PHI446A: Philosophy of Science

This course is mainly concerned with a critical reflection of the scientific method and a systematic study of some of the foundational questions that arise in natural sciences. It introduces some of the major world views such as inductivism (Bacon), falsificationism (Popper), Verificationism, Incommensurability (Kuhn), relativism (Feyerabend). These views are will be discussed in greater detail with appropriate examples and case studies from the History of science. We discuss these positions in Philosophy of science against the backdrop of major philosophical distinction between science and Pseudo-science and it attempts to draw a rational demarcation between science and metaphysics. The course is divided into three parts, tentatively. 

Part-1 is concerned with basic concepts of the philosophy of science that engages us in the discussion of various world views of the philosophy of science.

Part-2 deals with understanding the meaning of scientific explanation, Laws, and its role in scientific knowledge.

Part-3 is concerned with selective and important issues pertaining to the 20th-century philosophy of science. We discuss some interesting problems such as old evidence problems.

Objectives

The course helps students to understand the philosophical way of thinking and arguing and apply it to the nature of scientific knowledge. It also imparts a better understanding of various scientific concepts to help us in a better appreciation of science. This course enables us to understand the reasons for the special status of science in finding the scientific method. It helps students in answering questions such as: What is science? How does it work? When it works, what kind of knowledge does it provide? Is there a scientific method? How do experiments provide evidence for theories? What is the nature of scientific explanation?