Event Timeslots (1)
Tuesday
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What is scientific progress? One could see it as stacking bits of knowledge through research and other investigative activities in science. As time flows, there is progress in science since we accumulate more and more knowledge. This view has been widely held throughout history, and it is commonly endorsed even nowadays. But at least to philosophers, this accumulation viewpoint on progress in science has come under critical scrutiny since Kuhn, Lakatos and others proposed different conceptions of scientific progress. This seminar aims to investigate these diverse accounts of the progress of scientific knowledge. We start with a general introduction to some philosophical theories by Kuhn, Popper, and Lakatos. Then, we narrow our focus on scientific progress by reviewing some chapters from a classic on this topic, "Progress and Its Problems" by Larry Laudan. We finalize this seminar with some recent discussions, such as those from Alexander Bird. This seminar is designed for students at the introductory level, whether they are in the early stages of studying philosophy or studying other majors. Thus, students do not require preliminary knowledge or previous participation in relevant courses. Credits and evaluation are based on submitting weekly hand-written scribbles and one final essay, depending on the students' needs.