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.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
C. List Why free will is real, Harvard UP, 2018
Programme
From the logical argument put forward by Aristotle in De Interpretatione to the theological one raised by the thesis of divine omniscience and predestination, from the determinism of classical physics to the contemporary contribution of neuroscience, the problem of the existence of free will is perhaps the most important one in the Western philosophical tradition. In fact, it involves not only the moral and legal responsibility of our actions but also the place of the human being in the universe. The course aims to reinterpret the main theses advanced in the history of Western metaphysics in light of the contributions of contemporary analyticphilosophy.Core Documentation
D. Dennett Freedom evolves, Penguin, 2004C. List Why free will is real, Harvard UP, 2018
Reference Bibliography
R. Kane The significance of free will, Oxford University Press, 1998 Lavazza A., Free Will and Neuroscience: From Explaining Freedom Away to New Ways of Operationalizing and Measuring It, Front Hum Neurosci, 2016; 1;10:262.Type of delivery of the course
Frontal lectures and short presentations of the studentsAttendance
mixed teachingType of evaluation
Questions on topics presented in class (70% of the final grade). Brief students' presentation (30%)