This course seeks to address some key epistemological and methodological issues in Earth Sciences. The term “Earth Sciences” may cover a very wide range of scientific disciplines about understanding the Earth: geology, geophysics, atmospheric science, oceanography, and planetary science, just to name a few. All of them involve various kinds of theoretical and empirical work in their respective practices with particular epistemic and practical interests. But how can one investigate them philosophically in contrast to those sciences traditionally attracting more philosophical attention like physics and biology? To invest our effort wisely during this semester, we will only focus on a limited set of questions in a narrow disciplinary scope, and investigate them in more depth.
We will go through the four thematic questions below, and philosophically examine each in a comparative manner. That is, we try to answer each question by comparing the knowledge claims and methods present in the specific cases of relevant disciplines. The basics of science for engaging in philosophical discussion will be provided when necessary. The primary goal of the course is to appreciate the fact that the epistemological and methodological plurality is a core feature of Earth Sciences. And then, we will discuss how this feature buttresses scientific understanding of some important aspects of the Earth.
Thematic Questions
A. How do scientists know how old the Earth is?
B. How do scientists know how the Earth works?
C. How do scientists envision the future of the Earth?
D. How do scientists piece their knowledge together?
Available at eKVV Lernraum (or E-Learning Space)
Rhythmus | Tag | Uhrzeit | Format / Ort | Zeitraum |
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Modul | Veranstaltung | Leistungen | |
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26-GL_WP Grundlagen Wissenschaftsphilosophie | Seminar 1 | Studienleistung
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Studieninformation |
Seminar 2 | Studienleistung
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Studieninformation | |
26-HEPS-HM3 Hauptmodul 3: Methoden in der Wissenschaft | Methoden in der Wissenschaft I | Studienleistung
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Studieninformation |
Methoden in der Wissenschaft II | benotete Prüfungsleistung
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Studieninformation | |
26-HM_TP1_WP Hauptmodul TP1: Wissenschaftsphilosophie | Seminar 1 | Studienleistung
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Studieninformation |
Seminar 2 | Studienleistung
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Studieninformation | |
26-VT_WP Vertiefung Wissenschaftsphilosophie | Seminar 1 | Studienleistung
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Studieninformation |
Seminar 2 | Studienleistung
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Studieninformation |
Die verbindlichen Modulbeschreibungen enthalten weitere Informationen, auch zu den "Leistungen" und ihren Anforderungen. Sind mehrere "Leistungsformen" möglich, entscheiden die jeweiligen Lehrenden darüber.
Zu dieser Veranstaltung existiert ein Lernraum im E-Learning System. Lehrende können dort Materialien zu dieser Lehrveranstaltung bereitstellen: