Theory of science and methodology

Course assignments:

1) A home exam that will cover Okasha, Potter and other relevant texts. Questions will be passed out in the beginning of the last week. Answer all the questions thoroughly in your own words (and when needed illustrate with your own examples). Give detailed references (also page numbers) to Okasha, Potter and to all the other literature that you use. There will be a maximum number of words (more instructions will be given when the exam is handed out).

More specifically: In your home exam you will be asked to: present and explain the basic (natural and social) scientific concepts and their use, describe the major scientific traditions (e.g. positivist, hermeneutic, critical) and account for their similarities and differences, account for the relevance and importance of scientific theory in relation to (qualitative and quantitative) methodology, and critically scrutinize truth claims and claims to objectivity.

2) Mandatory seminars on Buchanan: For each seminar (covering 2-3 chapter) each of you will be asked to hand in a short summary of the relevant chapters (for chapters 2-9) together with some reflections and comments (300-500 words for each chapter) and you will also be asked to present (in the seminar) some idea in the chapter that you find interesting or problematic. Your ideas will be the basis for the discussion in the seminar.

3) Written assignment. Write a short essay (2-3000 words) that takes up some important theoretical or ethical issue in David Buchanan’s book An Ethic for Health Promotion. You can use any other relevant knowledge or literature that you find pertinent to the issue (give detailed references to Buchanan and to all other sources). You can use your “hand-in texts” for the seminars as a basis for your essay, but make the text into a coherent whole.

More specifically: In the essay you should: present and explain one (or a few) relevant idea(s), theory(ies) and concept(s) chosen (from Buchanan’s book) and account for its/their use in a public health context, critically scrutinize this/these theory(ies) and concept(s) (introduced by Buchanan), account for the relevant ethical or “political” issues related to (qualitative and quantitative) scientific practice and research within public health, and analyze, as well as use, relevant arguments in relation to the idea/ideas chosen (in a critical public health context).

The essay should contain an introduction (where the problem or issue is introduced), an aim (that tells the reader what you want to achieve in the essay), and a presentation and critical discussion (together or in separate sections), with relevant arguments (empirical, theoretical, evaluative, normative), of the issue(s) you have chosen.

Criteria used to evaluate the essay:
Use of language.
Pedagogical lay out or structure (including headings and metacommunication).
Problem formulation (aim).
Correctness of the presentation of data, ideas, concepts, and theories.
Coherence (making the essay into a whole).
Argumentation.
Creativity and insight.

Hand in assignments:

A ) Leave a copy of the home exam and the Buchanan assignment in my post box 227.

B) Send the written exam and assignment to per-anders.tengland.mah@analys.urkund.se.

C) Also publish the exam and the assignment on the its learning web-site. You will each have a folder which you can access and where you can upload your texts.

Course literature:
Buchanan, David R. (2000). An Ethic for Health Promotion. Oxford: Oxford University press. 228 p.
Okasha, Samir. (2002) Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP 144 p.
Potter Gary.(2000) The Philosophy of Social Science. Harlow: Prentice hall, 256 p

Other relevant scientific literature (some of which will be provided).

Reference literature:

In these sources you can find relevant additional information about most of the themes discussed in the course. All (or most) of them are available at the library.

- Balshow, Y. and Rosenberg, A. (2002). Philosophy of Science: Contemporary Readings. London: Routledge.

- Benton, T. and Craib, I (2001). Philosophy of social science: the philosophical foundations of social thought. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

- Bortolotti, L. (2008). An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. Cambridge: Polity press.

- Chalmers, A. F. (1999). What is this thing called science? Buckingham: Open University Press.

- Crotty, Michael (1998). The foundations of social research : meaning and perspective in the research process. Thousand Oaks, Calif. ; London: SAGE.

- Delanty, G och Strydom, P (Red.) (2003). Philosophies of Social Science. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

- Duran, J. (1998). Philosophies of Science/Feminist Theories. Westview press.

- French, S. (2007). Science: Kew Concepts in Philosophy. London: Continuum.

- Lange, M (2007). Philosophy of science: an antholog. Oxford: Blackwell.

- Little, David. Varieties of Social Explanation. An Introduction to the Philosophy of Social Science. Boulder: Westview press, 1991.

- Rosenberg, A. (2007/2011). Philosophy of social science. Boulder, CO : Westview Press.

- Rosenberg, A. (2006/2012). Philosophy of science: a contemporary introduction. London: Routledge.

A further good source of information about these topics it the web based Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy http://plato.stanford.edu/

There are also a number of E-books on the library web page. Type “philosophy of (social) science” or “theory of (social) science”.

Beware that some of these sources are quite advanced!

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