Prof John Worrall

This course is available on the MSc in Economics and Philosophy, MSc in European Studies: Ideas and Identities, MSc in Philosophy of Science and MSc in Philosophy of the Social Sciences. This course is not available as an outside option.

None

The course examines a number of fundamental issues in philosophy of science, as they arise from instances of important theory-changes (so-called 'scientific revolutions') in the history of science. It is therefore by no means a ‘straight’ course in history of science: it looks at historical episodes to test and/or illustrate philosophical theses about science and its development. It consists of two parts: in the first term Professor Worrall considers some cases from physics, particularly the "Copernican Revolution", its development by Kepler, Galileo and Newton, and some fundamental changes in the accepted theory of light in the 18th and 19th centuries; and in the second term Dr Birch considers some general issues associated with the 'Darwinian Revolution'.

PART A (First term - John Worrall) 1. The Copernican revolution: the switch from the Ptolemaic geocentric view of the world to the Copernican heliocentric view was probably the greatest revolution in human thought ever: What justified the switch? Was Ptolemaic theory definitively refuted by the data? Was Copernican theory simpler? Was the Church's view that Copernican theory should only be thought of as an instrument for calculating astronomical data purely theologically motivated or does it have some scientific rationale? What role was played in the eventual acceptance of the Copernican view by predictive success? Do we need to invoke social or other non-intellectual factors to explain why this 'revolution' occurred?

2. Galileo: Galileo and the telescope: are all observations 'theory-laden' and does this mean that there is a subjective element to all theory-choices?

3.The Newtonian revolution: What was the relationship between Newton's theory and Kepler's and Galileo's laws? What does this tell us about theory-change in general?

4.19th Century 'revolutions' in Optics: the switches from the corpuscular theory to the wave theory of light and from the wave theory to the electromagnetic  theory. What do these cases of theory-change tell us about the twin theses of scientific rationality and scientific realism?

PART B (2nd term - Jonathan Birch)  In the second half of the course, we examine the ‘Darwinian revolution’ precipitated by the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species in 1859. We proceed to consider the lasting impact of Darwinian thought on the biological and social sciences — and on society as a whole.

Topics covered include:

Darwin’s argument: What is the structure of Darwin’s argument in the Origin? Is it a good argument? What were its main intellectual influences?

Darwin’s critics: Why were many early readers of the Origin sceptical of its central claims? How do these criticisms differ from the present-day critiques offered by ‘Intelligent Design’ theorists? Are any of these criticisms justified?

Biology after Darwin: Is it true that ‘nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution’? How did Darwin’s ideas transform our understanding of basic concepts such as ‘species’ and ‘function’?

Darwin and society: How did Darwin and his contemporaries apply Darwinian ideas to human behaviour? How have more recent research programmes (such as ’sociobiology’) attempted to do so? Do the social sciences need a ‘Darwinian revolution’, or are there limits to the power of Darwinian explanation in a human context?

Extending Darwin: Are we on the verge of an ‘extended evolutionary synthesis’? If so, what should be included in it, and how should it differ from traditional neo-Darwinism?

10 hours of lectures and 13 hours and 30 minutes of seminars in the MT. 10 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the LT. 1 hour and 30 minutes of seminars in the ST.

Formative coursework: 2 x 1500 word essays per term.

Background reading: T S Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions; I Lakatos 'Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes' in his The Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes, Philosophical Papers 1; G Holton (revised by S Brush): Theories and Concepts in Physical Science.

Recommended reading: The central text for the first PART A is T S Kuhn, The Copernican Revolution, Harvard University Press. .

Suggested Introductory Reading for PART B Darwin, C. (1859) On the Origin of Species. [Out of copyright; various editions available]

Dennett, D. (1995) Darwin’s Dangerous Idea. Penguin.

Kitcher, P. (2007) Living with Darwin. Oxford University Press.

Lewens, T. (2007) Darwin. Routledge.

Sober, E. (2011) Did Darwin Write the Origin Backwards? Prometheus.

There will be handouts on each topic including (i) a list of essential reading and suggestions for further reading and (ii) 'study questions' to guide your thought. Readings for particular topics will be made available electronically.

Exam (67%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.
Essay (33%, 2000 words) in the ST.