Sveinbjorn Thordarson

Induction fundur hjá mér á morgun, og síðan byrjar kennsla í næstu viku. Hérna er smá summary af Masters prógramminu sem ég er að taka:

MSc in Philosophy and History of Science

"What, if anything, makes science and the methods of science special? Can we achieve certainty through science? If not, is it at least highly probable that our current best theories are true? How exactly does, and should, evidence relate to theoretical claims in science? What constitutes a scientific explanation or causation in science? How do the facts about the historical development of science – and in particular facts about theory-change in science (so-called “scientific revolutions”) – impinge on these general philosophical issues?

This course allows you to address some of these general questions and also (depending on the choices you make) some of the interesting conceptual or foundational issues that arise within specific sciences, such as: Is Darwinian theory really testable? Is it groups, individuals or genes that are operated on by natural selection? Is there a coherent formulation of quantum mechanics, given the ‘measurement problem’? Are economic theories testable or do they simply constitute definitions of what a rational economic agent would be like? Can we expect social science to be testable and to provide explanations in the same way as natural science?

Taught jointly by two internationally respected departments – at LSE and at Kings College, London – this course attracts primarily two types of students: those with first degrees in a science who would like to study the methods and foundations of science, and those with first degrees in philosophy who would like to specialise more in philosophy of science. As well as further developing the virtues of clear thinking, analytical argument and appreciation of the rules of evidence that are so useful in a range of high-level occupations, the course provides a solid foundation for doctoral work in the philosophy of science and related fields, and for employment in such fields as science journalism and science administration."