Philosophy 128

This course will investigate how our concepts of space, time, and chance have been shaped by developments in modern science. Topics may include: (1) What does physics teach us about the structure of space? (2) Is there a scientific explanation of the flow of time? (3) Are quantum mechanical chances objective or just measures of subjective uncertainty? (4) What about chances in high-level sciences like biology and economics? Along the way, we’ll use these discussions as gateways into more general issues in the philosophy of science such as realism vs anti-realism, the nature of scientific laws, and the demarcation problem. By the end, we’ll have worked our way towards a certain picture of how the different sciences hang together as a unified whole.

As taught this semester, Phil 128/190, can satisfy group A of the Epistemology/Metaphysics requirement.

This class is restricted to Philosophy majors during Phase I enrollment.