Part II Paper 4: Philosophy and Scientific Practice

Paper manager: Matt Farr

Also offered as an optional paper in Part II of the Psychological and Behavioural Sciences Tripos (PBS).

Overview

Lectures are held in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science.

Michaelmas Term

  • Philosophy of Climate Science
    Ahmad Elabbar (4)
    Thu 10am (weeks 1–4)
  • Philosophy of the Biomedical Sciences: Concepts and Evidence
    Stephen John (4)
    Tue 4pm (weeks 1–4)
  • Philosophy of Environmental Science
    Harriet Fagerberg (4)
    Tue 4pm (weeks 5–8)

Students may also wish to attend the following lectures offered by the Faculty of Philosophy but scheduled to take place at HPS. Note, these lectures may be useful for various sub-topics for Paper 4 but are not part of the Paper 4 syllabus and will not be used to determine Paper 4 exam questions:

  • Philosophy of Quantum Theory
    Neil Dewar (8)
    Wed 9am (weeks 1–8)

Lent Term

  • Philosophy of Economics
    Anna Alexandrova (4)
    Tue 4pm (weeks 1–4)
  • Philosophy of Space and Time
    Neil Dewar (4)
    Wed 10am (weeks 1–4)
  • Philosophy of Biology
    Tim Lewens (2), Harriet Fagerberg (2)
    Wed 12noon (weeks 1–4)
  • Metaphysics of Physics
    Matt Farr (4)
    Thu 10am (weeks 5–8)
  • Philosophy of Cognitive Science and Psychiatry
    Matt Farr (4)
    Tue 4pm (weeks 5–8)

Introduction

What philosophical puzzles arise in individual sciences such as physics, biology, cognitive science, medicine and climate science, and how can they be resolved? This paper explores the ways in which different scientific projects might exhibit different methods and paradigms, how they relate or fail to relate to each other, and whether they assume different approaches to testing, measurement and concept formation depending on their proximity to technology, medicine and policy.

Aims and learning outcomes

  • to develop in students a broad understanding of central issues in the philosophy of specific sciences;
  • to develop in students the ability to compare and contrast methodological and metaphysics issues in different sciences;
  • to strengthen students' analytic writing and communication skills, especially in relation to topics in philosophy, science and medicine.

Lectures

Philosophy of Climate Science

Ahmad Elabbar (4 lectures, Michaelmas Term)

This course offers an overview of philosophical work that has engaged with climate science, broadly conceived. The lectures cover fundamental questions, such as the definition of 'climate'; epistemological concerns relating to the complex observations and models that are used to evidence climate change; methodological debates over the attribution of extreme weather events to climate change; as well as ethical issues raised by the prospect of 'climate repair' or 'geoengineering' to avoiding extreme climate change.

Philosophy of the Biomedical Sciences: Concepts and Evidence

Stephen John (4 lectures, Michaelmas Term)

Medicine is among our most important institutions. Though its aim is practical, medicine is shot through with conceptual commitments and theoretical assumptions, its basic tools rely on causal hypotheses supported to varying degrees by inductive inferences, and medical research is developed in a complex political and economic nexus. Thus medicine is a prime subject for philosophical analysis. This four-week sequence of lectures will examine conceptual, normative, epistemological, methodological, metaphysical and political questions underlying medicine and medical science.

Philosophy of Environmental Science

Harriet Fagerberg (4 lectures, Michaelmas Term)

This course considers topics in the philosophy of ecology and the intersection between psychology, mental health and climate change. Topics covered include the nature of ecosystems, whether and to what extent ecosystems can be considered 'healthy', and the significance of our human psychologies and emotions to taking action on climate change.

Philosophy of Economics

Anna Alexandrova (4 lectures, Lent Term)

Economics is to some 'the dismal science' and to others 'the queen of social sciences'. But before it can be either criticised or defended it should be understood. The guiding question of this course is what sort of science is economics? We explore the key project of contemporary economics – model-building. These models aim at providing explanation and understanding of social phenomena by means of simple models, typically involving ideally rational agents. Can such models provide explanations despite their apparent falsity? If so, how? If not, what else are these models good for? We will also use philosophy of science to evaluate the recent movements in economics known as 'the empirical turn' and the demand for pluralism.

Philosophy of Space and Time

Neil Dewar (4 lectures, Lent Term)

The nature of space and time is a long-standing concern of both physics and philosophy. In these lectures, we will review questions such as: are space and time ontologically independent from matter, or merely relations between material things? What is the relationship between space, time and motion? And is there a matter of fact about the geometrical structure of space and time, or is it merely a matter of convention?

Philosophy of Biology

Tim Lewens, Harriet Fagerberg (4 lectures, Lent Term)

The first two lectures in this series focus on biological functions, the second two focus on the related topic of 'Universal Darwinism'. Biological research is sometimes dedicated to answering questions about the functions of biological traits. For example, are zebra stripes for camouflage, do they instead have the function of deterring biting flies, or do they have some altogether different function? Philosophers of biology have wondered whether function attributions are just claims about what traits as a matter of fact do, or whether they are somehow bound up with ideas of purpose, or design. An influential response – the 'selected effects' account – says that functions are effects which were favoured by natural selection. In the first half of the course, we will critically assess this account of function and consider to what extent the selected effects account can (or should) be applied beyond evolved traits or even beyond biology. In the second half, we will move on from the question of functions to consider the broader prospects for a generalised approach to Darwinism. Universal Darwinism sees selection as a substrate-neutral process that can act on entities of many different kinds – everything from organisms to ecosystems to pieces of cultural know-how. Here, discussion will focus on the concept of cultural selection; that is, the idea that adaptation in humans is often a matter of building up bodies of know-how that are shaped by selection processes acting on information people learn from each other.

Metaphysics of Physics

Matt Farr (4 lectures, Lent Term)

Modern physics has forced us to reconsider many of our basic concepts about the nature of reality. Relativity theory has led to new understandings of the nature of time and the relationship between time and space, and quantum mechanics appears to suggest that nature is neither deterministic, local or causal. This course focuses on whether and how physical theories should inform our metaphysics. Each lecture addresses a different metaphysical question and how it has been informed by developments in the foundations of classical, relativistic, quantum and statistical physics.

Philosophy of Cognitive Science and Psychiatry

Matt Farr (4 lectures, Lent Term)

These lectures survey philosophical problems in the foundations of the cognitive sciences and psychiatry. What is the relation between the mind and body? Should we ascribe mental states to non-human animals or machines, and on what basis? What is the relationship between physical and mental illness? Is there such a thing as a 'normal mind'? And how does society influence concepts of mental disorder? We look at how the disparate fields of philosophy of mind, psychology, cognitive science and psychiatry relate.

Preliminary reading

Resources for this paper