History and Philosophy of Science
Conventional wisdom has it that science is one of humankind’s best attempts at rationally uncovering the objective structure of the world. But what exactly is science and in what sense is it rational? We will familiarize ourselves with the most significant scientific achievements of the last four centuries (the work of scientists such as Galileo, Copernicus, Newton, Darwin, Einstein) in order to stimulate and evaluate philosophical questions about (a) the defining characteristics of the scientific method, (b) the soundness of various forms of scientific reasoning (Bayesianism, hypothetico-deductive reasoning, and inference to the best explanation), and (c) the objectivity of science. 3 hrs. lect.