Course contents
The course will analyze in depth some issues that are crucial to the philosophy of science and technology, and it aims at introducing students to the different kinds of scientific reasoning, to the cognitive aspects of science and to the relationships between science, technology and values. Furthermore, the course will also include advanced investigations of certain actual issues in computational philosophy, stressing cognitive and epistemological aspects of scientific creativity, of abduction and of evaluation among scientific theories.
Reccomended or required readings
**THE FINAL EXAM PROGRAM WILL BE PROVIDED DURING THE CLASSES**
Further details about what materials should be actually considered will be provided during classes.
The student who will not attend the classes have to contact the professor to get (or to negotiate) the actual final program for the exams.
Provisional bibliography (please see the final exam program on April).
Philosophers:
L. MAGNANI, Conoscenza come dovere. Moralità distribuita in un mondo tecnologico, Associated International Academic Publishers, Pavia, 2005
Should one have already attended courses in Epistemology a, b or 10 credits should instead work on:
L. MAGNANI, Abductive Cognition. The Epistemological and Eco-Cognitive Dimensions of Hypothetical Reasoning, Springer, Berlin/New York.
P. THAGARD, Rivoluzioni concettuali, Guerini, Milan,1994.
LAKATOS, Dimostrazioni e confutazioni, Feltrinelli, Milan, 1978.
L. MAGNANI, Understanding Violence. The Intertwining of Morality, Religion, and Violence: A Philosophical Stance, Springer, Heidelberg/Berlin, 2011. (The Italian edition is available, Filosofia della violenza, Il Melangolo, Genova, 2012.
A.F. CHALMERS, What is This Thing Called Science?, Third Edition, Hackett, Indianapolis/Cambridge, 1999.
Or A.F. Chalmers, Che cos’è questa scienza in Italiano (presso CLU, via S. Fermo 3, tel. 0382 29130)
Mathematicians:
I. LAKATOS, Dimostrazioni e confutazioni, Feltrinelli, Milano, 1978.
A.F. CHALMERS, What is This Thing Called Science?, Third Edition, Hackett, Indianapolis/Cambridge, 1999.
Or A.F. Chalmers, Che cos’è questa scienza? in Italian
L. MAGNANI, Abductive Cognition. The Epistemological and Eco-Cognitive Dimensions of Hypothetical Reasoning, Springer, Berlin/New York.
L. MAGNANI, Conoscenza come dovere. Moralità distribuita in un mondo tecnologico, Associated International Academic Publishers, Pavia, 2005.
L. MAGNANI, Understanding Violence. The Intertwining of Morality, Religion, and Violence: A Philosophical Stance, Springer, Heidelberg/Berlin, 2011 (the Italian edition is available, Filosofia della violenza, Il Melangolo, Genova, 2012.
For everyone: Material chosen by the student, concerning a particular study project, upon agreement with the professor.
All the student will have to check the actual final programs for the exams on April.