PHBF Philosophy of Science

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Ing. Mgr. Zdeňka Jastrzembská, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Ing. Mgr. Zdeňka Jastrzembská, Ph.D.
Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites (in Czech)
PHBA Argumentation && PHBP Proseminar
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The goal of the course is to provide students with basic systematic overview of philosophical problems of science and of the recent history of philosophical perspectives on scientific inquiry.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students will be able to: - distinguish the science from the pseudoscientific views - list and analyze the key problems in philosophy of science - present the key arguments in the given problems.
Syllabus
  • Science and pseudoscience
  • Criteria for demarcation
  • Objectivity, rationality, values
  • Problem of induction
  • Verification, Confirmation, and Falsification
  • The nature of scientific laws and explanations
  • Philosophy of Science and History of Science
  • Scientific revolutions and incommensurability of theories
  • The forms of scientific realism and instrumentalism
  • Feminist Philosophy of Science
Literature
  • SCHLICK, Moritz. Logický pozitivizmus. Edited by František Mihina, Translated by Tatiana Sedová - Marián Zouhar. Vyd. 1. Bratislava: Iris, 2006, 537 s. ISBN 8089238068. info
  • Contemporary debates in philosophy of science. Edited by Christopher Hitchcock. 1st ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004, xiii, 348. ISBN 1405101512. info
  • A companion to the philosophy of science. Edited by W. H. Newton-Smith. Malden: Blackwell Publishers, 2000, xvi, 576 s. ISBN 0-631-17024-3. info
  • POPPER, Karl R. Logika vědeckého bádání. 1. vyd. Praha: Oikoymenh, 1997, XLIV, 617. ISBN 80-86005. info
  • Struktura vědeckých revolucí. Edited by Thomas S. Kuhn. 1. vyd. Praha: OIKOYMENH, 1997, 206 s. ISBN 80-86005-54-2. info
  • Images of science : essays on realism and empiricism, with a reply from Bas C. van Fraassen. Edited by Bastiaan C. Van Fraassen - Paul M. Churchland - C. A. Hooker. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985, viii, 309. ISBN 0226106543. info
  • LAMBERT, Karel and Gordon G. BRITTAN. An introduction to the philosophy of science. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1970, x, 113. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, seminars.
Assessment methods
The final exam - written test (6-8 quiz questions and 3-4 open questions). Conditions for admission to the exam: Full-time students: ongoing test + 1 paper submitted in written form and its presentation at the seminar Part-time students: ongoing test + 2 papers submitted in written form Attendance in class and participation in discussion are required only for full-time students.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: kombinovaná forma: 16 hodin/semestr.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/PHBF