161-216 Science, Knowledge and Dogma

This is an intensive subject held over two weeks during Summer Semester. Timetabling will be such that this subject and 161-215 The Nature of Mind can be taken concurrently. Strict enrolment deadlines apply to subjects taught during the Summer Semester. Any enrolment in, or withdrawal from, this subject for the Summer Semester must be made in line with HECS census dates, see HECS census date.

Any two university subjects or equivalent, or permission from the Head of Department or the subject coordinator.

This subject investigates a number of questions concerning the nature and status of science and its relation to knowledge: Does science give us knowledge by reaching conclusions which are certainly true, or can it only give us probable truths? What is it for something to be true and certain? Does science at least begin from pieces of knowledge, from data which are indubitable and unattained by theory? But do such data exist? What, ultimately, distinguishes science from pseudo-science (such as astrology) on the one hand, and from mere dogma on the other? Is it a matter of a method specific to scientific investigation, and how is that to be defined? On completion of the subject students should be familiar with the philosophical implications and discussions of science and the relation it has to the construction of particular kinds of knowledge.