Topics for the First Paper

  1. The logical positivists and empiricists believed that the only source of scientific knowledge is observation, and that all observation is describable in observational language, but they never reached an agreement about where to draw the line between observational and theoretical language. Did that indicate a fundamental problem with logical empiricism?
  2. Logical positivists contended that what makes a hypothesis meaningful is that it is testable. Quine thinks that you cannot test a single hypothesis in isolation. Can they both be correct? Give an example of a scientific experiment used to test a hypothesis and explain what the logical positivists would say about the test and what Quine would say about it.
  3. The logical empiricists tried to devise a formal inductive logic. Goodman's "New Riddle of Induction" is an attempt to show that there cannot be a formal inductive logic. What feature would a formal inductive logic have to have that Goodman tries to show it cannot? Does he succeed?
  4. Compare and contrast the roles observation and experiment play for the development of scientific theories according to the logical empiricists and according to Popper.
  5. According to Kuhn, scientific theories fail experimental tests all the time, but we hold on to them anyway. Why?
  6. You may write on a topic of your own choosing. You must, however, get the approval of your TA, either in office hours or after class, by 16 September.

Instructions

The paper is due in section on 23 September. The midterm is 28 September. Remember to bring a blue book.

Your paper should be 5–8 typed, double-spaced pages (that is, approximately 1,250–2,000 words, or 6,250–10,000 characters). When you hand in your paper, keep a copy.

Your paper should concern one of the assigned topics, presenting the relevant positions in the philosophy of science clearly and briefly and assessing their strengths and weaknesses using examples from the text. If we can't tell which topic you have chosen by reading your paper, you have not addressed that topic. Note that if you get a position wrong, you are unlikely to assess it well. There is rarely only one correct interpretation of anything, but—whatever your interpretation—you must document it by giving page or line references to the passages on which the interpretation is based. Do not use quotations unless the precise wording of a passage is crucial. Explain the views in your own words.

The paper is not a research paper. You must show that you have read the assignments carefully, thought about them, and made some sense of them. Do not report the views of others. Struggle with the material on your own.

We are not interested in the opinions you express in your paper, only in whether you give good reasons for or against them. Any unargued positions in your paper should be edited out before you hand it in.

In grading we shall take into account the precision with which your thesis is stated, the care with which your interpretations are documented, and the strength of your argumentation. When necessary, show that you understand the merits of competing positions: Don't only consider easily refuted arguments against your position, take account of the best versions. And argue from common ground, that is, from assumptions that will appeal to someone who disagrees with you. (This statement on grading is based on one by Ruey-Yuan Wu.)

If you do consult works other than the assigned text, list them in a bibliography with additional acknowledgment given to any writer who influenced your thinking. If you quote from any work, or paraphrase it, you must note explicitly that you have done so—in the case of direct quotation, the use of quotation marks will suffice. Failure to acknowledge sources or to note quotation or paraphrase constitutes plagiarism—intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one's own in any academic exercise, which is the ultimate academic crime—see the Code of Conduct in the ABOR Policy Manual, beginning at 5-301.C.1 Any cheating, fabrication, or plagiarism may result in a failing grade for the work concerned or for the course, at Professor Lavine's discretion, and he may recommend additional penalties ranging from making the infraction a permanent part of your academic record to expulsion from the University, in accordance with the UA Code of Academic Integrity.

Page references to the assigned text should be given in parentheses in the body of a paper. Secondary literature should usually be mentioned in footnotes. The Chicago Manual of Style is a useful reference for other matters of style.

The paper will count for 25% of your course grade.

-- ShaughanLavine - 11 Sep 2005