Philosophy of science, specialization

The course may cover topics such as the objectives of science (truth, information and pragmatic values), the scientific method, scientific explanation (epistemic model, unification, interrogative model, as well as mechanistic models), causation (what constitutes causation, singular causation, manipulative theories of causation), theories, models and mechanisms, the reduction of concepts, laws and mechanisms, scientific invention and verification, theory choice and empirical evidence, and data growth. The course will examine these topics in relation to theories and test results in natural sciences. Other topics to be covered may include interdisciplinarity and the differences between scientific disciplines: what consilience is and how the differences between scientific disciplines can be seen, e.g., as differing explanatory ideals.