The course of Topics in the Philosophy of Science is part of the program in Philosophical sciences (MA level) and is included among the complementary training activities, belonging to the activities in the English language.This course introduces some central questions in the philosophy of science and examines them critically. Through the study of classic and/or contemporary texts, students will acquire advanced knowledge of problems at the boundary between science and philosophy. They will also obtain the ability to systematically relate the philosophical and scientific tradition to the most recent developments in these areas.
teacher profile teaching materials
B. Dainton, Time and Space, 2 ed, 2010, McGill Queens, 2010, 2 ed.
Programme
The course focuses on the relationship between the metaphysics and the history and the philosophy of space and time, with particular attention to the notion of space. In its first part, it will focus on a reading and critical discussion of classic texts in the history of theories of space from Zeno to Aristotle, from Descartes, to Newton and Leibniz, and from Poincaré to Einstein, both as they have been collected by Huggett and with integrations of the literature provided by the teacher. In the second part, it will concentrate on topics that are more oriented toward the metaphysical problems of time, regarded in their interrelation with theories emerging from modern and contemporary physics.Core Documentation
N.Huggett, (ed), Space from Zeno to Einstein, The Mit Press, 2000B. Dainton, Time and Space, 2 ed, 2010, McGill Queens, 2010, 2 ed.
Reference Bibliography
Torrengo, Iacquinta, Filosofia del futuro, Cortina, 2018 M. Lockwood, The labyrinth of time, OUPType of delivery of the course
Frontal lectures, seminars, students’ reports on parts of the programAttendance
not mandatory, but given the nature of the course, strongly recommended.Type of evaluation
Brief essays during the year will count 40% of the final grade