| This course is an introductory course in
philosophy of science, with a special emphasis on the scientific method. The
course covers basic topics in philosophy of science such as scientific
method, scientific explanation, causality, reduction and reductionism,
natural laws, demarcation between science and pseudoscience, the relation
between evidence and hypothesis, and scientific progress. The works of some
important thinkers such as Carl Hempel, Karl Popper, Thomas Kuhn and Imre
Lakatos are introduced. The course is also aimed at providing the students
the necessary critical thinking skills. For this aim, some basic rules of
formal logic, the distinction between deductive and inductive arguments,
common cognitive biases and logical fallacies are also discussed. |