Scientific Pluralism in Practice: Readings in the Philosophy and History of Science

Fall 2017, PHIL 88948, BIOL 88948, HISTGR8948_001

Schedule: Wednesday 6:10pm-8:00pm, Fayerweather 302
Instructors: Stuart Firestein (sjf24@columbia.edu) & Ann-Sophie Barwich (ab4221@columbia.edu)
RA/TAs: Caitlin Shure (caitlin.shure@gmail.com) & Nataliia Rogach (nr2549@columbia.edu)

Course Description
The course centers on ideas associated with Pluralism as applied to scientific practice. Pluralism
itself has had a long tradition in the historical and political study of the individual and society, and it
was championed, for example, by Isaiah Berlin in the 20th century. However, pluralism has only
rarely been applied to science studies. More recently several philosophers of science have begun
exploring the role for pluralism in scientific practice. We examine the historical development of
science towards an increasingly monistic practice and consider the philosophical and practical
promises as well as challenges of driving science in a more pluralistic direction.
This course will discuss the benefits and limits of such a pluralistic idea of science and how it
translates into practice. The course is run as a seminar in historical and philosophical studies of
science for students of the sciences (particularly but not limited to biology and neuroscience) as well
as the humanities. We will look at examples from neuroscience, general biology, physics, and other
areas from the history of science (e.g., chemistry and medicine).
There are no prerequisites.

SCHEDULE

WEEK 1 Introduction: Science Pluralism Practice?

September 6: Introduction to the course aims and general
discussion

WEEKS 2 4 Radical Pluralism meets Expertise

Week 2 Sep 13: Radical Pluralism in Society
Reading: Gray, J. 1996. Isaiah Berlin, Harper Collins, Chapter 2.

Week 3 Sep. 27: Radical Pluralism in Science

Reading: Selections from Feyerabend, P. 2010[1975]. Against
Method, 4th Edition, Verso.

Week 4 October 4: Are We All Scientific Experts now?

Reading: Collins, H. 2014. Are we all scientific experts now? Polity.
WEEK 5 Against After - About Method?
Oct 11: Guest Lecturer Prof. Jutta Schickore (Bloomington)
Reading: Selections from Schickore, I. 2017. About Method.
Experimenters, snake Venom, and the History of Writing
Scientifically. University of Chicago Press.

WEEKS 6 8 Paradigms & Progress

Week 6 Oct 18: The Puzzle with Paradigms

Reading: Kuhn, Thomas S. 2012[1962]. The Structure of Scientific
Revolutions.

Week 7 Oct 25: The Problem with Progress

Selections from Laudan, L. 1977. Progress and Its Problems:
Towards a Theory of Scientific Growth. University of California
Press.

Week 8 November 1: False Models Truer Theories?

Readings: Chang, H. 2012. Is Water H2O? Evidence, Realism and
Pluralism. Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science.
Springer, Introduction, Chapters 1.1 and 1.3, 4.1 and 5.1.
Wimsatt, W. 2006. Re-engineering philosophy for limited beings:
Piecewise Approximations to Reality. Harvard University Press,
Chapter 6.

WEEKS 9 10 Case Studies

Week 9 Nov 8: Darwin and Pangenesis & Weismanns Theory of the Germ
Plasm
Reading: Stanford, K. 2006. Exceeding our Grasp. Science, History,
and the Problem of Unconceived Hypotheses. Oxford University
Press, Chapters 3 and 5.

Week 10 Nov. 29: A Modern Dilemma of Monism?

With Guest Lecturer, TBA.

WEEK 11 Pluralism & The Advancement of Science

December 6: General Discussion.