BASS Social Anthropology and Philosophy

This course introduces several major controversies in the philosophy of science and uses them to investigate the nature of science, its methods, and its accomplishments. Topics covered include inductivist vs. falsificationist methodology, Kuhnian relativism, scientific realism, theory and evidence, and laws of nature.

20 PHIL credits at Level 1.

The course aims to:

- Introduce students to key issues in the philosophy of science.
- Enhance their skills at understanding and evaluating philosophical problems.
- Acquaint students with some of the special concepts used in characterising scientific methodology.

• Lectures (20 hours): delivery of content 
• Tutorials (10 hours): small group discussion will facilitate student engagement 
• Office Hours: students will have access to the course convenor through regular office hours 
• VLE: learning materials (reading lists, lecture slides, etc.) available online (asynchronous) 
• Essay Plans: students will be encouraged to submit essay plans for formative feedback

• Introduce students to key issues in the philosophy of science.
• Enhance their skills at understanding and evaluating philosophical problems.
• Acquaint students with some of the special concepts used in characterising scientific methodology.

• Knowledge of some central problems in the philosophy of science and of certain possible solutions to them.
• The ability to assess some received wisdom about the nature and purpose of science and of scientific method.
• An understanding of key philosophical concepts such as inductive reasoning, refutation, confirmation, law of nature, and explanation.

• Interpret and criticise both primary and secondary texts.

• critical thinking, discussion, independent research) enhance employability and key to many routes to employment.
• undertake independent research and apply theoretical knowledge to complex issues

The School of Social Sciences (SoSS) is committed to providing timely and appropriate feedback to students on their academic progress and achievement, thereby enabling students to reflect on their progress and plan their academic and skills development effectively. Students are reminded that feedback is necessarily responsive: only when a student has done a certain amount of work and approaches us with it at the appropriate fora is it possible for us to feed back on the student's work. The main form of feedback on this course is feedback on your assessed essay, in the form of in-text comments and a general feedback report, both available through Blackboard. You are also welcome to ask the course convenor to give you some feedback on your exam performance.

We also draw your attention to the variety of generic forms of feedback available to you on this as on all SoSS courses. These include: meeting the lecturer and tutor during their office hours; e-mailing questions to the lecturer/tutor; asking questions from the lecturer or tutor (before and after lecture/tutorial); and obtaining feedback on your ideas from your peers and tutor during tutorials.

• Lisa Bortolotti An introduction to the philosophy of science (Wiley, 2008) 
• James Ladyman, Understanding Philosophy of Science (Routledge, 2002)