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 links to paper assignments.
| 8/24 | introduction | |
| 8/27 | induction & hypothesis | Aristotle, Bacon, and Descartes on the methods of science—handout (1up, 2up)—reading guide |
| 8/29 | Russell, “On Induction”—handout (1up, 2up)—reading guide | |
| 8/31 | Popper, sels. from “Back to the Pre-Socratics,” §§3-7, 11-12 (pp. 3-8, 18-24)—on JSTOR at 4544602—and quotations from Popper on falsification and corroboration—on Canvas—reading guide | |
| 9/3 | explanation | Hempel, “Studies in the Logic of Explanation” §§1-3, 6 (pp. 135-140, 152-157)—on JSTOR at 185169—reading guide |
| 9/5 | Hempel, “The Function of General Laws in History” (pp. 35-48)—on JSTOR at 2017635—reading guide | |
| 9/7 | Salmon, “Explaining Things Probabilistically” (pp. 208-217)—on JSTOR at 27903724—reading guide | |
| 9/10 | Kitcher, “Two Approaches to Explanation” (pp. 632-639)—on JSTOR at 2026419—and “Explanatory Unification” (pp. 510, 512-515)—on JSTOR at 186834—reading guide | |
| 9/12 | van Fraassen, “The Pragmatics of Explanation” §§I-II (pp. 143-147)—on JSTOR at 20009661—reading guide | |
| 9/14 | ——, §§III-IV (pp. 147-150)—on JSTOR at 20009661—reading guide | |
| 9/17 | theories | Feigl, “The ‘Orthodox’ View of Theories” (MSPS, vol. 4, pp. 3-16)—on MSPS site (in vol. 4 with end of bibliography attached to next article) at http://www.mcps.umn.edu—reading guide |
| 9/19 | Suppes, “A Comparison of the Meaning and Uses of Models in Mathematics and the Empirical Sciences” (pp. 287-301)—on JSTOR at 20114347—reading guide | |
| 9/21 | confirmation | Harman, “The Inference to the Best Explanation” (pp. 88-95)—on JSTOR at 2183532—reading guide |
| 9/24 | Giere, “Testing Theoretical Hypotheses” §§1-5 (MSPS, vol. 10, pp. 269-284)—on MSPS site (in vol. 10) at http://www.mcps.umn.edu—reading guide | |
| 9/26 | Giere, “Testing Theoretical Hypotheses” §§6-10 (MSPS, vol. 10, pp. 284-296)—on MSPS site (in vol. 10) at http://www.mcps.umn.edu—reading guide | |
| 9/28 | Salmon, “Bayes’s Theorem and History of Science” (MSPS, vol. 5, pp. 68-86)—on MSPS site (in vol. 5) at http://www.mcps.umn.edu—reading guide | |
| 10/1 | normal science | Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, §§I-II (1-22)—reading guide |
| 10/3 |
——, §III and p.s. §1 (23-34, 174-181 [173-180]*)—reading guide
* When pages in the 2012 edition differ from the 2nd and 3rd editions, they are given in brackets. |
|
| 10/5 | ——, §IV and p.s. §2 (35-42, 181-187 [181-186])—reading guide | |
| 10/8 | ——, §V and p.s. §3 (43-51, 187-191 [186-190])—reading guide | |
| 10/10 | novelty | ——, §VI (52-65)—reading guide |
| midsemester break | ||
| 10/15 | ——, §VII (66-76)—reading guide | |
| 10/17 | ——, §VIII (77-91)—reading guide | |
| 10/19 | revolution | ——, §IX begun (92-101)—reading guide |
| 10/22 | ——, §IX concl. (101-110)—reading guide | |
| 10/24 | ——, §X begun (111-129)—reading guide | |
| 10/26 | ——, §X concl. and p.s. §4 (129-135 [129-134], 191-198 [191-197])—reading guide | |
| 10/29 | ——, §XI and §XII begun (136-147 [135-146])—reading guide | |
| 10/31 | ——, §XII concl. and p.s. §5 (148-159 [147-158], 198-204 [197-203])—reading guide | |
| 11/2 | progress | ——, §XIII and p.s. §§6-7 (160-173 [159-172], 205-210 [203-208])—reading guide |
| 11/5 | philosophy of physics | Einstein, “Geometry and Experience” —on Canvas—reading guide |
| 11/7 | Norton, “The Hole Argument,” §§1-3 (56-59)—on JSTOR at 192871—reading guide | |
| 11/9 | Margenau, “Reality in Quantum Mechanics,” §§1-2 (pp. 287-295)—on JSTOR at 185069—reading guide | |
| 11/12 | ——, §§3-5 (pp. 295-302)—on JSTOR at 185069—reading guide | |
| 11/14 | Mermin, “Is the moon there when nobody looks?” (pp. 38-47)—on EBSCO at AN 5460139—reading guide | |
| 11/16 | Teller, “Relational Holism and Quantum Mechanics” (pp. 287-295)—on JSTOR at 686998—reading guide | |
| Thanksgiving break | ||
| 11/26 | philosophy of biology | Rosenberg, “Reductionism in a Historical Science,” §§1-2 (135-142)—on JSTOR at 3081061—reading guide |
| 11/28 | ——, §§3-4 (142-149)—on JSTOR at 3081061—reading guide | |
| 11/30 | ——, §§5-6 (150-163)—on JSTOR at 3081061—reading guide | |
| 12/3 | Kitcher, “Species” §§1-3 (pp. 308-319)—on JSTOR at 187426—reading guide | |
| 12/5 | ——, §§4-5 (pp. 320-331)—on JSTOR at 187426—reading guide | |
| 12/7 | Dennett, “In Darwin's Wake, Where Am I?” (13-30)—on JSTOR at 3218710—reading guide | |
| 12/11 | paper 5 (Tues. afternoon) | |