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Philosophy of Science

The event has been held annually since the winter semester 2012.

Organisation

  • Dr Steve Schlegel, Political Science (Faculty of Humanities and Theology)
  • Dr. Jasmin Trächtler, Philosophy (Faculty of Humanities and Theology)

Content

Philosophy of science is the philosophical reflection on the question of what constitutes science. This preoccupation is not a luxury, rather it allows us to understand the peculiarity of scientific methods.
It is necessary to clarify how scientific knowledge differs from supposedly unreliable information and pseudoscience such as esotericism. At the same time, problems of epistemology are touched upon. This is the branch of philosophy that examines the conditions, origin and scope of human knowledge.
The seminar is aimed at MAPP and MAREPOL students and is designed to be interdisciplinary at the intersection of philosophy and political science. An introduction to the general philosophy of science, including classic texts by Popper, Kuhn and Feyerabend, is followed by a study of the philosophy of science in the social sciences, in particular the characteristics and methods of political science.

The course takes place within the Master's programme Philosophy and Political Science - MAPP.