The John J. Reilly Center

Program in History and Philosophy of Science

Courses Fall 1998

HPS 500

HPS Colloquium 4:15-5:30 T (Howard)

1 Cr. Hr.

Group Discussion by the HPS faculty and students of a prominent recent work in the field of HPS and research presentations by visiting scholars. Required course for HPS students in first and second years of the HPS Program.

Einstein's Philosophy of Science 11:00-12:15 TH (Howard)

3 Cr. Hr. Crosslist: Phil 481 & 595, STV 490 Permission Required

A survey of the historical development of Albert Einstein's philosophy of science, paying special attention to the contemporary intellectual and philosophical context. Topics covered include the influence upon Einstein of such movements or schools as Machian positivism, Marburg neo-Kantianism, conventionalism, and Vienna Circle logical empiricism, as well as Einstein's influence on the further development of the philosophy of science in the 20th century, with special emphasis on issues such as the structure and interpretation of theories and the realism-instrumentalism debate. The nature and significance of interactions between science and philosophy are also considered. Note: No background in physics or mathematics is assumed.

Introduction to the History of Science 4:15-5:30 H (Hamlin)

1 Cr. Hr. Graduate Majors Only

This course is intended as a required supplement for HPS graduate students taking either History 503 (Proseminar) or Philosophy 501 (Proseminar). It serves as a prerequisite for further graduate course work in history and philosophy of science. Concentration will be on the special methodological and historiographic issues in the history and philosophy of science including examination of the post-Kuhnian traditions in the history and philosophy of science, introduction to research techniques, and guest appearances by HPS faculty. Readings will be drawn from current periodical literature in the history and philosophy of science.

Topics in the History of Modern Physical Science 9:30-10:45 TH (Crowe)

3 Cr. Hr. Crosslist: Hist 568, STV 491 Permission Required; Majors Only

This course treats selected developments in the history of physical science, especially physics, in the period from 1500 to 1900. A major goal of the course is to introduce those enrolled to the ideas and lives of some leading figures in classical physical science, e.g., Galileo, Descartes, Newton, Huygens, Dalton, Young, Fresnel, Faraday, Helmholtz, Kelvin, and Maxwell. Interactions with philosophical, religious, and social currents are included. The topics to be included will be determined partly by the interests of the students enrolled in the course. Persons enrolling should have substantial interest in physics and it history, but need not possess a knowledge of physics beyond that acquired through a good secondary school or college course in that area. Requirements include a midterm, a research paper, and the final exam. For further information, contact the instructor at 1-6212 or 345 Decio or at <Crowe.1@nd.edu>.

History of Economic Thought 2:45-4:00 MW (Mirowski)

3 Cr. Hr. Crosslist: ECON 506

This is a course that intends to ask how it is that we have arrived at this curious configuration of doctrines called "economics"; and more importantly, how differing modes of historical discourse tend to ratify us in our prejudices about our own involvement in this curious project. The multiple relationships of economics to other sciences, from physics to psychology, will be surveyed. A basic knowledge of economics (including introductory economics and preferably intermediate economics) will be presumed. (1997-98)

Pre-requisites

Basic knowledge of economics (including introductory economics and preferably intermediate economics as well).

Texts

Jurg Niehans, A History of Economic Thought
Philip Mirowski, More Heat than Light
and an extensive packet of journal articles.

Colloquium in Anglo-American Intellectual History: Locke to Darwin 2:00-4:30 W (Turner)

3 Cr. Hr. Crosslist: Hist 668

Readings in selected topics in Anglo-American intellectual history from the late seventeenth century through the nineteenth. Though suitable for graduate students in history who intend to offer an examination field in Anglo-American intellectual history, it is by no means intended solely for them.

"Anglo-American intellectual history", as used here, comprises those discourses common to Britain and anglophone North America. This does not preclude occasional French or German voices. Examples might include sensationalist psychology, evangelical Calvinism, Newtonian physics, republicanism, Scottish common-sense philosophy, liberalism, and Darwinism. But topics widely discussed only on one side of the Atlantic are excluded: a policy that eliminates important regional cultures (notably the American South) and major topics (for instance, African-American nationalism; Benthamite utilitarianism except as refracted through J.S. Mill). I have aspired to a focus on problems that were nodes of change rather than an even-handed survey. Inevitably, the primary reading tilts toward British authors, though I have tried to compensate by tilting the balance of secondary works in the other direction.

This course will meet weekly for discussion of common assigned readings. Essays, based on the assigned readings, will also be required: the character of these to be worked out individually with the instructor. UNDERGRADUATES ARE NOT AMITTED WITHOUT THE PRIOR EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE INSTRUCTOR.

Philosophy of Science 2:00-3:15 TH (Howard)

3 Cr. Hr. Crosslist: PHIL 581 Graduate Students Only

A survey of major problems, movements, and thinkers in twentieth-century philosophy of science. The course begins with a look at the historical background to logical empiricism, its rise to prominence, and its early critics, such as Popper. After a study of major problems in the neo-positivst tradition, such as confirmation, explanation, and reductionism, we will pause to note as well a few major problems in the foundations of the special sciences, including indeterminacy and complementary in quantum mechanics and the conventionality of the metric in relativity theory. Historicist critiques of neo-positivism, chiefly Kuhn's will be studied next, followed by a consideration of the realism-instrumentalism debate. The course concludes with a brief look at new perspectives, such as social constructivism and feminist philosophy of science. Requirements: Students will write mid-term and final essay examinations and a fifteen-page term paper on a topic to be chosen in consultation with the instructor.

Readings: Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970. Additional readings will be contained in a course packet.

Philosophy of the Human Sciences 3:00-4:15 MW (McKim)

3 Cr. Hr. Crosslist: PHIL 584

All of us daily engage in efforts to understand/explain the actions of other persons as well as various aspects of the society in which we find ourselves. How do we do this? What is the epistemological sturcture of claims to knowledge about matters interpersonal and social? Has methodological reflection undertaken within the social sciences provided satisfactory answers? Does appeal to social scientific methods justify frequently made assertions that the social sciences possess a privileged expertise in understanding social life?....There are lots of questions here; good answers are harder to come by.

In this course we shall explore issues about the nature of persons and other social entities (the metaphysics of the social world) as well as the epistemological credentials of various strategies/methodologies for pursuing social inquiry. Neither set of issues can be optional, given an interest in the other. Social reality can only be limned by employing efficacious methodologies; but the adequacy of any distinctive mode of inquiry requires assessment in terms of how well it manages to capture the distinctive aspects of the subject matter on which it is employed. The sense of circularity here may not be vicious, but will certainly prove to be challenging.

Readings will be drawn from a wide range of works by both philosophers and social theorists, e.g., Jon Elster, Donald Davidson, Anthony Giddens, Raymond Boudon, Jurgen Habermas, Philip Pettit, John Searle.

Course requirements include a final examination along with a 15-20 page paper due at the end of the term. Two or three short writing assignments (2-3 pp) will be made during the course of the semester.

Thesis Direction (Howard)

Thesis direction for terminating Master's students.

Non-Resident Thesis Direction (Howard)

Thesis direction for terminating Master's students.

Directed Readings

Directed Readings carried out under individual HPS faculty supervision.

Research and Dissertation (Howard)

Nonresident Dissertation Research (Howard)