Philosophy of Science
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Bibliography
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
Course of Theoretical Philosophy 2018-2019 (all the students of the 3rd year 2019-2020 meet this prerequisite, since the previous year that course was mandatory).
The exam is oral and individual.
With the aim of verifying the development of critical skills and judgment autonomy, each student will choose a topic among those discussed during the course, which will be to be study more in depth through a personal research based on some of the texts suggested in the list that will be uploaded to the E-learning platform at the beginning of the course (see “Reference texts”).
The exposition will be exclusively oral: neither written texts nor PowerPoint presentations will be accepted. As for the attribution of the grade, both the intrinsic value of the deepening work and the quality of the exposition will be considered, particularly evaluating the level of personalization and the critical consciousness.
The professor may eventually complete the exam by asking some questions about both the exposition of the student and other topics of the course.
In this course they will be studied some moments of the evolution of science which are particularly important for our world vision, as it had already been shown in the curse of Theoretical Philosophy of the 2nd year.
Yet, in that course such discoveries had been explained only very briefly, considering that it was a mandatory course and that not all the students of Sciences of Communication have the preparation nor the interest to study in depth such topics, as, instead, we will try to do in this optional course, whose objective is, therefore, providing to whom want this a deeper and strong understanding of some topics mentioned in the course od Theoretical Philosophy, also adding some more which in that course had not been discussed.
In this course we are going to study some discoveries of modern science which appears particularly significative, especially with respect to the determination of the nature of scientific method, its misunderstanding by modern epistemology, the obliteration of mechanism, the relationships between science and faith, and the mind-body problem.
Altri testi a cui si farà riferimento sono:
Albert Einstein, Leopold Infeld, “L’evoluzione della fisica”.
Richard Feynman, “QED”.
James Gleick, “Caos”.
Yurij Baryshev, Pekka Teerikorpi, “La scoperta dei frattali cosmici”.
Stephen Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow, “Il grande disegno”.
George Smoot, “Nelle pieghe del tempo”.
John Searle, “La riscoperta della mente”.
George Orwell, “1984”.
Václav Havel, “Il potere dei senza potere”.
Evandro Agazzi, “L’oggettività scientifica e i suoi contesti”.
However, these are only some examples taken from a wider list, from which the student will have to choose the texts on which basing the research to be presented for the exam (see “Modalities of learning verification”).
Educational activity will be developed through frontal lessons, supported by a very detailed set of PowerPoint presentations and other multimedia tools, including some talks and interviews recorded by the professor himself during international scientific congresses which he has personally attended.
If possible, depending on the availability of the funds needed to invite them, there will be also some moments of dialogue with some significative personalities working in the field of science and science-fiction.
Finally, it is strongly suggested the participation in “Science & Science-fiction”, a series of lectures and guided visits related with the course of “Science and science-fiction in media and literature” of the our Master’s Degree, in which there will be deepened some topics which are treated also in this course.
Students may talk to the professor at the end of each lesson of the course. In the presence of adequate reasons, also by appointment, to be agreed with the professor by phone (335/8205220) or e-mail (paolo.musso@uninsubria.it).
More precise details about the course and the exam will be provided each year in a special file entitled “Descrizione del corso e modalità di esame”, which will be uploaded before the beginning of the lessons to the E-learning platform. Students are therefore kindly requested to download it as soon as possible and to read it very carefully in all its parts.