Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of Science
Fall Semester 2022, Monday 1-3:40pm. Special weekend session on November 12-13.
(PHI 420/520) Registration
Venue: Park 141
Instructors:
Prerequisites: Open to all persons with an undergraduate degree and some knowledge of philosophy.
Office hours: By appointment via email at phismith@buffalo.edu
The Course
Course Description: What are the essential features of a scientific discipline, and how are the different scientific disciplines related to each other and to the world which they seek to represent? This course will provide an introduction to questions such as this, beginning with a treatment of the role of models in different types of science, and of the truthmakers for different kinds of scientific proposition. We then attempt to create a synoptic and non-reductionist view of science in its entirety, aiming to do justice to each of the sciences from a realist point of view, and at the same time throw light on the interplay between the natural sciences and mathematics, and between the sciences in general and the world of common-sense experience.
Course Structure: This is a three credit hour graduate seminar.
The final session will be structured around powerpoint presentations by the students in the class. These presentations will be recorded.
Target Audience: The course is open to all interested students with an undergraduate degree and some knowledge of philosophy.
Sample Topics
- What is a scientific model?
- Descriptions, Explanations, Interpretations, Predictions
- Classifying sciences
- Science as a habit
- Simple and complex systems
- The reproducibility crisis
- The applicability of mathematics
- Philosophy of explicit and implicit mathematics
- Carl Stumpf: Philosopher in the Lab
- Do the mathematical entities mathematicians use exist independently of the mathematicians who use them?
- Popper and after: Four modern irrationalists
- Can we discover new scientific theories using AI?
- The role of ontology in information-driven science
- Nancy Cartwright
- The Metaphysics Research Lab
- Powers and dispositions
- Singular dispositions (chemistry and interpersonal attraction, charisma, intersubjectivity ...)
- Philosophy of mathematics
- Explicit vs. implicit mathematics
- Structural, patterns, Wesenszusammenhänge
- Units of measure, measurement results, equations
August 29: Introduction to the Philosophy of Science
- Aristotle
- Bolzano
- The Vienna Circle
- Popper
- Lakatos
- Kuhn
- Feyerabend
- Stove
Some questions:
- What is science?
- What is logic?
- What is mathematics?
- What is a (scientific) model
Reading: D.C.Stove, Popper and After:Four Modern Irrationalists
September 5: Labor Day Observed
September 12: Darwin, Genes, and Units of Measure
From Aristotle to Darwin
From the Vienna Circle to the Gene Ontology
Ontology of units of measure
Video: Quantities (units of measure) as fiat universals
Reading: Alan Code, Searle, Aristotle, and the mind-body problem (1994)
September 19: Scientific and Commonsensical Realism
- Aristotle, Scotus, Peirce and the Metaphysics of Science
- An introduction to truthmaking
- The metaphysical realism of Duns Scotus
- Peirce's metaphysical realism
- Peirce and chemical diagrams
- Peirce on the continuum
- Peirce and mereology
- Boler, Peirce and the Medievals
- Campbell, The Chemistry of Relations
- Pihlström, "Truthmaking And Pragmatist Conceptions Of Truth And Reality".
- Smith, "Characteristica Universalis"
- Stjernfelt, Diagrammatology
- Stjernelt, "Mereology and Semiotics"
September 26: Biological Sciences
Ontology of Niches, Affordances, Settings, Places, Habitats: From Aristotle to Gibson and Barker and the Hutchinsonian Niche
October 3: Medical Sciences
October 10: Psychological Sciences
Behavior settings as emergent relational structures in everyday life
Readings:
- Heft, "Perceptual Information of 'An Entirely Different Order'"
- Heft, "Places: Widening the Scope of an Ecological Approach to Perception"
- Heft, Ecological Psychology in Context
- Smith, "Toward a Realistic Science of Environments"
- Smith, "Objects and Their Environments: From Aristotle to Ecological Psychology"
October 17: Science as a Historical Phenomenon
October 24: Science as a Social Phenomenon
October 31: Science and the Replication Problem
November 12-13: Philosophy of Physics with Jobst Landgrebe (weekend session)
Saturday (To save time, the lunchbreaks are short; it is recommended that you bring your lunch with you when you arrive each morning)
- 09:00
- 10:15 Break
- 10:30
- 12:00 Lunch
- 12:30
- 13:45 Break
- 14:00
- 15:15 Break
- 15:30
- 17:00 Close
Sunday
- 09:00
- 10:15 Break
- 10:30
- 12:00 Lunch
- 12:30
- 13:45 Break
- 14:00
- 15:15 Break
- 15:30
- 17:00 Close
November 15: Student Projects
Background Reading
- Barker, Roger "On the Nature of the Environment", Journal of Social Issues, October 1963.
- Gibson, James J. (1966) The Senses Considered as Perceptual Systems
- Gibson, James J. (1979) The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception
- Parsons, Talcott (1951) The Social System
- Peirce, C. S. "How to Make our Ideas Clear"
- A. Chemero, "[1] An Outline of a Theory of Affordances]", Ecological Psychology, 15(2), 181–195
- Harry Heft, Ecological Psychology in Context : James Gibson, Roger Barker, and the Legacy of William James's Radical Empiricism
- Peter Munz, Philosophy and the Mirror of Rorty, Philosophy of the Social Sciences 14 (2):195-238 (1984)
- Thomas Natsoulas Gibson's Environment, Husserl's "Lebenswelt," the World of Physics, and the Rejection of Phenomenal Objects, The American Journal of Psychology, Autumn, 1994, Vol. 107, No. 3 (Autumn, 1994), pp. 327-358
- Barry Smith (ed.), Foundations of Gestalt Theory, Munich, 1988.
- Barry Smith, "Toward a Realistic Science of Environments", Ecological Pschology 21 (2), April-June 2009, 121-130
- Barry Smith “Objects and Their Environments: From Aristotle to Ecological Psychology”, in Andrew Frank, Jonathan Raper and Jean-Paul Cheylan (eds.), The Life and Motion of Socio-Economic Units (GISDATA 8), London: Taylor and Francis, 2001, 79–97. [On Roger Barker on behavior settings]
- Frederik Stjernfelt, "Mereology and Semiotics", Sign Systems Studies 28:73-97 (2000)
- Fumiaki Toyoshima and Adrien Barton "A Formal Representation of Affordances as Reciprocal Dispositions", TriCoLore (C3GI/ISD/SCORE), 2018
- Rob Withagen and Anthony Chemero Affordances and classification: On the significance of a sidebar in James Gibson’s last book, Philosophical Psychology, Vol. 25, No. 4, August 2012, 521–537
- Robert H. Wozniak, "Commentary on Watson (1913)"
Student Learning Outcomes
| Program Outcomes/Competencies | Instructional Method(s) | Assessment Method(s) |
|---|---|---|
| The student will acquire a knowledge of the philosophy of both the natural and social sciences. | Lectures and class discussions | Review of reading matter and associated online content and participation in class discussions |
| The student will acquire experience in using the methods of philosophical argument, in formulating complex propositions on the interrelations between philosophy, science, and mathematics. | Participation in practical experiments | Review of results |
| The student will acquire experience in formulating ideas using powerful persuasive prose. | Creation of documentation and youtube presentations | Review of results |
How to Write an Essay
- Jordan Peterson's Essay Writing Guide
- Steven Pinker, The Sense of Style, Penguin Books, 2014
- Strunk and White, The Elements of Style
- Harvard's guide to writing philosophy
- Jim Pryor's guide to writing philosophy
Important Dates
| Sep 7 | - about now start to discuss by email the content of your essay or essays with Dr Smith |
| Sep 25 | - submit proposed title and abstract |
| Oct 10 | - submit a table of contents and 300 word summary plus draft of associated ppt slides |
| Oct 20 | - submit first draft of essay (~1000 words) and associated powerpoint (~10 slides) |
| Nov 15 | - submit second draft of essay (~2000 words) and associated powerpoint (~10 slides) |
| Nov 22 | - class presentation |
| Dec 11 | - submit final version of essay and powerpoint and upload final version of video to youtube |
Grading
Grading will be based on two factors:
I: understanding and criticism of the material presented in classes 1-13
All students are required to take an active part in class (and where relevant on-line) discussions throughout the semester.
II: preparation of an essay, and associated powerpoint slides and recorded presentation.
Content and structure of the essay should be discussed with Dr Smith.
Grading Policy: Grading follows standard Graduate School policies. Grades will be weighted according to the following breakdown:
Weighting Assignment
- 20% - class discussions
- 15% - youtube video presentation
- 15% - powerpoint slides
- 50% - essay
Final Grades
Percentages refer to sum of assignment grades as listed above
Grade Quality Percentage
| A | 4.0 | 90.0% -100.00% |
| A- | 3.67 | 87.0% - 89.9% |
| B+ | 3.33 | 84.0% - 86.9% |
| B | 3.00 | 80.0% - 83.9% |
| B- | 2.67 | 77.0% - 79.9% |
| C+ | 2.33 | 74.0% - 76.9% |
| C | 2.00 | 71.0% - 73.9% |
| C- | 1.67 | 68.0% - 70.9% |
| D+ | 1.33 | 65.0% - 67.9% |
| D | 1.00 | 62.0% - 64.9% |
| F | 0 | 61.9% or below |
An interim grade of Incomplete (I) may be assigned if the student has not completed all requirements for the course. An interim grade of 'I' shall not be assigned to a student who did not attend the course. The default grade accompanying an interim grade of 'I' shall be 'U' and will be displayed on the UB record as 'IU.' The default Unsatisfactory (U) grade shall become the permanent course grade of record if the 'IU' is not changed through formal notice by the instructor upon the student's completion of the course.
Assignment of an interim 'IU' is at the discretion of the instructor. A grade of 'IU' can be assigned only if successful completion of unfulfilled course requirements can result in a final grade better than the default 'U' grade. The student should have a passing average in the requirements already completed. The instructor shall provide the student specification, in writing, of the requirements to be fulfilled.
The university’s Graduate Incomplete Policy can be found here.
Related Policies and Services
Academic integrity is a fundamental university value. Through the honest completion of academic work, students sustain the integrity of the university while facilitating the university's imperative for the transmission of knowledge and culture based upon the generation of new and innovative ideas. See http://grad.buffalo.edu/Academics/Policies-Procedures/Academic-Integrity.html.
Accessibility resources: If you have any disability which requires reasonable accommodations to enable you to participate in this course, please contact the Office of Accessibility Resources in 60 Capen Hall, 645-2608 and also the instructor of this course during the first week of class. The office will provide you with information and review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accommodations, which can be found on the web here.
University suppert services: Students are often unaware of university support services. For example, the Center for Excellence in Writing provides support for written work, and several tutoring centers on campus provide academic success support and resources.
Available resources on sexual assault: UB is committed to providing an environment free of all forms of discrimination and sexual harassment, including sexual assault, domestic and dating violence and stalking. If you have experienced gender-based violence (intimate partner violence, attempted or completed sexual assault, harassment, coercion, stalking, etc.), UB has resources to help. This includes academic accommodations, health and counseling services, housing accommodations, helping with legal protective orders, and assistance with reporting the incident to police or other UB officials if you so choose. Please contact UB’s Title IX Coordinator at 716-645-2266 for more information. For confidential assistance, you may also contact a Crisis Services Campus Advocate at 716-796-4399.
Counseiling services: As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning or reduce your ability to participate in daily activities. These might include strained relationships, anxiety, high levels of stress, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, health concerns, or unwanted sexual experiences. Counseling, Health Services, and Health Promotion are here to help with these or other concerns. You learn can more about these programs and services by contacting:
- Counseling Services: 120 Richmond Quad (North Campus), phone 716-645-2720
- Health Services: Michael Hall (South Campus), phone: 716-829-3316
- Health Promotion: 114 Student Union (North Campus), phone: 716- 645-2837
