Philosophy of Science: In-depth studies

About this programme

This course provides in-depth and specialized knowledge within a field of philosophy of science, at a level that puts the student in contact with the current research field within the field. The course is part of the Bachelor's Program in Philosophy of Science and Physics 180 credits . Registration Well in advance of the start of the course, an email will be sent out to all admitted students, with information and instructions. Admitted students are expected to register themselves (web registration). More about the course content : The scientific realism debate is one of the classical debates in philosophy of science. Scientific realists claim that the core tenets of predictively successful and empirically well-confirmed scientific theories should be taken to be approximately true. Often, this view is understood in the sense that the theory’s scientific objects refer to something in the external world. Scientific antirealists, to the contrary, deny those claims. The debate is of crucial importance for understanding the status of scientific reasoning. In the course, we will develop a broad perspective on the debate. We will start by looking at the related but different metaphysical realism debate, which addresses the question as to whether it makes sense to posit a world independent from the human perspective. We will then discuss the historic roots and classical core arguments of the scientific realism debate. The final part of the course will address recent developments and perspectives.