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Schedule and Readings for the Introductory Section
Thursday, 26 September: The Scientific Method
A lot of this class will be concerned with the methods that scientists use to arrive at their results, along with the ways in which the public does or does not put faith in the methods and the results. So to begin with, we will be looking at some essays on the scientific method. We begin with Science as Falsification, an essay by Karl Popper, the philosopher whose essays are usually considered to lay out the scientific method in its starkest, simplest, most rigid form: science is the attempt to falsify hypotheses. Then we move to something very different, E.E. Evans-Pritchard's chapter The Notion of Witchcraft Explains Unfortunate Events, laying out of a kind of reasoning that Popper would classify as the attempt to confirm hypotheses, which in Popper's terms is not science, even though it is empirical, experimental, and logical. When you have read these things, then you need to develop a posting habit. By 7 a.m. on Thursday, September 26, please post a comment (roughly 200 words) on an experience in your own life (academic or otherwise) that illustrates the difference between the falsification method and the confirmation method. In class on the first day, we will do the usual going-over of requirements, introduce ourselves and talk about what we hope to get out of the class. Then we will have a general discussion of three questions that arise from reading Popper:
A lot of science relies on models. Models may generate formal hypotheses, or they may be used as ways to think through problems. First look at the explanation of models in Benjamin Kerr's slide lecture. Many but not all models are representations or simplifications of systems. So read Donella Meadows's lucid explanation of systems in chapter one of her book, Thinking in Systems. When you have read these materials, and by 7 a.m. on Tuesday, October 1, post your answers to Kerr's questions 1, 2, and 5 on slide 10 of his presentation. Then come to class ready to discuss the following questions:
A lot of things besides science influence science. The field of "Science and Technology Studies" tries to understand how science is a socially-embedded practice. Read a couple of essays by one of the leaders in this field, Bruno Latour: The Science Wars and From the World of Science to the World of Research? After being provoked by these articles, by 7 a.m. on Thursday, October 3, please post a comment on whether you think studying the social, economic, and cultural context of scientific work threatens the integrity or validity of scientific results, and why or why not. Then come to class prepared to discuss the following topics:
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