Search result: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2016
GESS Science in Perspective Only the topics listed in this paragraph can be chosen as GESS Science in Perspective. Further below you will find the "type B courses Reflections about subject specific methods and content" as well as the language courses. 6 ECTS need to be acquired during the BA and 2 ECTS during the MA Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again. | ||||||
Type A: Enhancement of Reflection Competence Suitable for all students Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again. | ||||||
Philosophy | ||||||
Number | Title | Type | ECTS | Hours | Lecturers | |
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851-0125-03L | Research Colloquium for Ph.D.-Students and Members of Staff Open for Master students on personal invitation. Personal registration required to Mr. Wingert. | Z | 0 credits | 1K | L. Wingert | |
Abstract | Ph.D. students and members of staff report on their research. | |||||
Objective | Key problems of research projects will be discussed. Participants will learn to know arguments and ideas dealing with systematic problems in philosophy. | |||||
851-0125-41L | Introduction Into Philosophy of Technology Particularly suitable for students of D-ITET, D-MATL, D-MAVT | W | 3 credits | 2V | O. Müller | |
Abstract | Since antiquity philosophy reflects about and evaluates technology. The technical developments in the 19th and 20th century have led to a autonomous philosophy of technology, which had become important also for other philosophical disciplines (e.g. in Heidegger's philosophy). | |||||
Objective | The course gives an overview on the main schools in the philosophy of technology. Students should learn to analyse and evaluate different philosophies of technology (compensation, objectification, externalisation). For credit point a critical protokoll is to be written. | |||||
851-0125-58L | Philosophy of the Environmental Sciences: An Introduction Particularly suitable for students of D-ARCH, D-BSSE, D-CHAB, D-MTEC, D-USYS | W | 3 credits | 2S | A. Schwarz | |
Abstract | Environmental knowledge and management is quite common in different research fields and in everyday practice. We will be identifying those concepts, objects and methods that mainly construe what might be called the core of the environmental sciences. This will be done by using different philosophical tools and approaches. | |||||
Objective | The environmental sciences cover a wide range of scientific practices and objects and accordingly afford different kinds of scientific knowledge. Additionally, there is an important interplay between the scientific and the societal sphere. In this seminar we will examine likewise central and widespread concepts such as sustainable development or resilience by using philosophical tools that will allow to probe the different uses of those concepts, their semantic range in terms of historical depth and semantic fields and finally their logical coherence. Another important topic is the philosophical investigation of methods and objects that can be identified in the environmental sciences. Those methods are for instance Life Cycle Assessment or Adaptive Ecosystem Management, technological objects may be a wind engine or a hydropower plant. The latter raise questions of how renewable energies can be assessed and valuated, including the more general issue of how values and norms can be embedded in technological objects. This leads us to the third and last complex of topics that focus on current deliberations about possible new ways of existence in the age of the Anthropocene and as a consequence the formation of adequate life styles in our societies. This refers to issues in philosophical and social anthropology and the challenge of climate change. | |||||
851-0125-60L | Introduction to Epistemology | W | 3 credits | 2G | N. El Kassar | |
Abstract | In this course we will examine fundamental questions of epistemology, e.g. What is knowledge? How are we to conceive of perception? Which beliefs are rational and justified? How do we acquire knowledge? By discussing a selection of seminal philosophical texts we will study fundamental epistemological theories. | |||||
Objective | - conceptions of fundamental epistemological concepts - sensitivity to epistemological questions - capacity to reflect epistemological theories - capacity to discuss epistemological theories - reading philosophical texts (including English texts) | |||||
851-0125-18L | Self-Ownership - Philosophical and Juridical Perspectives Does not take place this semester. | W | 3 credits | 2G | ||
Abstract | Rights in Objects are founded by an inalienable Self-Ownership. These Idea ist central for personal rights. We speak of my body, my genes, my name, my portrait, my ideas oder ways of eypression. | |||||
Objective | Participants will make acquintance with founding texts of the natural rights property concept (John Locke). They will see the connection between inalienable self-ownership, prohibition of slavery, derivaitve commercial rights and modern personal rights. They will learn about the problems of self-ownership today concerning property in one's body and intellectual property. Critical alternatives to the property paradigm will be discussed. Participants will have the opportunity to gain access to unfamiliar texts from the philosophical tradition and to see their relevance today. They experience the consequences of a certain use of concepts und orient themselves in current bioethical, juridical and political discussions. | |||||
Content | Texts by Locke, Nozick, Christman, Otsuka, Rasmussen, Schneider, Stirner, Fichte and Forschner. Founding of property right in self-ownership (Locke), revival of this concept in Nozick and his egalitarian critics. Critique of the concept of self-ownership related to property in one's body. Looking back to the personal self-relatedness that comes up again in Intellectual Property and in modern personal rights. | |||||
Literature | Text, Seminarplan und Literaturliste in ILIAS Lehrdokumentenablage. | |||||
851-0125-51L | Man and Machine Does not take place this semester. Particularly suitable for students of D-CHAB, D-HEST, D-MAVT, D-MATL | W | 3 credits | 2G | M. Hampe | |
Abstract | The lecture gives an overview about the different Man-Machine-Relations since the 16th century. Different modells of machines will be important here: the clockwork, the steam engine and the computer. | |||||
Objective | On the one hand modells of machines had a heuristical value in research on man, e.g. in Harvey's discovery of blood circulation in the 17th century or in brain research in the 20th century. On the other hand these modells were always criticised, sometimes polemically, because they are supposedly not adequate for man. Students should learn about the connections between the history of anthropology and technology and be able at the end of the course to evaluate the critical philosophical arguments that are connected with the metaphor of the machine. | |||||
851-0125-61L | What is the Value of Truth? | W | 3 credits | 2G | L. Wingert | |
Abstract | It is useful to know which fellowships are available or to know the causes of frequent occurence of extreme weather. These truths are of instrumental value. Is it also intrinsically good to know the truth, e.g. to know that there are gravitational waves? And which is the role of truth in our lives? The course will deal with such philosophical questions. | |||||
Objective | 1. Teilnehmer des Kurses werden mit verschiedenen, einflussreichen philosophischen Antworten und ihren Begründungen auf die Frage bekannt gemacht: Hat die (erkannte) Wahrheit einen Wert? (U.a. von William James, von Friedrich Nietzsche und Bernard Williams.) 2. Auch soll eine überlegte Meinung gewonnen werden zu dem Verhältnis von zweckfreier Grundlagenforschung und nützlichen Anwendungen in den Wissenschaften. 3. Ebenso soll ein besseres Urteil gebildet werden darüber, welche existenzielle Rolle die Suche nach Wahrheiten in unserem persönlichen Leben hat. | |||||
851-0125-62L | On the Relation Between Nature and Social Culture in Human Cognition and Action | W | 3 credits | 2G | L. Wingert | |
Abstract | How should we human beings understand ourselves according to our best knowledge about us, the social world, human history and nature? What are the relationsships between biological and socio-cultural determinants of our thinking and doing? Michael Tomasello, psychologist, and social philosopher, has answered these questions in a thought provoking way. His answers will be studied and examined. | |||||
Objective | ||||||
Literature | Michael Tomasello, A Natural History of Human Thinking, Cambridge, Ma.: Harvard University Press 2014. Michael Tomasello, A Natural History of Human Morality, Cambridge, Ma.: Harvard University Press 2016. Michael Tomasello, Why We Cooperate, Cambridge, Ma: MIT-Press 2009. | |||||
851-0125-63L | Images of Mathematics Particularly suitable for students of D-MATH | W | 3 credits | 2G | M. Hampe, A. Schubbach | |
Abstract | The lecture series "Images of Mathematics" deals with the formalization of the objects and the logical language of mathematics from Hilbert to Gödel and considers its consequences in view of our conception of mathematical practice and knowledge, the limits of calculability and computability in mathematics, and the relation between the logical proof procedures and the involved intuitive aspects. | |||||
Objective | The lecture series will present philosophical problems of theoretical mathematics in the 20th century and will discuss the consequences of formalization and axiomatization. It aims at a critical reflection on the modern images of mathematics. | |||||
Content | How we understand Mathematics is probably strongly influenced by the Mathematics lessons we participated in during our school days. The common image of mathematics is therefore often characterized by the impression of a very stable form of knowledge with clear-cut problems and suitable recipes for finding the solution. It is a very static image which is very much in conflict with the rapid series of innovations that the discipline has experienced especially since the 19th century: Mathematics as a field of research has been highly innovative and even revolutionary as few other scientific disciplines in the last 200 hundred years. These mathematical innovations did not only contribute to a progress amassing more and more knowledge. They very often changed how mathematicians conceived of their discipline. Even a contribution to a specific research question that appears at first sight to be minor can sometimes establish new connections to other fields, found a whole research field of its own or introduce new methods thereby changing the whole image of mathematics in the same way that a small addition to a picture can alter radically what we take it to represent. The lecture series "Images of Mathematics" deals with a few moments in the history of the scientific discipline since the middle of the 19th century when the image of mathematics changed. In particular, it focuses on the consequences of the fact that in the 19th century mathematics started to not only reflect on their own conceptual and methodological foundations in a general manner (which had been done since the dawn of mathematics and was especially a philosophical task), but to formalize them in a strict, mathematical way: the objects of mathematics, its logical language and its proof procedures. Through Cantor's set theory, the mathematical treatment of logic since Boole and especially through Frege and the formalization of its axioms in a wide ranging discussion involving Zermelo, Fraenkel and others, this self-reflexive stance came to the fore. Yet, the deeper mathematics dug into its foundations, the more radical the problems became. Finally, the optimistic Hilbert program of laying the foundation of mathematics within mathematics and of proving its own consistency as well as its completeness contributed to clarifying of the foundation of mathematics primarily insofar as it was doomed to failure. Gödel proved his famous incompleteness theorems and thereby dismissed at the same time the formalist attempt to reduce mathematical truth to logical provability. His work resulted in detailed insights in the precariousness of the foundation of mathematics and further numerous of productive consequences within mathematics. Moreover, Gödel's theorems open many far-reaching and intriguing questions in view of our image of mathematics, questions concerning the conception of mathematical practice and knowledge, the limits of calculability of mathematics and the possible role of computability and machines in mathematics, the relation between the logical proof procedures and the involved intuitive aspects. In short, the image of mathematics is not as static as we sometimes expect it to be, it was radically redrawn by the mathematicians of the 20th century and has since then again been open to diverging interpretations. | |||||
Literature | For further reading (optional): Mark van Atten and Juliette Kennedy, Gödel's Logic, in: Handbook of the History of Logic, Vol 5: Logic from Russell to Church, ed. by Dov M. Gabbay and John Woods, Amsterdam 2009, 449-509; Jack Copeland et al. (eds.), Computability. Turing, Gödel, Church, and beyond, Cambridge 2013; Ian Hacking, Why is there philosophy of mathematics at all? Cambridge 2014; Pirmin Stekeler-Weithofer, Formen der Anschauung. Eine Philosophie der Mathematik, Berlin 2008; Christian Tapp, An den Grenzen des Endlichen. Das Hilbertprogramm im Kontext von Formalismus und Finitismus, Heidelberg 2013. | |||||
851-0125-57L | Values in Science Number of participants limited to 25 | W | 3 credits | 2S | K. Bschir | |
Abstract | Should science be free from moral, political or ideological influences? According to the so-called value-free ideal it should. Many scientists think of themselves as committed to truth and objectivity and nothing else. In this seminar, we will track the history of the value-free ideal and engage in a debate about the potential role of so-called non-epistemic values in science. | |||||
Objective | In the past decades, philosophers of science have begun to challenge the value-free ideal in science. With the help of recent literature from the philosophy of science, students will be introduced to the debate on values in science and the reasons for why the value-free ideal has come under attack. They will be familiarized with the distinction between epistemic (truth-conducive) values and so-called non-epistemic values. The course aims at enabling students to critically reflect the potential role of non-epistemic values in science. | |||||
Content | Link | |||||
Literature | Link | |||||
851-0180-00L | Research Ethics Particularly suitable for students of D-BIOL, D-CHAB, D-HEST | W | 2 credits | 2G | G. Achermann | |
Abstract | This course has its focus on the responsible conduct of research (RCR) and the ethical dimensions of the biological and biomedical sciences. | |||||
Objective | The main goal of this course is to enhance the student's ability to: - recognize and identify ethical issues and conflicts, - analyze and develop well-reasoned responses to the kinds of ethical problems a scientist is likely to encounter. Additionally, students will become familiar with regulations and ethical guidelines relevant for their research field on the international, governmental, institutional and professional level. To achieve these objectives, teaching methods will include lectures, discussions, case study work (alone and in groups), moral games, paper work and exercises. | |||||
Content | I. Ethics & the Process of Ethical Inquiry --------------------------------------- Introduction in Ethics and Research Ethics - What is ethics? What ethics is not...; - Awareness: what constitutes an ethical question? Distinguishing ethical questions from other kinds of questions; Science & ethics: a comparison; - The ethics movement in the biological and health sciences; - What is research ethics and why is it important? - Values (personal, cultural & ethical) in science & principles for ethical conduct in research; - Professional codes of conduct: functions and limitations Ethical approaches in the conduct of research (Normative Ethics) - Overview over important theories for research ethics: virtue theories, duty-based theories (rights theory, categorical imperative, prima facie duties), consequentialist theories, other theories); - The plurality of ethical theories and its consequences; - The concept of dignity Moral reasoning I: Arguments - Why arguments? What is a good argument? The structure of (moral) arguments; - Deductive and inductive arguments; Validity and soundness; - Assessing moral arguments Moral reasoning II: Decision-making - How (not) to approach ethical issues...; Is there a correct method for answering moral questions? - Models of method in Applied Ethics: a) Top-down approaches; b) the reflective equilibrium; c) a bottom-up approach: casuistry (or reasoning-by-analogy); - Is there a right answer? II. Research Ethics / Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) ---------------------------------------------------------- Integrity in Research & Research Misconduct - What is "integrity" in scientific research? What is research misconduct (falsification, fabrication, plagiarism - FFP) and questionable research practices (QRP)? - Factors leading to misconduct; Procedure for responding to allegations of research misconduct; - The confidant of ETH Zurich Data Management - Data collection and recordkeeping; Analysis and selection of data; - Ownership of data; retention and sharing of data; - Falsification and fabrication of data Research involving animals - The moral status of animals; Ethical approaches to animal experimentation: Animal welfare (Peter Singer) and Animal rights (Tom Regan); - The 3 R's (replacement, reduction, refinement); - Ethical assessment of conflicting issues in animal experimentation; - The dignity of animals in the Swiss constitution; Research involving human subjects - History & guidelines (Nuremberg Code; Declaration of Helsinki; Belmont Report; International Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects (CIOMS Guidelines); Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (Oviedo Convention); - Informed consent; confidentiality and anonymity; research risks and benefits; vulnerable subjects; - Clinical trials; - Biobanks - Ethics Committees / Institutional Review Boards (IRB) Authorship & Peer review - Criteria for authorship; - Plagiarism; - Challenges to openness and freedom in scientific publication; - Open access - Peer review Social responsibility - What is social responsibility? Social responsibility: whose obligation? - Public advocacy by researchers | |||||
Lecture notes | Course material (handouts, case studies, exercises, surveys and papers) will be available during the lectures and on the course homepage. | |||||
Literature | Recommended literature: - Bulger R.E., Heitman E. & Reiser S.J. (2002) "The Ethical Dimensions of the Biological and Health Sciences" 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press - Shamoo A.E. & Resnik D.B. (2003) "Responsible Conduct of Research", New York, Oxford University Press - "On Being a Scientist. Responsible Conduct in Research (2009)" 3rd ed., Link; - "Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research" (Link) Detailed literature lists for the different topics of the course will be provided in the script/handout or on the course work space. | |||||
851-0145-05L | Narratives of Health and Illness Number of participants limited to 30 Particularly suitable for students of D-HEST | W | 3 credits | 2S | S. Baier | |
Abstract | Das Seminar gibt einen Einblick in den Forschungsbereich der Narrativen Medizin als Teilbereich der Medizinischen Geisteswissenschaften. Erzählungen spielen eine vielfältige Rolle, wenn es um Gesundheit und Krankheit geht | |||||
Objective | Ziel der Veranstaltung ist es, eine eigenständige kritische Perspektive auf Erzählungen von Gesundheit und Krankheit zu ermöglichen. Im Seminar werden daher unterschiedliche Arten von aktuellen Texten und Materialien zur Rolle von medizinischen Narrativen kritisch miteinander diskutiert. | |||||
851-0148-04L | Cyclical time | W | 3 credits | 2S | T. Böhm | |
Abstract | The idea of cyclical time is found in ancient pieces of wisdom (Pythagoreans, Plato, Buddhism) as reincarnation or memory, but also in Nietzsche as eternal return, in Deleuze as repetition, in Freud as repetition compulsion. We investigate the concept of repetition in combination with difference as a positive mode of thinking change. | |||||
Objective | Understanding of the various forms and functions of repetition on the basis of texts by Plato (anamnesis), Freud (repetition compulsion), Kierkegaard (narration), Nietzsche (eternal return as cosmological and ethical principle), Deleuze (time synthesis and repetition of the future), Poincarés theorem of recurrence. | |||||
851-0144-20L | Philosophical Aspects of Quantum Physics Particularly suitable for students of D-CHAB, D-PHYS | W | 3 credits | 2S | N. Sieroka, R. Renner | |
Abstract | This course provides an introduction to philosophical issues surrounding quantum physics. In particular, we will examine different interpretations of quantum mechanics (such as the many-world interpretation) and the transition between the quantum and the classical physical realm (here phenomena such as decoherence will be highlighted). | |||||
Objective | By the end of the course students are able to describe and compare different interpretations of quantum mechanics. They are able to identify and examine issues concerning these different interpretations and issues concerning the transition between quantum and classical descriptions in physics. Students are in a position to critically discuss and evaluate the repercussions of these issues in broader scientific contexts. | |||||
851-0144-19L | Philosophy of Time Does not take place this semester. Particularly suitable for students of D-BIOL, D-INFK, D-MATH, D-PHYS | W | 3 credits | 2V | N. Sieroka | |
Abstract | This course provides an introduction to philosophical issues surrounding the concept of time. We will treat topics such as: the existence of past, present, and future; the possibility of time travel; the constitution of time consciousness and its possible neurophysiological counterparts; temporal biases in the conduct of our lives; responsibility to future and past generations. | |||||
Objective | By the end of the course students are able to describe and compare different theories and concepts of time (physical time, perceptual time, historical time ...). They are able to identify and examine issues concerning time as they occur in various philosophical subdisciplines - especially in philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and ethics. Students are in a position to critically discuss and evaluate the repercussions of these issues in broader scientific and social contexts. Part of the course reflects on methods and contents from physics, neuroscience/cognitive science, and logic. | |||||
851-0144-21L | Philosophical Issues and Problems in Theoretical Computer Science Particularly suitable for students of D-INFK | W | 3 credits | 2V | G. Sommaruga, J. Copeland, D. Proudfoot | |
Abstract | This course studies philosophical issues concerning computers and computing. Topics include: information (and information content), computational complexity, the Turing Test for computer thought; the "Chinese Room" argument against the possibility of strong AI; connectionist AI; consciousness; the Church-Turing thesis; computational and hypercomputational models of mind; and free will. | |||||
Objective | - Exhibit a general understanding of the philosophy and history of computing. - Explain central problems in the field and their potential solutions, independently and at a level requiring in-depth knowledge and critical understanding. - Communicate clearly in writing about topics in this field. | |||||
851-0144-22L | Developments in Logic after Gödel: Applications to Theoretical Computer Science Particularly suitable for students of D-INFK | W | 3 credits | 2V | G. Sommaruga, J. Copeland | |
Abstract | The course will start by presenting a modern logic, namely (propositional) modal logic, which has turned out to be extremely fruitful and to have numerous interesting applications in computer science, mathematics and philosophy. Subsequently, two of these applications to computer science, tense logic and dynamic logic, and one application to mathematics, provability logic, will be introduced. | |||||
Objective | - Learn the fundamental concepts of a range of propositional logics - Learn how to construct proofs in these logics - Study the interface between mathematical logic and computer science, and mathematical logic and mathematics | |||||
851-0127-28L | Death - The Secret Problem of Life | W | 3 credits | 2S | H. Wiedebach | |
Abstract | No detective novel without a corpse, no religion without knowledge about death and life, no large transplantation of an organ without certificate for the donor's death. Is a dead person always a corpse? - Death is part of life and yet stands simultaneously in opposition to it. We cling to life and nonetheless wish to have the option to commit suicide. Do we know what we really want in that case? | |||||
Objective | Discussion of 1) several conceptions of death in history, 2) determination of death in a medical sense (brain-death, etc.). 3) The search for a personal view about life and death. 4) The practice of a precise manner of speaking based on reflection. | |||||
Literature | Texte als Diskussionsgrundlage werden zu Beginn des Semesters genannt bzw. als PDF unter "Lernmaterialien" veröffentlicht. | |||||
Prerequisites / Notice | Leistungsnachweise der Studenten: - Es besteht Anwesenheitspflicht. Einmaliges Fehlen ist möglich mit Entschuldigung. Als Ersatz die Sitzung wird eine 4-seitige Darstellung des diskutierten Textes geliefert. - Ab dem 2. Seminartermin erfolgt im Voraus pro Sitzung (d.h. insgesamt 6mal) eine 2-seitige Darstellung bzw. Stellungnahme zu einem vorgegebenen Text. - Die 2-seitigen Darstellungen müssen bis Dienstag Abend in der Woche vor der nächsten Sitzung vorliegen, damit wir Zeit haben, sie zu lesen. - Statt einer der 6 Kurzdarstellungen kann ein einführendes Referat (15 min, max. 2 Personen) gehalten werden. - MA-Studenten Philosophie und Geschichte des Wissens schreiben zusätzlich einen 5-seitigen Essay zu Michael Theunissen: "Die Gegenwart des Todes im Leben". - Ihre Texte schicken Sie bitte an die eigens eingerichtete Email-Adresse: Link Formalia (Minimalanforderungen): - Schriftbild: Zeilenabstand 1.5, Schriftgrösse 12, Seitenabstand 2.5cm, Schriftart: Arial, Times New Roman. - Vor- und Nachname, Matrikelnummer, Veranstaltungsname, Dozent, E-Mail-Adr., Studiengang. - organisatorische Rückfragen bitte an den Assistenten Raphael Salvi: Link | |||||
701-0701-00L | Philosophy of Science | W | 3 credits | 2V | G. Hirsch Hadorn, C. J. Baumberger | |
Abstract | The lecture explores various strands in philosophy of science in a critical way, focusing on the notion of rationality in science, especially with regards to environmental research. It addresses the significance and limits of empirical, mathematical and logical methods, as well as problems and ethical issues raised by the use of science in society. | |||||
Objective | Students learn to engage with problems in the philosophy of science and to relate them to natural and environmental sciences, thus developing their skills in critical thinking about science and its use. They know the most important positions in philosophy of science and the objections they face. They can identify, structure and discuss issues raised by the use of science in society. | |||||
Content | 1. Core differences between classical Greek and modern conceptions of science. 2. Classic positions in the philosophy of science in the 20th century: logical empiricism and critical rationalism (Popper); the analysis of scientific concepts and explanations. 3. Objections to logical empiricism and critical rationalism, and further developments: What is the difference between the natural sciences, the social sciences and the arts and humanities? What is progress in science (Kuhn, Fleck, Feyerabend)? Is scientific knowledge relativistic? What is the role of experiments and computer simulations? 4. Issues raised by the use of science in society: The relation between basic and applied research; inter- and transdisciplinarity; ethics and accountability of science. | |||||
Lecture notes | A reader will be available for students. | |||||
Literature | A list of introductory literature and handbooks will be distributed to the students. | |||||
Prerequisites / Notice | Oral examination during the session examination. Further optional exercises accompany the lecture and offer the opportunity for an in-depth discussion of selected texts from the reader. Students receive an additional credit point. They have to sign up separately for the exercises for the course 701-0701-01 U. | |||||
701-0701-01L | Philosophy of Science: Exercises | W | 1 credit | 1U | G. Hirsch Hadorn, C. J. Baumberger | |
Abstract | The exercises in philosophy of science serve to develop skills in critical thinking by discussing seminal texts about the rationality of science. Topics discussed include the significance and limits of empirical, mathematical and logical methods, as well as problems and ethical issues raised by the use of science in society. | |||||
Objective | Students can engage with problems in the philosophy of science and to relate them to natural and environmental sciences. They learn to analyze and summarize philosophical texts. In this way, they develop their skills in critical thinking with a focus on the rationality of science. | |||||
Content | The optional exercises accompany the lecture and serve to develop skills in critical thinking with a focus on the rationality of science, based on discussing seminal texts. The texts cover important positions in the philosophy of science and their critics. Topics discussed include the significance and limits of empirical, mathematical and logical methods, as well as problems and ethical issues raised by the use of science in society. | |||||
Lecture notes | A reader will be available for students. | |||||
Literature | A list of literature will be distributed to the students together with the reader. | |||||
Prerequisites / Notice | Students that want to subscribe for this course also have to subscribe for the lecture 701-0701-00 V "Wissenschaftsphilosophie". Credit points are given for preparing a structure and a summary of one of the texts. |
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