Theoretical Philosophy: Contemporary Issues - Period 4

Course Objective

The student learns:
1 to analyse philosophical problems related to scientific disciplines
2 to evaluate the philosophical arguments and positions
3 to assess the relevance of empirical facts in philosophical arguments
4 to present a philosophical argument in oral form
5 to present philosophical arguments in written form
6 to criticize philosophical positions by other in a debate among peers
7 to defend a philosophical position in a debate among peers

Course Content

Theoretical Philosophy: Contemporary Issues provides an overview of
philosophical problems in a broad range of scientific disciplines. It
deals with a selection of philosophical topics in subdisciplines such as
philosophical psychology, philosophical anthropology, philosophy of
biology, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of physics, philosophy of
economics, etc. The emphasis is on a naturalistic approach of
philosophical issues, in which scientific data and philosophical
arguments are tightly interwoven. We end the course with a reflection on
the relation between philosophy and the sciences.

Teaching Methods

Seminar. Every week there are 2x3 hours of teaching. Every lecture must
be prepared by the student; the text must be read and assignments must
be submitted before the start of a lecture. In the lectures, the text
and the assignments will be discussed.

Method of Assessment

Abstracts (1/4); comments and participation in the discussion (1/4);
presentation (1/4); final essay (1/4).
Participation in the lecture is obligatory. In case of two absences,
there will be 0 for the part comment and participation in the
discussion. In case of absence on the scheduled date of the
presentation, there will be a 0 mark for the presentation. In case of a
resit, students have to hand in new assignments for all the parts that
were below 6. In case the presentation was insufficient, a new essay
must be written. In case the comments and participation in the
discussion was insufficient, 12 new comments of 500 words must be
written.

Literature

Selected texts; to be announced on canvas

Target Audience

The course is primarily for students in the bachelor philosophy. Other
students willing to follow the course should take into account that the
format of the course presupposes that students are sufficiently familiar
with several philosophical subdisciplines.

Explanation Canvas

A more extensive course guide will be posted on canvas in due time.

Recommended background knowledge

Philosophy of science
Students should be familiar with philosophy and have followed several
courses in philosophy, e.g,. metaphysics, philosophy of mind,
epistemology, ethics, ...