Syllabus: contact info, texts, requirements, calendar
 
 

Calendar. The assignments below are approximate and tentative. Sometimes a reading-guide handout will specify the details of an assignment, and it may include passages that are part of your assignment. Boxed dates are the default due dates for papers.

8/26   introduction
8/29 induction Russell, “On Induction” (handout)—reading guide
8/31 falsification & demarcation Popper, “Science: Conjectures and Refutations” (KHR 38-47) and quotations from Popper on falsification and corroboration—on Moodle—reading guide
9/2 Thagard, “Why Astrology is a Pseudoscience” (KHR 66-75)—also on JSTOR—reading guide
9/5 explanation & laws Hempel, “Studies in the Logic of Explanation” §§1-2, 4 (KHR 206-211, 217-224)—also on JSTOR at 185169 (§§1-3, 6, pp. 135-140, 152-157)—reading guide
9/7 Lambert and Britten, “Laws and Conditional Statements” (KHR 225-232)—reading guide
9/9 Hempel, “Studies in the Logic of Explanation” §3 (KHR 211-217)—also on JSTOR at 185169 (§4, pp. 140-146)—reading guide
9/12 Salmon, “Scientific Explanation: How We Got from There to Here” §§1-2 (KHR 241-254)—reading guide
9/14   van Fraassen, “The Pragmatics of Explanation” §§I-II (KHR 264-271)—reading guide
9/16   ——, “The Pragmatics of Explanation” §§III-IV (KHR 271-277)—reading guide
9/19 theories Carnap, “The Nature of Theories” (KHR 316-332)—reading guide
9/21   Putnam, “What Theories Are Not” (KHR 333-338)—reading guide
9/23   Hanson, “Observation” (KHR 339-351)—reading guide
9/26 confirmation Giere, “Justifying Scientific Theories” (KHR 415-424)—reading guide
9/28 ——, “Justifying Scientific Theories” (KHR 424-434)—reading guide
9/30   Quine and Ullian, “Hypothesis” (KHR 404-414)—reading guide
10/3 normal science Kuhn, §§I-II (1-22)—reading guide
10/5 Kuhn, §III and p.s. §1 (23-34, 174-181)—reading guide
10/7   Kuhn, §IV and p.s. §2 (35-42, 181-187)—reading guide
10/10   Kuhn, §V and p.s. §3 (43-51, 187-191)—reading guide
10/12 novelty, Kuhn, §VI (52-65)—reading guide
anomaly, & midsemester break
10/17 crisis Kuhn, §VII (66-76)—reading guide
10/19 Kuhn, §VIII (77-91)—reading guide
10/21 revolution Kuhn, §IX begun (92-101)—reading guide
10/24 Kuhn, §IX concl. (101-110)—reading guide
10/26   Kuhn, §X begun (111-129)—reading guide
10/28 Kuhn, §X concl. and p.s. §4 (129-135, 191-198)—reading guide
10/31   Kuhn, §XI and §XII begun (136-147)—reading guide
11/2   Kuhn, §XII concl. and p.s. §5 (148-159, 198-204)—reading guide
11/4 progress Kuhn, §XIII and p.s. §§6-7 (160-173, 205-210)—reading guide
11/7 philosophy of physics Eddington, Space, Time and Gravitation, prologue (1-14)—on Project Gutenberg—reading guide
11/9   ——, Space, Time and Gravitation, ch. XII (165-182)—on Project Gutenberg—reading guide
11/11   Margenau, “Reality in Quantum Mechanics,” §§1-2 (287-295)—on JSTOR —reading guide
11/14 ——, “Reality in Quantum Mechanics,” §§3-5 (295-302)—on JSTOR —reading guide
11/16   Norton, “Causation as Folk Science,” §§1-3 (1-12)—in Philosophers’ Imprint—reading guide
11/18 ——, “Causation as Folk Science,” §§4-7 (12-22)—in Philosophers’ Imprint—reading guide
  Thanksgiving break
11/28 philosophy of biology Rosenberg, “Reductionism in a Historical Science,” §§1-2 (135-142)—on JSTOR—reading guide
11/30 ——, “Reductionism in a Historical Science,” §§3-4 (142-149)—on JSTOR —reading guide
12/2   ——, “Reductionism in a Historical Science,” §§5-6 (150-163)—on JSTOR—reading guide
12/5   Ruse, “Biological Species: Natural Kinds, Individuals, or What?” §§1-4 (225-231)—on JSTOR—reading guide
12/7   ——, “Biological Species” §§5-9 (232-242)—on JSTOR—reading guide
12/9   Dennett, “In Darwin's Wake, Where Am I?” (13-30)—on JSTOR—reading guide
12/15 in-class writing (9 a.m. Thurs.)