PHIL 125: Philosophy of Science syllabus (Spring 2013)

• Instructor: Scott Merlino, Ph.D., email: merlino@csus.edu
• Office Hours: Tuesdays and Fridays 11 am to 1 pm in 3026 Mendocino Hall, Department of Philosophy
• Read this FAQ: Official policies for assignments, grades, attendance, etc.
• For General Education Area B5 Student Learning Outcomes, see the schedule and expanded description of objectives at the end of the syllabus

Course Description

PHIL 125. Philosophy of Science. Study of the philosophical problems that arise in the sciences: the nature of scientific reasoning, the limits and styles of explanation, identifying pseudoscience, values in science, unity and diversity of the sciences, and science's impact on our world-view. Course satisfies Area B5 GE requirements. Units: 3.0

Required course materials:

1. Online readings, handouts and links to videos available at www.csus.edu/sacct
2. A Rulebook for Arguments (2009) by Anthony Weston, 4/e, appx. $8 at Amazon.com
3. Science and Religion: Are They Compatible? (2010) by Daniel Dennett and Alvin Plantinga, appx. $11 at Amazon.com
4. Science, Evolution, and Creationism (2008) free PDF available from the National Academy of Sciences and also in SacCT

Assignments, Grades and Attendance

• FOUR in-class unannounced written short-essay quizzes (12 pts. each), TWO online quizzes in SacCT (13 pts. each). Online quizzes are already scheduled in SacCT 9.1 under Assessments, so check availability there.
  
  

the grading scale

	how many	point value of each	max points
in-class quizzes	4	12	48
online midterm	1	13	13
online final	1	13	13
total points possible	-	-	74




total points needed	< 33	33	36	39	42	45	48	51	54	57	60	63
to earn this course grade	F	D -	D	D +	C -	C	C +	B -	B	B +	A -	A




• There will be no special treatment. No one can take any quiz after it has closed. There is no extra work or credit offered and students cannot re-take or make-up any quiz, absolutely, no exceptions. There isn't time for this and it is unfair to treat people differently. There are plenty of points available so that one can miss a quiz and still do well in the course. Attendance is not part of your grade, I do not penalize people for non-attendance, so excuses are unnecessary. See the FAQ sections 1 and 3 for a fuller rationale.
  
  
• Students may NOT use phones, laptops, electronic tablets, or recording devices during class meetings. They are unnecessary distractions and disrupt the class. Why? Here is my argument. Each use or disruption of class costs you a 5 point deduction from your total points, e.g. phone use or rude behavior.
  
  
• Please keep track of your own grades via SacCT - I don't do grade checks, since you can do it for yourself. I never discuss quizzes or grades via email, you must visit me in my office. If you want to review any quiz with me, you may do so only after it is closed and only in my office, where we can review it together.
  
  
• How do I evaluate individual scores? For each graded effort you will receive a numerical score which corresponds to a letter-grade. Scores correspond to letter-grades NOT percentages. See the FAQ section 3 for the number to letter-grade conversion scale I use when grading individual efforts
  
  
• How do I determine your overall course grade? There are 74 total points available. I add the scores you earn on all of the quizzes, deduct any penalties, then assign the letter-grade based on my grading scale (above). For instance, if you earn a total of 47 points overall, this corresponds to a C on my grading scale. Therefore, you receive a C for the course. Since my grading scale is generous and rounding introduces error, I will not round scores up or down.
  
  
• overall course grade = total points earned minus penalties

Services to CSUS Students with Disabilities

If you have a disability and require accommodations, you need to provide me with your offical documentation from SSWD, which is in Lassen Hall 1008, (916) 278-6955. Please discuss accommodation needs with me ASAP during my office hours or by appt. early in the semester so that we may make a plan to help you out.

CSUS Policies and Procedures Regarding Academic Honesty

Review all academic responsibilities, definitions, sanctions and rights described herein.

Learning Outcome objectives for students in this course and how they are accomplished

1. Students DEFINE basic theoretical terms used in science and philosophy. E.g.,

1. Students will understand the precise, technical senses of key terms such as 'hypothesis' and 'theory' in science, which depend upon clear definitions of 'truth' and 'justification' and 'knowledge' drawn from philosophy.
2. Students will see how the notion of "scientific proof" needs to be clarified in ordinary language, since it is either incoherent or self-contradictory. Loose, popular senses of these terms are vague and thus useless for making practical, mature decisions about whether to believe what scientists tell us.
3. Also, in order to undertand the workings, goals, successes and limits of science, students must become familiar with one big scientific theory by interacting with the introductory, online Evolution 101 tutorial produced by the University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley, and the Regents of the University of California. This tutorial and also videos and study questions posted online in this course constitute a learning module/self-study unit which all students must complete within the first half of the course. We discuss its content and implications throughout the course.

2. Students DISTINGUISH various philosophical concepts, scientific theories and theoretical positions.

1. Students understand the significance of relativism about truth for science.
2. We discuss philosophical resolutions to the problem of discerning science from non-science (the demarcation problem).
3. Students learn how to distinguish accuracy from precision in measurement, they will be able to say whether a test is valid or invalid, reliable or unreliable. Students will judge hypotheses as credible vs. incredible, verifiable or falsifiable, and apply this understanding to actual claims and cases in the literature in each class meeting.
4. Students will learn why exactly correlation is required for causation but that correlation is not sufficient for causation.
5. Students compare and contrast realism and non-realism about the aims and outcomes of science.
6. Students will learn how to separate good science from bad science, and also understand the difference between believing and accepting a hypothesis.
7. Since science has more rigorous standards of evidence than do journalism and courts of law, students will become familiar with standard criteria that scientists want satisfied before accepting any specific claim or hypothesis or theory.

3. Students ANALYZE specific scientific arguments and explanations for consistency and credibility.

1. Understanding the difference between arguments and explanations is a crucial but rare skill; students will learn how to tell the difference and how to evaluate each sort of rationale appropriately.
2. Students will be able to construct and criticize justifications for specific claims that people make (scientists and non-scientists alike). They will do this this by using logical inference patterns (deduction and induction) and scientific methods (such as literature searches and the randomized, controlled trial).
3. Students also learn how to assess explanations of phenomena using empirical data, statistics, testable predictions, and alternative hypotheses.
4. In particular, students will examine arguments for and against opinions about current controversies concerning the safety of vaccines and genetically modified organisms, the causes of global climate change, and also causes of apparent design, complexity and diversity in nature.
5. Students and the instructor juxtapose the virtues and limits of evolutionary theory and intelligent design theory throughout the course.

4. Students CITE critical observations, underlying assumptions and limitations to explain and apply important ideas and models in the physical and life sciences.

1. Students learn how to frame testable hypotheses about observable events in such a way that logical reasoning and controlled observations help us to accept tentatively that explanation which explains best.
2. Throughout the course, students will be compelled to examine published research in peer-reviewed journals describing phenomena ranging from the efficacy and safety of herbal supplements to the unifying/explanatory power of evolutionary biology.
3. Students will understand that the systematic lack of certainty in science, the use of probabilistic reasoning, the vulnerability of a null hypothesis to refutation, and the simplicity of theories that do not rely upon unobservables or supernatural forces are all strengths rather than weaknesses.

5. Students RECOGNIZE evidence-based conclusions and form reasoned opinions about science-related matters of personal, public and ethical concern. E.g.,

1. Students review actual experimental studies about the effectiveness of alternative medicine and learn why cohort studies are better than case reports and that both are inferior to systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
2. Students will learn about the hierarchy of evidence in the life sciences and in particular learn about the significance of blinding and randomized controlled trials in biomedical science.
3. Students will apply these evidence-standards to novel claims found in popular and scientific media and judge their quality.

6. Students will ENGAGE in cogent and respectful discussion about historical and philosophical perspectives pertaining to the practice of science and medicine.

1. Students learn how ancient and medieval philosophers asked basic questions about what the world was made of and how the cosmos worked but were not content with the answers of previous generations and cultures, and so set about finding out for themselves. We review and apply early methods of logical reasoning such as the Square of Opposition. The earliest thinkers spent much of their time examining, describing and explaining physical phenomena to whomever would listen and up until about 200 years ago anyone who did so with some success (that is, got others to agree with them) was called a natural philosopher. Science, as a product and process, is the intellectual progeny of philosophy. Modern scientists are empirical philosophers. In short, students understand that science as a public source of knowledge requires collective, controlled observations.
2. Students understand why science is simultaneously respected and distrusted given that its findings are inconsistent with common-sense and traditonal beliefs.
3. We discuss how ancient humoral theory of disease influenced the medieval idea of the four temperaments (choleric, melancholic, sanguine, and phlegmatic) and also popular chemical imbalance theories of behavior and the five-factor model of personality in modern psychology.
4. Students examine and debate the persistent tension between religious and scientific perspectives on world-views and public policies. E.g., students learn why most scientists and philosophers believe that evidence-based reasoning and faith-based reasoning are incompatible: the former method requires a questioning, skeptical attitude (i.e. doubt) but the latter eschews it.
5. Students will be able explain why religion is not science and why science is not a religion, and also contrast the merits and problems of incorporating non-science into science curricula.

Traditional Square of Opposition

Modern Hierarchy of Evidence