HFIK00003U FILO Viden, videnskab og teknologi

Årgang 2022/2023
Engelsk titel

Knowledge, Science, and Technology

Uddannelse

KA-filosofi 2022-ordning, KA-Tilvalg filosofi 2022-ordning

Kursusindhold

The new science, philosophy, and relativism

 

The new science, philosophy, and relativism

 

Sabrina Ebbersmeyer, Søren Overgaard, Klemens Kappel

Modul: Viden, videnskab og technology

 

Part 1. Methods, Mechanization and Men’s power over nature

In the first part, we focus on the so-called Scientific Revolution of the Early Modern period. One decisive event was the replacement (or transformation) of Aristotelian natural philosophy and the establishment of the new philosophy of nature. We will study this by revisiting the Aristotelian paradigm informed by an ideal of knowledge as contemplation including a generalized use of logic, a causal epistemology, and an approach to natural knowledge relying on direct and naïve observation. The new philosophy of nature radically redefined the concept of knowledge: Experiments and various empirical methods replaced theoretical speculation and mathematics became a central tool for the investigation of nature. Scientific knowledge was now directly linked to technical devices and the mechanicals arts gained more and more in significance. We will study this by reading, among others, Francis Bacon, Novum Organum (1620), René Descartes, Discourse on method (1637), and contemporary critics of this approach to nature, in particular Anne Conway, The principles of the most ancient and modern philosophy (1690).

 

Part 2. Naturalism, philosophy and metaphysics

In the second part of the course, we turn to the phenomenological tradition within twentieth-century philosophy. We focus on two themes in particular. The first concerns the relation between philosophy and science. Is philosophy a science of its own? Ought we to strive to make philosophy scientific? Or is philosophy – and ought it to be – something else entirely? To address these questions, we read Husserl’s early, programmatic essay ‘Philosophy as a Rigorous Science’ (1911), Heidegger’s inaugural lecture at Freiburg University ‘What Is Metaphysics?’ (1929), and Rudolf Carnap’s famous critique of the latter. Secondly, we look at phenomenological responses to the advances of natural science and technology in the first half of the twentieth century. We will read parts of Husserl final work, The Crisis (1936), in which he attempts to account for what he sees as a loss of faith in reason in terms of sciences that have lost contact with the ‘life-world’. We will also read a text by Heidegger from the same period (‘The Age of the World Picture’ (1938)), and portions of Hannah Arendt’s influential book, The Human Condition (1958).

 

Part 3. Science and relativism

The third part of the course turns to the contemporary debate over the hegemonic role of natural science viewed through the lens of relativism. A starting point is the Science Wars, a debate that erupted after the publication of Alan Sokal's article "Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative  Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity". The article was a hoax intended as polemical reaction to relativist and skeptical trends in post-modernist academia. We then study Paul Boghossian's provocative and scathing attack on relativism in his book Fear of Knowledge, which was written as a reaction to the widely influential relativisms that pervades the popular philosophy of the academia. We then turn to Maria Baghramian and Annalisa Coliva’s recent book Relativism, which provides an in dept exposition of the historical and contemporary sources of relativism (neo-kantian relativism, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Kuhn, Foucault, Latour, Rorty, and others) and an entry into the contemporary discussions of relativism about truth, conceptual schemes, reality, the sciences and epistemic justification.

 

Exams. In the 2022 Philosophy Curriculum, the second term involves portfolio exams. Below are explained the two ways in which such a portfolio exam can be passed: either as ordinary participation (A) or as a participation with a teaching or presentation assignment (B).

A. Ordinary course participation Part 1: Questions are asked in all three parts of the course, with the student answering questions in two different parts. The student submits two assignments of 3-4 standard pages answering questions asked in two of the three parts of the course. One of the assignments can be further developed and used in the final exam paper. The course responsible sets three deadlines for submission (the last one must be at least 14 days before the last class). If student meets these deadlines, he or she will receive written feedback on his or her assignments. It is not compulsory to hand in the assignments before the deadline, but it is compulsory to hand in and have both answers approved in order to pass the exam. Part 2: No later than 14 days before the last class, the student must submit a problem statement, a 1-2 synopsis (1-2 standard pages, in prose) and a syllabus for the final examination paper to the examiner. All must be approved by the examiner for the student to pass the exam. Part 3: The student may submit a preliminary version of the final written exam paper of maximum 8 standard pages for written or oral feedback from the examiner, according to agreement between the student and the examiner. This must be done at least 14 days before the deadline for the final submission. The student loses the right to feedback if the deadline is not met, but it is not compulsory to hand in the provisional version. Part 4: Final exam: The student submits the final written exam paper of 11-15 standard pages (excluding bibliography).

B. Course participation with teaching or dissemination assignment Part 1: A teaching assignment consists of 2-6 hours of teaching with an external partner; a dissemination assignment consists of 5-15 hours of work with an external partner. An external partner is, for example, a secondary school, a college, an NGO, a public or private company or organisation. If a teaching or dissemination assignment is carried out, a form must be used indicating the external partner and providing evidence that the assignment took place between 1 February and 20 May. The agreement with an external partner must be sent to the course responsible by 15 April (please use the form). Part 2: The student sends a debriefing to the course responsible at the latest in the last week of the course. In the case of a teaching assignment, a debrief consists of 1/2-1 page description of the teaching assignment, the literature or theory reviewed, and brief pedagogical reflection. In the case of a dissemination assignment, a debriefing consists of 1/2-1 page description of the dissemination task, as well as a short reflection on the competences used. Part 3: The student may submit a preliminary version of the final written exam paper of maximum 8 standard pages for written or oral feedback from the examiner, according to agreement between the student and the examiner. This must be done at least 14 days before the deadline for the final submission. The student loses the right to feedback if the deadline is not met, but it is not compulsory to hand in the provisional version.

Part 4: The student submits a written exam paper of 11-15 standard pages (excluding bibliography)

 

For en dansk version af prøvebestemmelser se under Eksamen - prøveformsdetaljer

Målbeskrivelser

Viden om og forståelse af
• emnerne viden, videnskab og teknologi opnået gennem læsning af tekster inden for filosofihistorie (-1900), teoretisk filosofi og fænome-nologi.
Færdigheder i at
• afgrænse og behandle en filosofisk problemstilling med anvendelse af de faglige standarder, der gælder inden for filosofihistorie (-1900), te-oretisk filosofi og fænomenologi
• gennemføre en bibliografisk søgning på databaser, der giver adgang til opdateret, international forskningslitteratur, som er relevant i for-hold til den valgte problemstilling
• strukturere en drøftelse af den valgte problemstilling i et klart sprog og med beherskelse af fagets referenceteknik.
Kompetencer til at
• Gennemføre en faglig analyse og diskussion af en filosofisk problem-stilling behandlet i pensum, samt at udvikle løsningsforslag og vur-dere deres styrker og svagheder.

Undervisningen består af forelæsninger eller holdundervisning, eller en kombination af disse, mundtlige øvelser og gruppediskussioner.
  • Kategori
  • Timer
  • Holdundervisning
  • 52
  • Forberedelse (anslået)
  • 248
  • Eksamen
  • 109,5
  • I alt
  • 409,5
Skriftlig
Mundtlig
Individuel
Kollektiv
Løbende feedback i undervisningsforløbet
Point
15 ECTS
Prøveform
Portfolio
Prøveformsdetaljer
I Filosofis KA-2022 indgår der i kurserne på andet semester portfolio-eksamen.

Nedenfor forklares de to måder, hvorpå sådan en portfolio-eksamen kan bestås:
Enten som ordinært forløb (A) eller som forløb med undervisnings- eller
formidlingsopgave (B).
A. Ordinært forløb
Del 1: Der stilles spørgsmål i alle tre dele af kurset, hvoraf den studerende besvarer
spørgsmål i to forskellige dele. Den studerende fremsender to besvarelser á 3-4 ns
af spørgsmål stillet i to af kursets tre dele. Én af besvarelserne kan videreudvikles og
bruges i den endelige eksamensopgave. Kursusansvarlig fastsætter tre deadlines for
aflevering (den sidste skal ligge senest 14 dage inden sidste undervisningsgang).
Hvis den studerende overholder disse deadlines, vil den studerende få skriftlig
feedback på sine besvarelser. Det er ikke obligatorisk at aflevere inden deadline,
men det er obligatorisk at aflevere og få godkendt begge besvarelser for at kunne
bestå eksamen.
Del 2: Senest 14 dage inden sidste undervisningsgang skal den studerende
fremsende en problemformulering, en synopsis på 1-2 ns (i prosa) og en pensumliste
for den endelige eksamensopgave til eksaminator. Alle skal godkendes af
eksaminator for at den studerende kan bestå eksamen.
Del 3: Den studerende kan aflevere en foreløbig version af den endelige skriftlige
eksamensopgave på maximalt 8 ns. til skriftlig eller mundtlig feedback fra
eksaminator efter aftale. Dette senest 14 dage før deadline for den endelige
aflevering. Den studerende mister retten til feedback hvis ikke deadline nås, men det
er ikke obligatorisk at aflevere den foreløbige version.
Del 4: Endelig eksamen: Den studerende afleverer den endelige skriftlige
eksamensopgave på 11-15 ns (eksklusiv bibliografi).

B. Forløb med undervisning eller formidling
Del 1: Et undervisningsforløb består i 2-6 timers undervisning hos en ekstern partner; en formidlingsopgave består i 5-15 timer arbejde hos en ekstern partner. En ekstern partner er eksempelvis et gymnasium, en højskole, et seminarium, en NGO, en offentlig eller privat virksomhed eller organisation. Hvis man laver et undervisnings- eller et formidlingsforløb, skal der benyttes et skema, som angiver den eksterne partner, og som dokumenterer at opgaveløsningen har fundet sted i perioden 1. februar til 20. maj. Aftale med en ekstern partner sendes til den kursusansvarlige senest 15. april (benyt skema).
Del 2: Den studerende sender en afrapportering til den kursusansvarlige senest i sidste undervisningsuge. Hvis der er tale om et undervisningsforløb, består en afrapportering i 1/2 -1 sides beskrivelse af undervisningsopgave, gennemgået litteratur eller teori, samt kort pædagogisk refleksion. Hvis der er tale om et formidlingsforløb, består en afrapportering i 1/2 -1 sides beskrivelse af formidlingsopgaven, samt en kort refleksion over anvendte kompetencer.
Del 3: Den studerende kan aflevere en foreløbig version af den endelige skriftlige eksamensopgave på maximalt 8 ns. til skriftlig eller mundtlig feedback fra eksaminator efter aftale. Dette senest 14 dage før deadline for den endelige aflevering. Den studerende mister retten til feedback hvis ikke deadline nås, men det er ikke obligatorisk at aflevere den foreløbige version.
Del 4: Den studerende afleverer en skriftlig eksamensopgave på 11-15 ns (eksklusiv bibliografi).
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