Philosophy 3780: Philosophy of Science
Brian Beakley
bbeakley@ eiu.edu
Coleman Hall 3536 (316J)  581-3964
Office Hours: T/Th 5-6, 7:15-8:15

The philosophy of science provides a royal road to almost every important chapter of contemporary Philosophy, because of the central role science plays in our world, and the cultural upheavals involved in its achieving that status. From logical, historical, and social inquiry into the nature and development of science, to cold fusion, 'natural' cures, and self-help techniques seeking scientific status; from philosophical, religious, and mystical questions concerning a knowledge escaping the grasp of science, to ethical, 'multi-cultural', and feminist critiques of science and its technological applications -- questions and claims about science are shot through all of contemporary philosophical debate. 

This course will survey the most important developments in twentieth century philosophy of science, to provide tools for dealing with science-related questions throughout Philosophy.  We will begin by laying a "foundation" for the semester's discussion, reviewing the philosophies of logical positivism and falsificationism; for as we will see, later positions almost invariably present themselves in comparison and contrast to these early views.

	Carl Hempel, “The Logical Analysis of Psychology”
	Rudolph Carnap, “Testability and Meaning” 
	Karl Popper, “Science: Conjectures and Refutations”
	Pierre Duhem, Aim and Structure of Physical Theory (excerpts, Ch. 5 and 6)

The most famous "post-positivist" development in philosophy of science is Thomas Kuhn's theory of "paradigms" and scientific revolutions.  We will read Kuhn's 1962 classic, and some of the philosophical mutations and reactions it spawned.

Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Imre Lakatos, “History of Science and Its Rational Reconstructions”
Paul Feyerabend, “How To Protect Society Against Science”
Larry Laudan, Science and Values (Ch. 2-4)

From here we can look more closely at two specific topics that are inter-related, and which run throughout the earlier readings: the nature of scientific explanation, and the issue of scientific realism.  Anti-realist scepticism about science can tell us the truth about unobservable realms were stirred by both positivism and Kuhnian-inspired 

historical relativism; and the realist arguments in response have early and late appealed to the nature of explanation. 

Carl Hempel, Philosophy of Natural Science (Chap. 5)
Wesley Salmon, “Statistical Explanation and Statistical Relevance” (excerpts)
David Lewis, “Counterfactuals”
Wesley Salmon, Scientific Explanation and the Causal Structure of the World (excerpts)
Bas van Fraassen, The Scientific Image (excerpts, Ch. 1, 3, and5)
Paul Churchland, “The Ontological Status of Observables”
Bas van Fraassen, “Ad Churchland”
Larry Laudan, Science and Values (Ch. 5)

Readings are assigned for each class period, and you will be expected to read these before each class meeting. Your grade will be based equally on three writing assignments: in-class midterm and final exams of short essay questions, and a short (4-5 pp.) paper. The paper should be typed, and the topic will be assigned. (As always, plagiarism will earn a failing grade; feel free to inquire if there is uncertainty over what constitutes this most heinous academic crime.)  Missing any of these assignments will have terrible consequences: if you are permitted to make up the assignment at all, it will be a different and more complex assignment than your classmates were given, and your grade will be marked down for lateness.