| Course: | LPS/Phil 140 |
| Name: | Philosophy of Science |
| Description: | The positivist and neo-positivist traditions in the
philosophy of science:1900 to 1970 I. Basic metalogical concepts and results 1. Formal languages, theories, and models 2. Semantic and syntactic notions, compactness and completeness 3. Relations between models, concepts of definability II. The influence of the foundations of geometry 4. The controversy between Hilbert and Frege 5. Einstein on the nature of geometry 6. Poincaré on non-Euclidian geometry 7. The philosophical reception of Hilbert’s and Poincaré’s ideas III. Carnap’s rational reconstruction of the language of physics 8. The theory/observation dichotomy 9. Basic properties of Ramsey and Carnap sentences 10. Critical assessment The class meets once a week for three hours with topics as set forth above. The main text for the course will be Carnap’s philosophy of science text which is on order and should be in the bookstore. There are a number of selected readings that I have compiled which I will either have photocopied or made available for purchase in connection with lectures 4 through 10. Sources will be suggested in connection with lectures 1 to 3. Requirements will be announced on the first day of class. |