Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, the doctoral researcher:

• masters the central concepts of theory of science
• conceives the main features of central approaches to philosophy of science
• understands profoundly the features of scientific conduct and is able to apply them in her/his own work
• recognizes the theory of science questions specific to her/his own field and is able to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of typical answers given to them
• understands the differences between various branches of science and respects them

General description

Philosophy of science examines and explain the nature of science and its distinctive features among forms of human inquiry. Distinguishing genuine science from activities that cannot be called scientific is closely linked to characterization of the scientific method. This course introduces the core issues in the philosophy of science, the debates about the nature of the scientific method, theories of confirmation, and the demarcation of science from non-science. Participants will learn about the key thinkers in philosophy of science, and gain practical and deeper understanding of their own doctorate research projects.

Course is given in Moodle learning environment as an online course in spring period 1. in 2019. Course consists of the following parts:

1. Science
2. Knowledge and Truth
3. Perception, Cognition and Biases
4. Philosophical Positions
5. Theories and Models
6. Scientific Inference and Explaining
7. Concepts and Definitions
8. Quantitative and Qualitative Research
9. Quality of Research

To complete the course and get 3 ECTS, doctoral researchers are required to:

• actively engage with the course materials and discussions,
• answer essay assignments associated with most topics
• comment the answers of peers in some of the topics

Assessment scale: Pass-Fail.

Teacher: FT Marika Enwald

The maximum number of students is 30. Selection method is draw.