PLS2607 - Philosophy Of Science Semesters 1 and 2 3/2022.

PLS2607 - Philosophy Of Science Semesters 1 and 2 3/2022. 5.3 Electronic Reserves (e-Reserves) The following prescribed journal articles and book chapters are available as e-reserves. You are encouraged to obtain them timeously by visiting the website of the Unisa Library (, under “Search Options”, select “Course Code Search”, and then enter “PLS2607”): 1. Chalmers, A.F. 2013. “Theories as structures I: Kuhn’s paradigms.”, pp. 97-120, in: What is this thing called science? Fourth Edition. Maidenhead: Open University Press. 2. Gale, G. 1979. “Introduction to Philosophy.”, pp. 5-24, in: Theory of Science: An Introduction to the History, Logic, and Philosophy of Science. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company. 3. Klee, R. 1997. “The Positivist Model of Scientific Theories.”, pp. 28-39, in: Introduction to the Philosophy of Science: Cutting Nature at Its Seams. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 4. Lakatos, I. 1970. “Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes.”, pp. 170- 196, in: I. Lakatos & A. Musgrave (eds.). Criticism and the growth of knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 5. Nozick, R. 2001. “The objectivity and rationality of science.”, pp. 287-307, in: J. Fetzer (ed.). Science, Explanation and Rationality: Aspects of the Philosophy of Carl G. Hempel. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 6. O’Hear, A. 1989. “Falsification.”, pp. 35-53, in: Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 7. Okere, T.I. 2005. “Is There One Science, Western Science?”, Africa Development / Afrique et Développement, XXX(3), 20-34. 8. Richardson, S.S. 2010. “Feminist Philosophy of Science: history, contributions and challenges.”, Synthese, 177(337-362). 9. Tsou, J.Y. 2003. “Reconsidering Feyerabend’s ‘Anarchism’.”, Perspectives on Science, 11(2), 208- 235. PLS2607/101/3/2022 9 5.4 Library services and resources information The Unisa Library offers a range of information services and resources: • For brief information, go to • For more detailed Library information, go to • For research support and services (eg Personal Librarians and literature search services), go to The Library has created numerous Library guides: Recommended guides: • Request and find library material/download recommended material: • Postgraduate information services: • Finding and using library resources and tools: • Frequently asked questions about the library: • Services to students living with disabilities: Important contact information: • Ask a Librarian: • Technical problems accessing library online services: • General library related queries: • For queries related to library fines and payments: 6 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE MODULE 6.1 Study @ Unisa: The Study @ Unisa website is available on myUnisa: The website has all the tips and information you need to succeed at Unisa. 10 6.2 First-Year Experience Programme @ Unisa For many students, the transition from school education to tertiary education is beset with anxiety. This is also true for first-time students to Unisa. Unisa is a dedicated open distance and e-learning institution. Unlike face-to-face/contact institutions, Unisa is somewhat different. It is a mega university and all our programmes are offered through a blended learning mode or fully online learning mode. It is for this reason that we thought it necessary to offer first-time students additional/extended support so that you can seamlessly navigate the Unisa teaching and learning journey with little difficulty and few barriers. In this regard we offer a specialised student support programme to students entering Unisa for the first time. We refer to this programme as Unisa’s First-Year Experience (FYE) Programme. The FYE is designed to provide you with prompt and helpful information about services that the institution offers and how you can access information. The following FYE programmes are currently offered: • FYE website: All the guides and resources you need to navigate through your first year at Unisa can be accessed using the following link: • FYE e-mails: You will receive regular e-mails to help you stay focused and motivated. • FYE broadcasts: You will receive e-mails with links to broadcasts on various topics related to your first-year studies (eg videos on how to submit assignments online). • FYE mailbox: For assistance with queries related to your first year of study, send an e-mail to 7 STUDY PLAN Please refer to the study programme for the semester for which you are registered, i.e. either for Semester 1 OR Semester 2, 2022. It is important to work out a study programme that suits your particular circumstances. Remember to organise your study programme in such a way that you have enough time to prepare for the examination. To adopt a sensible and realistic study plan, we provide you with an explicit indication of the notional study hours you need to spend on each topic of the study material. The notional study hours attached to this module are 120. Please keep in mind that notional study hours refer to the actual time you actively spend on the study material. You should spend at least 1½ hours per day to cover all the prescribed material in this module: 1.5 hours X 80 days = 120 notional hours. PLS2607/101/3/2022 11 You can, of course, also work out your own study programme. FOR ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO myUNISA. STUDY PROGRAMME FOR SEMESTER 1, 2022: Suggested schedule: Study Unit 1: Introduction to Philosophy of Science (1 week: 10 notional hours) Monday, 7 th February – Friday, 11th February 2022 Contents: • Defining “science” and “Philosophy of Science”. • Philosophy of Science’s historical development from Natural Philosophy. • The importance of a theory of science. • The nature and aims of Philosophy of Science. Outcomes: At the end of this study unit, you should be able to: • Clearly articulate the differences between social and natural science, and Philosophy of Science. • Explain the history of Philosophy of Science. • Identify the importance of a theory of science. • Explain the aims of the Philosophy of Science. Readings: The following readings are prescribed: • Study guide, Foreword, Aims, Activities & Assessment, and Study unit 1 (Introduction to Philosophy of Science). • Gale, G. 1979. “Introduction to Philosophy.”, pp. 5-24, in: Theory of Science: An Introduction to the History, Logic, and Philosophy of Science. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company. (This text is available as an e-reserve.) • Study guide’s Glossary. Self-test: Answer the reflection questions at the end of Study unit 1 in the Study guide. 12 Study Unit 2: Objectivity and value-free science (1 week: 10 notional hours) Monday, 14th February – Monday, 18th February 2022 Contents: • The scientist as “objective”. • The process of scientific reasoning. • Is objectivity possible in science? • The role of values in the process of scientific theory development. Outcomes: At the end of this study unit, you should be able to: • Consider the problem of science presented as objective knowledge. • Critically establish if a scientist can be objective. • Ascertain the importance of subjective factors in knowledge creation. • Explain the importance of values in the practise of science. Readings: The following readings are prescribed: • Study guide, Study unit 2 (Objectivity and value-free science). • Nozick, R. 2001. “The objectivity and rationality of science.”, pp. 287-307, in: J. Fetzer (ed.). Science, Explanation and Rationality: Aspects of the Philosophy of Carl G. Hempel. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (This text is available as an e-reserve.) • Study guide’s Glossary. Self-test: Answer the reflection questions at the end of Study unit 2 in the Study guide. Study Unit 3: The Vienna Circle and Logical Positivism (2 weeks: 20 notional hours) Monday, 21st February – Friday, 4 th Contents: • Observation, Laws of Nature, and theory in scientific laws. • The Vienna Circle (Logical Positivism). PLS2607/101/3/2022 13 • The two-language structure of scientific theories and its critique. • Synthetic, analytic, a priori and a posteriori statements. • Realism and Instrumentalism. Outcomes: At the end of this study unit, you should be able to: • Describe the nature of observation and scientific laws. • Explain critically the Vienna Circle’s theory of Logical Positivism. • Be able to critically evaluate the two-language structure of scientific theories. • Illustrate and /appraise the conflicting perspectives of realism and instrumentalism. Readings: The following readings are prescribed: • Study guide, Study unit 3 (The Vienna Circle and Logical Positivism). • Klee, R. 1997. “The Positivist Model of Scientific Theories.”, pp. 28-39, in: Introduction to the Philosophy of Science: Cutting Nature at Its Seams. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (This text is available as an e-reserve.) • Study guide’s Glossary. Self-test: Answer the reflection questions at the end of Study unit 3 in the Study guide. March 2022 Study Unit 4: Induction, Popper and falsificationism (2 weeks: 20 notional hours) Monday, 7th March – Friday, 18th March 2022 Contents: • The history and process of inductive reasoning (Francis Bacon). • David Hume’s “Problem of Induction” and attempts to counter Hume (including Reichenbach). • Popperian Falsificationism (hypothetico-deductivism). • The demarcation of “science”. • A pattern for the testing of hypotheses and their 14 “acceptance”. • Criticism of falsificationism. • A realist approach to induction. Outcomes: At the end of this study unit, you should be able to: • Critically explain and evaluate inductivism and the problems associated with induction. • Elaborate critically on the attempts to vindicate induction. • Define and explain Popper’s theory of falsificationism. • Critically explore Popper’s theory, including the “demarcation problem”. • Understand the Popperian pattern for the testing and acceptance of an hypothesis. • Evaluate alternate solutions to the “problem of induction”. Readings: The following readings are prescribed: • Study guide, Study unit 4 (Induction, Popper and falsificationism). • O’Hear, A. 1989. “Falsification.”, pp. 35-53, in: Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. Oxford: Clarendon Press. (This text is available as an e-reserve.) • Study guide’s Glossary. Self-test: Answer the reflection questions at the end of Study unit 4 in the Study guide. Study Unit 5: Kuhn, scientific revolutions and paradigms (2 weeks: 20 notional hours) Monday, 21st March – Friday, 1 st April 2022 Contents: • The importance of an historical view of science. • Kuhn’s stages of scientific paradigm development. • Scientific theory development as change in paradigms. • Critique of Kuhn’s paradigmatic view of science. • Kuhn’s attempt to defend his theory. • Revolutions in science. Outcomes: At the end of this study unit, you should be able to: • Uncover the significance of an historicist approach to PLS2607/101/3/2022 15 science. • Identify the various Kuhnian stages of the development of paradigms in science. • Explain the paradigm approach to science of Thomas Kuhn. • Weigh up Kuhn’s view on “scientific” truth and the idea of progress in science through paradigm change. Readings: The following readings are prescribed: • Study guide, Study unit 5 (Kuhn, scientific revolutions & paradigms). • Chalmers, A.F. 2013. “Theories as structures I: Kuhn’s paradigms.”, pp. 97-120, in: What is this thing called science? Fourth Edition. Maidenhead: Open University Press. (This text is available as an e-reserve.) • Study guide’s Glossary. Self-test: Answer the reflection questions at the end of Study unit 5 in the Study guide.