Philosophy of Science in the Post-truth Era 2600-PSPE-OG

Since ancient civilisation human beings have sought to understand the world in which they live through the application of Reason and this partly with a view to improving and transforming that world through the application of technology. This rational quest for knowledge not just out of idle curiosity but with a view to practical applications is what we call science. The course will examine the great philosophical debates which have surrounded the question of the most appropriate methods for the sciences to use as they seek insight. Modernism which envisaged a thoroughgoing rationalist method across all disciplines beginning from Descartes will be outlined toghether with the its detailed elaboration for the natural sciences in the experimental inductivist method by Francis Bacon. The question of the degree to which the human sciences (Economics, Psychology etc) should adopt the same or different methods will be addressed. The logical problems of inductive inference as used in scientific testing are explained together with the various attepts to overcome these culminating in the work of the great 20th century philosopher of science, Karl Popper. The challenge to modernism from post-modernist thought is explained and discussed noting its basis in Epistemological Realativism and its contemporary manifestation in what has come to be considered as a post-truth society in which scientific expertise is denigrated, conspiracy theories of all kinds flourish. The course will end with an attempt at a balanced critical assessment of the appropriate place and role of the sciences in this post-truth society

Type of course

general courses

Course coordinators

Patrick O’Sullivan

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course a student will be expected to have an understanding of the essentials of the empiricist experimental methods of science and of what such methods can be expected to produce by way of valid theories and in practical applications both in natural and in human sciences. They will have understood how the post-modernist reaction against the rationalism of the Enlightement (known as modernism) arose and how it has evolved into a radical rejection by various populists of all forms of scientific expertise and policy/therapeutical advice. They will have formed their own critical views on the degree to which contemporary skepticism regarding the sciences may or may not be justified.

Assessment criteria

One final closed book examination comprised of (a) open essay type questions and (b) a set of multiple choice questions

Closed book examination after the end of the course (2hrs).

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 2600-PSPE-OG in USOSweb