S4002 Law, ethics and philosophy of science

Faculty of Science
Autumn 2014
Extent and Intensity
2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus extra credits for completion). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Jan Havliš, Dr. (lecturer)
prof. JUDr. Radim Polčák, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Jan Havliš, Dr.
National Centre for Biomolecular Research – Faculty of Science
Supplier department: National Centre for Biomolecular Research – Faculty of Science
Timetable
Mon 9:00–10:50 E35/211
Prerequisites
There are no particular prerequisites, except for at least partial practice in science and research on a level of diploma thesis.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course is intended to assist participants in better understanding of the importance of law and ethics in science. A set of cases of scientific misconduct (fabrication and falsification of data, plagiarism, conflict of interest, authorship, etc.) will be discussed either from law, ethic or both points of view. The philosophical background of science will be also present in classical concepts like assumption, foundation and implication of science.
Syllabus
  • Part I. - Jan Havlis
  • 1. Scientific knowledge, development and history of scientific thinking
  • 2. Science, pseudo-science, anti-science; science and language
  • 3. Methods and tools of scientific research (causality, system theory)
  • 4. Applying scientific method: research process, hypothesis formulation, data collection, testing, generalisation
  • 5. Science and society: technology, social cognisance, popularisation
  • 6. Ethics and nature of scientific conduct: collaboration & competition, career pressure, fraud and mistake in science
  • Part II. - Radim Polcak
  • 7. Human rights and proportionality of legal principles
  • 8. Methods for solving ethically exposed legal issues
  • 9. Intellectual property rights – subject, structure, introduction to copyright
  • 10. Copyright - rights to publications, licensing practices, transfers in projects and research consortia
  • 11. Data protection in science and research – personal data, research data
  • 12. Industrial intellectual property rights in science and research – patents, utility models, specific types of rights
Teaching methods
Part I. - lecture will be supported by PPT presentation, serving also as a study material. Part II. - lecture will be given using combination of hand-outs and consequent discussion on the topic.
Assessment methods
written examination; two mini-essays on two topics chosen by the student from a list covering part I. and II. of the lecture. critical thinking and ability to discus will be primarily evaluated, along with elementary orientation in the fields covered by the course.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2011 - acreditation, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2014, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/sci/autumn2014/S4002