Description: |
This is a course about understanding the methodologies and styles of reasoning employed in the sciences. The course will provide insight into testing of hypotheses as well as inductive and probabilistic reasoning and their applications in science and in everyday life. We will discuss case studies in the history of science as well as contemporary examples that raise the question of how we should apply reasoning to scientific questions, such as how to assess research carried out by private corporations, or how to weigh expert testimony in support of conspiracy theories. Topics may also include the distinction between science and non-science, whether science makes progress, what the role of values are in science, and the relationship between science and religious belief. |