3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

Some scientists and philosophers believe that there is a universal scientific method for discovering and proving truths about the world. Other scientists and philosophers deny that such a method exists. Those in the first camp defend various viewpoints, including rationalism, inductivism, hypothetico-deductivism, and retroduction. Those in the second camp argue that these methods do not work universally and that what method a scientist should use is not general but is specific to the scientific problem and situation. In this introductory course we examine various universal methods proposed by scientists and philosophers including Rene Descartes and Isaac Newton in the 17th century, William Whewell and John Stuart Mill in the 19th, and various writers in the 20 and 21st. We also examine works of contemporary writers, including Thomas Kuhn and Paul Feyerabend, who reject all universal methods and claim that science is most innovative and successful when these methods are violated. Who is right, and why?