most compelling argument in favor of scientific realism?
3. Read Chpt. 32 by Kitcher. Try to understand (a) What are the main arguments Kitcher presents against van Fraassen's view? (b) Is Kitcher a realist or an anti-realist? How do you know?

Please remember that response papers are due at the beginning of class on Wednesday.

Preparing for Wed 22 Feb - Special Assignment!

For Wed 22 Feb, you are all required to complete the special assignment I have just posted on PolyLearn. It requires that you read Chpt. 31 and make meaningful contributions an on-line class discussion on a forum. I'll be moderating the discussion and look forward to your contributions!

Please visit the PolyLearn website for further instructions.
 
Note: You must complete this special assignment before Wed 22 Feb.

Preparing for Wed 15 Feb

On Wed 15 Feb we will continue discussing the issue of scientific paradigms but from a rather different perspective. To prepare for Wednesday's class, please do the following.

Read

• Hacking, Chpt. 21
• Feyerabend, Chpt. 22

Think About

1. What is the main point Hacking is trying to make about Kuhn's view of scientific rationality?
2. Why does Hacking think that scientific revolutions do not question rationality?
3. What are the two main meanings of "paradigm" according to Hacking and what does he say about each one?
4. Why is the selection by Feyerabend titled "An argument against method"?
5. According to Feyerabend, how is the view that there is only one method in science related to humanism?
6. According to Feyerabend, why should the only method in science be "anything goes"?

Preparing for Mon 13 Feb

On Mon 13 Feb, we will be discussing Kuhn's famous philosophical account of scientific change, from which the notion of a "paradigm shift" entered our vocabulary. To prepare for Monday's class, please do the following.

Read

• Chpt. 19, "The Nature of Normal Science"
• Chpt. 20, "The Nature of Revolutionary Science"

Think About - Chpt. 19

1. According to Kuhn, what are the main features of normal science?
2. Why is normal science like a puzzle? 
3. Can you think or find a genuine example (from science) that fits Kuhn's description of normal science as puzzle solving?
4. What kind of commitments does scientists derive from a "paradigm"? Does this help us articulate what we mean by a "paradigm?" If so, what are the key elements of a "paradigm"?

Think About - Chpt. 20

1. What is a scientific revolution and how is it analogous to a political revolution?
2. What events lead to the end of normal science and the beginning of a scientific revolution?
3. Why is the debate between the revolutionary party and the establishment (in a scientific revolution) one that cannot be arbitrated by reason (according to Kuhn, of course)?
4. In what sense is a scientific theory and its successor incompatible or incommensurable?
5. In what sense does Kuhn think it is correct to say that the laws of Einsteinian physics do not reduce to the laws of Newtonian physics? What is the philosophical significance of this?

Preparing for Mon 6 Feb - Read Carefully

On Mon 6 Feb, you will be doing group work to help each other prepare for the mid-term exam (on Wed 8 Feb).

To prepare for this activity, please download the Study Questions now posted on PolyLearn and prepare answers to as many questions as you can.  Focus on the quality, not quantity, of your answers.