Sentrale temaer er objektivitet og rasjonalitet, realisme og antirealisme, epistemiske og sosiale verdier og normer i vitenskapelig virksomhet, organisering og styring av vitenskap, vitenskap og demokrati. Det blir lagt vekt p? sammenhengen mellom klassiske vitenskapsfilosofiske problemer og aktuelle vitenskapspolitiske sp?rsm?l.
Forel?pig best?r pensum av artiklene/kapitlene som er listet nedenfor (det vil bli gjort mindre endringer f?r det endelige pensum er klart).
F?lgende artikler finnes i kursets hovedbok (Martin Curd and J.A.Cover, eds. Philosophy of Science , New York and London: W.W. Norton, 1998): Helen Longino, “Values and Objectivity”, s. 170-191. (Fra H. Longino, Science as Social Knowledge: Values and Objectivity in Scientific Inquiry, Princeton Univ. Press, 1990) Thomas S. Kuhn, “The Nature and Necessity of Scientific Revolutions”, s. 86-101. (Fra Thomas S. Kuhn (1970) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd ed.) Thomas S. Kuhn, “Objectivity, Value Judgement and Theory Choice”, s. 102-118. (Fra Thomas S. Kuhn (1977) The Essential Tension: Selected Studies in Scientific Tradition and Change Ernan McMullin, “Rationality and Paradigm Change in Science”, s.119-138. (Fra Paul Horwich (ed.) World Changes: Thomas S. Kuhn and the Nature of Science, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1993.) Grover Maxwell, ”The Ontological Status of Theoretical Entities”, s. 1952-1063. (Fra Herbert Feigl and Grover Maxwell (eds.) "Scientific Explanation, Space, and Time", vol. 3, Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1962.) Bas van Fraasen, “Arguments Concerning Scientific Realism”, 1064-1087. (Fra Bas van Fraassen, The Scientific Image, Oxford 1980, s. 6-21, 23-25, 31-40.) Ian Hacking, “Experimentation and Scientific Realism”, 1153-1167. (Fra Philosophical Topics 13 (1982): 154-72.) Arthur Fine, “The Natural Ontological Attitude”, s. 1186-1208. (Fra J. Leplin (ed) Scientific Realism, Berkeley, 1984.)
I Philip Kitchers bok Science, Truth & Democracy gjennomg?s s?rlig:
Kap. 6. “Scientific Significance” (63-82), kap. 8, “Constraints on Free Inquiry” (117-135), og kap. 10. “Well-Ordered Science” (117-135).
F?lgende artikler vil bli gjort tilgjengelige som kopier/masterkopier:
Robert K. Merton, “Science and the Social Order” (1938) og “The Normative Structure of Science” (1942) i R.K.Merton, The Sociology of Science (Univ. of Chicago Press, 1973), s.254-266 og 267-278.
Philosophy of Science, vol. 69, no.4 (December 2002): Philip Kitcher, “The Third Way: Reflections on Helen Longino’s The Fate of Knowledge.” (549- 559) Helen Longino, “Science and the Common Good: Thoughts on Philip Kitcher’s Science, Truth and Democracy”, (560-568). Philip Kitcher, “Reply to Helen Longino”, (569-572). Helen Longino, “Reply to Philip Kitcher”, (573-577).
Janet A. Kourany, “A Philosophy of Science for the Twenty-First Century”, Philosophy of Science 70 (2003), 1-14.
Ronald N. Giere, “A New Program for Philosophy of Science?”, Philosophy of Science 70 (2003), 15-21.