Truth, Reality, and Objectivity: Philosophical Themes in Physics
A First Year Seminar
Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30 to 10:45 in Olin 102
Instructor
Daniel Kim-Shapiro
Department of Physics
Room 208 Olin Physical Lab
758-4993
Office hours: Monday 2:30 - 3:30 PM, Thursday 3:00 - 4:00 PM, Friday 3:00-4:00 PM
Synopsis
Is all truth relative, contingent on social and historical factors? Does it make sense to speak of what is "real", independently of what anybody says or thinks? Is objectivity ever a reasonable goal? We will consider these philosophical questions with reference to natural science generally and quantum mechanics in particular, a field which poses acute challenges for traditional understandings of reality and objectivity.
Sakai
Texts
Philosophy
of Natural Science, by C.G. Hempel
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions,
by T.S. Kuhn
Philosophical Concepts in Physics, by J. T. Cushing
Quantum Reality, by N. Herbert
Grading
|
Pre-class write-ups1 |
10% |
|
Class Participation/On-line Discussion2 |
20% |
|
Midterm (3/2) |
10% |
|
3 or 4 short papers3 |
40% |
|
Final (5/1 at 2 PM) |
20% |
1.
For each section,
each student will have to come prepared with written answers to the discussion questions.
The write-ups need not be wordy. They
only need to provide information that can be used to help answer the questions
during the discussions. Students will be
expected to e-mail writeups or hand in photocopied
versions of these write-ups in the beginning of each class that begins a new
section.
2.
Questions used
for writeups, in-class discussion, and exams will be
posted under course documents. You should prepare for class discussion by
making notes of your answers to these questions. The number of times you
participate in class will be recorded and some assessment of the quality of
your participation will also be noted. Each student will be expected to lead
in-class discussions on a rotating basis. The discussion leader will be expeted to meet with an instructor prior to class to make
sure that (s)he has prepared properly. The discussion leader is welcome to
prepare additioal questions to those posted by the
instructors in Sakai (Resources-course documents). Through Sakai - Chat room
you can post and respond to questions and comments. Your class
participation grade will be based mainly on your participation in the classroom
but your participation in the Chat room can help improve your grade.
3.
You will do 3 or
4 short papers. The topics and due dates will be posted under Sakai -
Resources - Assignments. Your final grade on the papers will be the highest of the
following three schemes:
Plan a
|
Paper # |
Weight |
Length |
|
1 |
5% |
<200 words |
|
2 |
5% |
about 500 words |
|
3 |
15% |
about 1000 words |
|
4 |
15% |
about 1000 words |
Plan b
|
Paper # |
Weight |
Length |
|
1 |
8% |
<200 words |
|
2 |
8% |
about 500 words |
|
3 |
24% |
about 1000 words |
Plan c
|
Paper # |
Weight |
Length |
|
1 |
8% |
<200 words |
|
2 |
8% |
about 500 words |
|
4 |
24% |
about 1000 words |