Philosophy 4400/5400: Philosophy of Astrobiology

(Spring 2004)

TR 3:30-4:45

HLMS 229

Professor: Carol Cleland

Office: HLMS 282 (EXT 2-7619)

Office Hours: T 9-10, Th 12:15-1:15 & by appointment

Required Texts:

Boyd, Gasper, and Trout (eds.), The Philosophy of Science

Misc. Additional Readings

Requirements:

1. Class Discussions:

Students are expected to have read and thought about the assigned readings before coming to class. Informed participation in class discussions is expected of all students. Class participation is one of a number of factors (e.g., improvement, class attendance) that I use to determine a grade in borderline cases.

2. Evaluation: Your grade will be based on 3 short papers and a term paper; there are no exams!

a. Short Papers: There will be 3 short paper assignments. I will select the topics. They will be assigned on Feb. 10, March 9, and April 6. The papers are due one week later. Each paper should consist of 2-3 typewritten, double-spaced pages. The average of these papers is worth approximately 50% of your final grade, with improvement counting heavily in a student’s favor.

Note: I do not automatically accept late work. If you believe that you have a good excuse see me before the paper topic is handed out. If you are sick, bring a note from a physician.

b. Term Paper: A term paper (typed, double-spaced, normal font) is due on or before May 3; there is no final exam! Your term paper is worth approximately 50% of your grade.

a. Undergraduates are required to write a 7-10 page term paper.

b. Graduate students are required to write a 15-20 page term paper.

A list of paper topics will be made available on April 8. Students may, however, choose a topic not on the list in consultation with the instructor. The deadline for getting permission to write on a topic that is not on the list is April 20; after this date, students must select a topic from the list.

Course Description:

This is a course in philosophy of science. The goal of philosophy of science is to understand the remarkable predictive and explanatory successes of science. We will explore a number of pertinent philosophical issues, including the nature of scientific explanation, the structure of scientific laws and theories, the unity of science (i.e., reducibility of all of science to physics), the structure of the so-called “scientific method” (confirmation or falsification or something else?), and differences in methodology between historical science and experimental science. These issues will be discussed in the context of problems and issues in the new field of astrobiology. Astrobiology is the study of life on planet Earth and on other worlds. The subject matter of astrobiology extends across a remarkably diverse range of scientific disciplines, including astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, and planetary science. As part of our discussions of astrobiology, we will investigate the controversial results of the Viking biology experiments and the debate over whether a martian meteorite discovered in Antarctica contains fossilized martian life. We will also debate more general issues such as the nature of life, the origin of life on Earth, and strategies and standards of evidence appropriate for searching for extraterrestrial life.