module
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
PHL2026: Philosophy of Science
This module descriptor refers to the 2023/4 academic year.
Module Aims
The course seeks to open up and address key questions concerning scientific knowledge, practice and the world. You will engage with a range of canonical texts in the philosophy of science and become familiar with central debates in the field. You will also think critically about the nature of science and its place in the modern world.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. acquire a variety of conceptual tools for analysing the nature of science as a body of knowledge and a field of practice 2. adopt a stance of critical distance from one of the most powerful and authoritative cultural formations in the contemporary world, and to achieve a sophisticated appreciation of current issues and problems surrounding science in our society; |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. engage with key philosophical debates on topics including the nature of knowledge, representation, classification, epistemology, practice and ontology; 4. acquire interdisciplinary experience in integrating such thinking with sociological perspectives concerning the social nature of scientific practice |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. learn to think, write and argue logically through class discussions and written assignments 6. challenge and think in new ways about science as an authoritative body of knowledge and a key social institution 7. reconsider your personal understanding of science and its place in their own culture; |