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.

8/30   introduction
9/2 induction & hypothesis Aristotle, Bacon, and Descartes on the methods of science—handout (1up for viewing, 2up for printing, bkl for printing as a booklet)—reading guide
9/4   Russell, “On Induction”—handout (1up for viewing, 2up for printing, bkl for printing as a booklet)—reading guide
9/6   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—handout on Canvas—reading guide
9/9 explanation Hempel and Oppenheim, “Studies in the Logic of Explanation” §§1-3, 6 (pp. 135-140, 152-157)—on JSTOR at 185169—reading guide
9/11   Hempel, “The Function of General Laws in History” (pp. 35-48)—on JSTOR at 2017635—reading guide
9/13 Salmon, “Explaining Things Probabilistically” (pp. 208-217)—on JSTOR at 27903724—reading guide
9/16 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
9/18   van Fraassen, “The Pragmatics of Explanation” §§I-II (pp. 143-147)—on JSTOR at 20009661—reading guide
9/20   ——, §§III-IV (pp. 147-150)—on JSTOR at 20009661—reading guide
9/23 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
9/25   Hesse, “Models in Physics” (pp. 198-214)—on JSTOR at 685897—reading guide
9/27 confirmation Harman, “The Inference to the Best Explanation” (pp. 88-95)—on JSTOR at 2183532—reading guide
9/30 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
10/2 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
10/4   Salmon, “Bayes’s Theorem and the History of Science” (MSPS, vol. 5, pp. 68-86)—on MSPS site (in vol. 5 with end of the article attached to the next article) at http://www.mcps.umn.edu—reading guide
10/7 normal science Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, §§I-II (1-22)—reading guide
10/9 ——, §III and p.s. §1 (23-34, 173-180 [174-181]*)—reading guide

* When pages in the 2nd and 3rd editions differ from the 2012 edition, they are given in brackets.

10/11   ——, §IV and p.s. §2 (35-42, 181-186 [181-187])—reading guide
10/14   ——, §V and p.s. §3 (43-51, 186-190 [187-191])—reading guide
10/16 novelty ——, §VI (52-65)—reading guide
midsemester break
10/21 ——, §VII (66-76)—reading guide
10/23 ——, §VIII (77-91)—reading guide
10/25 revolution ——, §IX begun (92-101)—reading guide
10/28 ——, §IX concl. (101-110)—reading guide
10/30   ——, §X begun (111-129)—reading guide
11/1 ——, §X concl. and p.s. §4 (129-134 [129-135], 191-197 [191-198])—reading guide
11/4   ——, §XI and §XII begun (135-146 [136-147])—reading guide
11/6   ——, §XII concl. and p.s. §5 (147-158 [148-159], 197-203 [198-204])—reading guide
11/8 progress ——, §XIII and p.s. §§6-7 (159-172 [160-173], 203-208 [205-210])—reading guide
11/11 philosophy of physics Einstein, “Geometry and Experience” —handout (1up for viewing, 2up for printing, bkl for printing as a booklet)—reading guide
11/13 Norton, “The Hole Argument,” §§1-3 (56-59)—on JSTOR at 192871—reading guide
11/15   Margenau, “Reality in Quantum Mechanics,” §§1-2 (pp. 287-295)—on JSTOR at 185069—reading guide
11/18 ——, §§3-5 (pp. 295-302)—on JSTOR at 185069—reading guide
11/20   Mermin, “Is the moon there when nobody looks?” (pp. 38-47)—on EBSCO at AN 5460139 —reading guide
11/22 Teller, “Relational Holism and Quantum Mechanics” (pp. 71-81)—on JSTOR at 686998—reading guide
  Thanksgiving break
12/2 philosophy of biology Rosenberg, “Reductionism in a Historical Science,” §§1-2 (135-142)—on JSTOR at 3081061—reading guide
12/4 ——, §§3-4 (142-149)—on JSTOR at 3081061—reading guide
12/6   ——, §§5-6 (150-163)—on JSTOR at 3081061—reading guide
12/9   Kitcher, “Species” §§1-3 (pp. 308-319)—on JSTOR at 187426
12/11   ——, §§4-5 (pp. 320-331)—on JSTOR at 187426
12/13   Dennett, “In Darwin's Wake, Where Am I?” (13-30)—on JSTOR at 3218710
12/18 paper 5 (Wed. afternoon)