Science and Society

PHIL 203/3.0

Overview

This course has two main, and connected, goals: the first is to introduce some of the main conceptual tools from the philosophy of science, and the second is to take those tools to the critical analysis of case studies in which science and broader society are importantly entwined.

We will investigate a number of questions, such as:

  • Is there a sharp distinction between fact and value, with science only dealing in facts, while values are strictly subjective?

  • What, if any, values influence science, and what values should influence science?

  • What influence, in turn, should science have on values?

  • What is objectivity? How do we get to an objective view of the world?

  • Is ignorance sometimes deliberately manufactured?

This is just a sampler of some of the gripping questions we will broach. Along the way, we will look at case studies of major contemporary concern, such as climate change, psychiatry and psychiatric disorders, and gender.

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course students will be able to

  • Demonstrate the skills required for critically assessing the role of scientific data and theories that impact wider social life, public policy, etc.
  • Describe the interplay between fact and value, and be able to deploy the techniques for thinking critically about both. Be able to think about how facts inform values, and how values in turn play into finding, selecting, and making facts.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of objectivity, for a more critical understanding of the relationships between science and society.
  • Assess why science matters to society, and why society matters to science.

Topics

Some of the topics covered in this course include:

  • The Classic Fact/Value Dichotomy
  • Science, Politics and Business - Fact and the Value in Action
  • Science and Pseudo-Science
  • What Can We Say is Objective?
  • A New Understanding of Objectivity
  • Case Studies on:
    • Climate Change
    • DSM, and Other Ways of Being
    • Species - Invention or Discovery?
    • Race & Gender - Invention or Discovery?
  • So What is There, Really, in the World?

Additional Information