PHIL 2810 - [Introduction to the Philosophy of Science]

(crosslisted) STS 2831
(ETM-AS)

Spring. Not offered: 2024-2025. Next offered: 2025-2026. 3 credits. Student option grading.

Staff.

We will look at some central questions about the nature of scientific theory and practice. What makes a discipline a science? Does science discover the objective truth about the world? How, and why, do scientific theories change over time? To what extent do observation and experiment determine which theories we accept? What is a good scientific explanation? What are laws of nature? Does physics have a special status compared to other sciences?