Philosophy of Science I
The problem of physical truth

lecture course
Fri 14:00-15:30, Room -107

Codes:
BBN-FIL-401.43
BMA-FILD-401.39
BMA-FILD-391.2
BBN-FIL-315.02
BBV-020.10
BMVD-020.06
BMA-LOTD-205
xxxn9520

Azoknak, akik a BBN-FIL-315.11 kódon veszik fel a kurzust, gyenge előfeltételként teljesíteniük kell a Tudományfilozófia szemináriumot a BBN-FIL-316.03 kódon!

The course provides an introduction to modern analytic philosophy of science. I shall focus on the central epistemological problems concerning empirical sciences like physics; and I shall discuss these issues on a formal/logical basis. Finally I sketch a naturalized philosophy of science based on what I call physicalist philosophy of mathematics -- an account for scientific knowledge, both a priori and empirical, within a purely physicalist ontology. 


Readings:

1. Samir Okasha: Philosophy of Science - A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press 2002
2. Thomas Uebel: Vienna Circle, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2013 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.) (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/vienna-circle/)
3. John Vickers: The Problem of Induction, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2013 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.) (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/induction-problem/)
4. Robert Sinclair: Quine’s Philosophy of Science, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://www.iep.utm.edu/quine-sc)
   
5. L. E. Szabó: Mathematical facts in a physicalist ontology, Parallel Processing Letters, 22 (2012) 1240009 (12 pages), DOI: 10.1142/S0129626412400099 [preprint]
6. L. E. Szabó: Formal Systems as Physical Objects: A Physicalist Account of Mathematical Truth, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 17 (2003) pp. 117 – 125 (preprint: PDF)
7. Vázlatpontok a fizikai elméletek fizikalista értelmezéséhez, In Zvolenszky Zs. et al. (szerk.), Nehogy érvgyűlölők legyünk -- Tanulmánykötet Máté András 60. születésnapjára, L'Harmattan, Bp. 2013, p. 122--129. (PDF)
8. T. Kuhn: Scientific Revolutions, in The Philosophy of Science, R. Boyd et al. (eds.), MIT Press 1991, pp. 139-157.
9. Széljegyzetek Kuhn könyvéhez (E. Szabó): 
• tudomány fejlődési modell
• filozófiai konklúziói

Records and the slides of the lectures will be available.

Credit requirements:

• Philosophy undergraduates can pass the exam only from the material of Readings 1 + the main material of the lectures
• Science Faculty and Computer Science Faculty students can pass the exam only from the material of the lectures
  
• PhD and MA students must prepare from Readings 1-7 + the complete material of the lectures, including the more formal approaches too.
• PhD students, in addition, must write a 5-10 page course paper in English, arguing against  the main theses I am proposing in the lecture course

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