PhD course in Philosophy of Science (DUH602)

The course will give a broad orientation on central issues in the philosophy of science related to the social sciences and the humanities (‘the human sciences’).

The main topics are:

• Objectivity and the role of values in the human sciences.
• Feministic perspectives on science.
• Social ontology and constructivism.
• Scientific explanation.
• Individualism versus holism.
• Fundamental questions related to qualitative and quantitative methodology.

Knowledge:

The student will gain knowledge of fundamental philosophical issues related to the social sciences and the humanities.

Skills

By the end of the course, the student will be able to:

- Facilitate critical reflection and argumentation upon presuppositions that may easily be taken for granted in their own research tradition, or in science as a whole.

- Relate discipline-specific topics to general reflections and concepts of philosophy of science

General competence

By the end of the course, the student will be able to demonstrate competence in analytical discussion and well-structured academic argumentation.

Students must be enrolled in a PhD program.

Active participation in lectures and seminarsActive participation in lectures and seminars

At least 75% attendance

Course teacher(s)

Course teacher:

Marianne Hafnor Bøe

Course coordinator:

Ståle Gundersen

Course teacher:

Ulrich Dettweiler

Study Program Director:

Hein Berdinesen

Course teacher:

Hein Berdinesen

The course will be given in the form of five full-day lectures\seminars. A detailed timetable will be made available at the beginning of the course-semester

Active participation in lectures and seminars

PhD candidates enrolled in PhD programmes at the University of Stavanger and at cooperating research institutions may participate in the course.

There must be an early dialogue between the course supervisor, the student union representative and the students. The purpose is feedback from the students for changes and adjustments in the course for the current semester.In addition, a digital subject evaluation must be carried out at least every three years. Its purpose is to gather the students experiences with the course.

Book Philosophy of social science : a new introduction Cartwright, N., Montuschi, E. (eds.), Oxford, Oxford University Press, X, 330 s., 2014, isbn:978-0-19-964509-1; 978-0-19-964510-7, Chapter 1-4, 6-9 and 12-15. The textbook can be bought at the bookstore at campus. Website The Philosophy of Social Science. Gorton, W.A., Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2010, https://www.iep.utm.edu/soc-sci/View online Book Chapter Feminist Epistemology and Philosophy of Science. Anderson, Elizabeth, Feminist Epistemology and Philosophy of Science., 1-10, https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2020/entries/feminism-epistemology/View online Article Let's Not Talk About Objectivity Hacking, Ian, 310, 2015, Article The Debate about Quantitative and Qualitative Research: A Question of Method or Epistemology? Bryman, A., Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd. For the London School of Economics, 75-92, The British Journal of Sociology, 1, 35, 1984, p. 75-92, https://bibsys-ur.userservices.exlibrisgroup.com/view/uresolver/47BIBSYS_UBIS/openurl?ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&ctx_id=10_1&ctx_tim=2019-11-27T15%3A39%3A18IST&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_ctx_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info:sid/primo.exlibrisgroup.com-jstor_archive_2&req_id=&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=The%20Debate%20about%20Quantitative%20and%20Qualitative%20Research:%20A%20Question%20of%20Method%20or%20Epistemology?&rft.jtitle=The%20British%20Journal%20of%20Sociology&rft.btitle=&rft.aulast=Bryman&rft.auinit=&rft.auinit1=&rft.auinitm=&rft.ausuffix=&rft.au=Bryman,%20Alan&rft.aucorp=&rft.date=1984-03-01&rft.volume=35&rft.issue=1&rft.part=&rft.quarter=&rft.ssn=&rft.spage=75&rft.epage=92&rft.pages=75-92&rft.artnum=&rft.issn=00071315&rft.eissn=14684446&rft.isbn=&rft.sici=&rft.coden=&rft_id=info:doi/10.2307/590553&rft.object_id=&rft.eisbn=&rft.edition=&rft.pub=Routledge%20and%20Kegan%20Paul%20Ltd.%20For%20the%20London%20School%20of%20Economics&rft.place=&rft.series=&rft.stitle=&rft.bici=&rft_id=info:bibcode/&rft_id=info:hdl/&rft_id=info:lccn/&rft_id=info:oclcnum/&rft_id=info:pmid/&rft_id=info:eric/((addata/eric}}&rft_dat=%3Cjstor_archive_2%3E10.2307/590553%3C/jstor_archive_2%3E%3Curl%3E%3C/url%3E,language=eng,view=UBIS&svc_dat=viewit&user_ip=10.16.56.140&req.skin=primo&rft_pqid=36750645&rft_galeid=&rft_cupid=&rft_eruid=&rft_nurid=&rft_ingid=View online Article Plausible reasoning Jaynes, E.T., Article The Rationality of Science and the Inevitability of Defining Prior Beliefs in Empirical Research Dettweiler, Ulrich, Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 10, 2019-8-13, 1866 Book Chapter What is a Social Fact? Durkheim, Émile, Lukes, Steven; Halls, W. D., What is a Social Fact?, New York, Free Press, xlii, 229 s., 1982, 50-59, Book Chapter Mechanism Elster, J., Elster, J., Mechanism, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, VIII, 184 s., 1989, 3-10, isbn:0521376068; 0521374553, Book Chapter Must We Assume Others are Rational? Fay, B., Fay, B., Must We Assume Others are Rational?, Oxford, Blackwell, XI, 266 s., 1996, 92-111, isbn:9781557865380; 9781557865373; 1557865388; 155786537X, Book Chapter Philosophical views of causation Williamson, J. & Illari, P.M., Philosophical views of causation, 67-70, Article Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective Haraway, Donna, Book Chapter Overview of the field & Learning how to be a qualitative researcher Lichtman, Marilyn, Lichtman, Marilyn, Overview of the field & Learning how to be a qualitative researcher, 13-64, Book Chapter What is Social Construction? The Teenage Pregnancy Example. Hacking, I., What is Social Construction? The Teenage Pregnancy Example., Maidenhead, Open University Press, XII, 481 s., 2003, 421-427, isbn:0335208843; 0335208851; 9780335208845; 9780335208852, Article Introduction to qualitative research Merriam, Sharan B., Qualitative research in practice: Examples for discussion and analysis,, 1, 1, 2002, 1-17, Article Bayesian Epistemology Hartmann, S. and Sprenger, J., Article Beyond subjective and objective in statistics Gelman, A. & Hennig, C., J. R. Statist. Soc. A, 967-1033, Reference Entry Methodological Holism in the Social Sciences Zahle, J., Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2016, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/holism-social/View online Article The Good Qualitative Researcher Brinkmann, S., Qualitative Research in Psychology, 4, 2007-08-07, Article The theory-ladenness of observation and the theory-ladenness of the rest of the scientific process Brewer, W.F. & Lambert, B.L., Philosophy of science, 68, 2001, 176-186, Article The Central Role of Theory in Qualitative Research Collins, C.S. & Stockton, C.M., International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 17, 2018-12-01, 1-10, Book Chapter Must We Comprehend Others in Their Own Terms? Fay, B., Fay, B., Must We Comprehend Others in Their Own Terms?, Oxford, Blackwell, XI, 266 s., 1996, 112-135, isbn:9781557865380; 9781557865373; 1557865388; 155786537X, Other Optional readings Clayton, A. (2021). Bernoulli’s Fallacy. Statistical Illogic and the Crisis of Modern Science. Columbia University Press. Hacking, I. (2001). An Introduction to Probability and Inductive Logic Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.

The course description is retrieved from FS (Felles studentsystem). Version 1