Seminar: Underdetermination
Tu 2:45-5:35, HU-115
In the 20th-century, the underdetermination of theory by data was exploited to argue for anti-realism, empiricism, relativism, and scepticism. This course will take up underdetermination and its cohort of related issues in the philosophy of science.
http://www.fecundity.com/courses
Professor: P.D. Magnus
Campus phone x2-4251
Office hours: W 11:00-12:00, Th 1:30-2:30, and by appointment
Requirements
Students should come to class prepared to discuss assigned material.
Students are required to make three presentations: a brief factual presentation, a presentation on one of the readings, and a final paper presentation.
Students will write one short (5ish page) paper on an assigned topic and a final (15ish page) paper on a topic of their choice. The topic and argument of the final paper will be presented at the last class meeting.
20% Participation
20% Class presentations
20% Short paper
40% Final paper
October 16: short paper due
December 4: paper presentation
December 14: final paper due
Reading List
- Henri Poincaré, selections from The Value of Science
- Pierre Duhem, selections from The Aim and Structure of Physical Theory
- Karl Popper, `Conjectures and Refutations'
- Rudolf Carnap, `Empiricism, Semantics, and Ontology'
- WV Quine, `Two Dogmas of Empiricism'
- Larry Laudan & Jarrett Leplin, `Empirical Equivalence and Underdetermination' and `Determination Underdeterred'
- Andre Kukla, `Laudan, Leplin, empirical equivalence, and underdetermination' and `Non-empirical theoretical virtues and the argument from underdetermination'
- Thomas Kuhn, `The Essential Tension' and `Objectivity, Value Judgement, and Theory Choice'
- Philip Kitcher, selections from The Advancement of Science
- Helen Longino, `Can There Be A Feminist Science?'
- Elizabeth Potter, `Underdetermination Undeterred'
- Kristen Intemann, `Feminism, Underdetermination, and Values in Science'
- Larry Sklar, selections from Space, Time, and Spacetime and `Methodological Conservativism'
- Kyle Stanford, Exceeding Our Grasp
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