no alternative

Part A of this course: We will look at different conceptions of “empirical science” throughout the history of specific sciences, we will see a number of misconceptions concerning “induction” and read and discuss David Hume’s paradigmatic analysis of the structure of “induction”; i.e. the infamous problem concerning the possibility of justifying empirical claims as scientific; the concept of "causality" and that of a “necessary” and “sufficient” condition will be explicated; the consequences of not being able to justify “factual necessity” will be pursued and the moral drawn from this will be discussed.

We will begin with Aristotle understanding of valid inference in his “Analytica Priora”; his idea of “demonstrative sciences” and his conception of “epagoge” in his “Analytica Posteriora”. Next we will move on to the 18th century and to David Hume's analysis of induction and treatment of causality in his “Enquiry”; i.e. the “Sceptical doubts concerning the operations of the understanding". Then we will continue with John Stuart Mill’s conception of causality (i.e. his distinction between "necessary and sufficient conditions") in his "Logic". As more modern approaches in the philosophy of science we will be concerned with two kinds of confirmation theory that have been defended in the 20th century.
 

In part B of this course we will look at different methodological approaches in the science of economics.

Participants of this course are supposed to get familiar with the nature of scientific knowledge; i.e. what is to be acquired is knowledge about what distinguishes scientific claims from (mere) opinions, metaphysical statements or assertions of faith. At the end of this course one ought to be able to analyse and evaluate the most influential approaches of the philosophy of science and the ways in which the following questions have been pursued:

1. What is the potential support of a scientific claim?
2. What are the ways in which scientific claims could be used in order to formulate predictions?
3. In which way does the formulation of a hypothesis depend on (1) and (2)?

It is essential for following this course to understand and appreciate the dilemmas involved in pursuing scientific questions.

DISTANCE LEARNING MODE: PART A

The sessions of this course:

For the first sessions your presence is absolutely required, for the last, the MC test, naturally, and the 3 “philosophy of economics”-sessions, too.

The sessions are:

1st: (class intro): synchron, MS-Teams

2nd: self-study (some audio cover of the lectures)

 (logic and the concept of entailment), 3rd: (empirical reasoning and the problem of induction), 4th: (John Stuart Mill on causation), 5th (Logical analysis and the principle of verifiability), 6th (The principle of falsifiability and the concept of ‚pseudo sciences’),

We’ll meeet at WU AGAIN (Hopefully, if not: synchron) : PART B. Your presence is required.

7th and 8th  (discussion of papers) sessions

ONLINE FINAL EXAM

9th and last session ( MC test on WU Learn))

Part (1): One part of this course consists in various questions, problems, accounts in the the philosophy of science. A summary of the main arguments in every session will be provided on LearnWU as well as lecture slides. The primary literature can be found in the folder „course literature“.

To ensure that the main points of part (1) are understood, there will be „weekly assignments“ connected with the accounts to be studied. In addition there will be MC questions in order to practice one‘s knowledge (with automated feedback). 

Part (2): The other part of this course consists in the application of various methodological approaches in the special sciences. Here every one is required to present a paper (that has to be turned in 2 days before our meeting).

This part is primarily focused on analyzing particular arguments, i.e. requires to have read the texts carefully. It is therefore also helpful to quote in your paper passages from the book/chapter/article you analyze. it would be great if we all could look at the papers prior to our online discussions.

Requirements and Assessment:

1. Weekly assignments (5): 5x15 points max.
2. 1 Paper: 75 points max.
3. MC exam (60 questions) : 60 points max.

MC Test: max 60 points

Excellent (1): 55 - 60 points
Good (2): 48 - 54 points
Satisfactory (3): 35 -  47 points
Sufficient (4): 22 - 34 points
Fail (5): <22

In total: max 210 points

Excellent (1): 196 - 210 points; 1-2: 195,5
Good (2): 160 - 195 points
Satisfactory (3): 140 - 159 points; 2-3: 159,5
Sufficient (4): 115 - 139 points; 
Fail (5): <115 

Every assessment part has to be positive for a positive grade.

Some knowledge in philosophy for sure would be helpful, but is not required. 

ao.Univ.Prof.Dr. Gabriele M. Mras
Building D4, 3rd floor, room number D4.3.020
Tel.: 01-31336-4257
Email: gabriele.mras@wu.ac.at

Administration: Bettina Gerdenich
Tel.: 01-31336-4166
Email: bettina.gerdenich@wu.ac.at

Assistant: Maximilian Margreiter
Email: maximilian.margreiter@wu.ac.at

Distance Learning -- some more information: 

a. the text in "Philosophy Of Science-Course Summary" and the “lecture slides” will cover almost the whole course 
b. in “assignments” ( “assignment 1” ... ) you will find a number of open questions to be answered weekly. Please upload your answers as an extra file in “Assignments/Aufgaben”. Deadline? See "assignment 1" /"Aufgaben",
c. in “paper topics” you will find the paper topics for the last two sessions Please upload your paper in “Dateiablage” (When? The latest : 1 day before the discussion/presentation). 

Attention: Inform me/us in “Foren” about the paper topic you have chosen:  Name – Text – Date (two weeks after course-beginning the latest. 

The exam will be held on the online platform MyLEARN of this course: „Distance Exam Philosophy of Science“ 

The exam consists out of MC and SC questions. There will be a total of 60 questions. You must start the exam at 6:00 p.m. (It will not pop up before 18:00!) You will have exactly 60 minutes until 7:00 p.m. to complete it. It is strictly forbidden to use any course material, any written down information, and/or any additional devices.

There will be NO possibility to revise given answers. So you must not skip any questions. You cannot answer them later. When you are finished, you do NOT have to submit your answers, the folder called „the exam" will close automatically.

There will be a Teams Chat during the exam which is only to be used to report any technical problem that might occur. 

The automatic online supervision for the exam and the preview images will be activated.

There is a mandatory identity check for this exam that is also marked with ToDO. You complete this identity check by uploading a photo of your face and your student id. Please make sure that you have completed this task at least 24 hours before the beginning of the exam. For more information have a look at the item called Identity Confirmation in the exam environment.

We also highly recommend that you have a thorough look at the Technical Checklist to the minimize chance of any technical problems. 

Please log into MyLEARN at least half an hour before the start of the exam. So you should have enough time to familiarize yourself with the exam environment and to complete the Pre-Check in.

In case of any Internet issues during the exam, please communicate via Microsoft Teams or send us a mail with subject “error”. PLEASE be aware, that you have to document the problem.