Phil. 220

COURSE INFORMATION

PHILOSOPHY AND THE SCIENCES, Fall 1998

Lectures: M W F 8:50-9:40, Room 114 Van Hise.  Attendance at lectures and sections is mandatory.

Instructor: Malcolm Forster

Email: mforster@facstaff.wisc.edu
Office: 5137 Helen C. White Hall
Office hours: Wed 2:30-3:30, Fri 9:50-10:50
and by appointment.
Office Telephone: 263-6554
(263-3700 to leave a message)

Teaching Assistant: Ann Wolfe

Email: abwolfe@students.wisc.edu
Office: 5112 H.C. White Hall
Office Hours: T 12:30 - 1:15, R 11:15 - 1:00
and by appointment
(263-3700 to leave a message)

Texts: Available at the University Book Store.

• Philosophy of Science: The Central Issues, by Martin Curd & J. A. Cover.
• The Astonishing Hypothesis: the scientific search for the soul, by Francis Crick.

Recommended Reading: Thomas Kuhn (1970) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Several copies are on reserve at the College Library

Syllabus: The course will cover material in the first half of Curd & Cover (not past chapter 6). Material from Crick will be interspersed. Crick’s book will serve 3 purposes: (i) Provide a case study: That is, teach us about the nature of scientific research in one real example of science. (ii) Teach us about how we know the world perceptually, in the hope that this may bear some similarity to how we know the world scientifically. (iii) Teach us about observation, and of the sources of observational error, which have an effect on all science.

Requirements: Records of attendance in lectures and sections will be recorded and taken into consideration. There will be regular reading assignments, homework assignments, a couple of quizzes, a major essay, and a final exam. The essay will be worth 25% of the total grade. The final exam (which will cover the whole course) is worth 25%.

Discussion Sections begin in the second week. Attendance at Discussion Section is mandatory.

Homework Assignments: To be announced.

Good Luck!