Philosophy of Nature

lfilo1310  2019-2020  Louvain-la-Neuve

Philosophy of Nature
Note from June 29, 2020
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
5 credits
30.0 h
Q1
Teacher(s)
Counet Jean-Michel;
Language
French
Main themes
This course is intended as an introduction to the different nature-related approaches to philosophy. The broad historical perspective adopted will examine the influences of both the history of philosophy and the history of science. The course will highlight the similarities, but also the differences, of the ontology of nature offered by the philosophy of material science, the philosophy of life sciences and the philosophy of the mind.

The hermeneutic approach will also be covered. Part of the course will involve a schematic analysis of the significance of nature for humans, thereby linking this reflection on nature with philosophical anthropology within the context of issues such as modern-day ecology or the relationship between nature and subjectivity.
Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1 The aim of the course is to introduce students to metaphysical, historical and analytical reflection on the concept of nature, taking into consideration the major achievements of the philosophical tradition and those of modern science. By the end of the course, students must be familiar with the main themes and the key philosophers who developed thought on nature. They will be able to produce a clear, brief and accurate oral or written presentation on a topic. They will be able to take a critical distance from the ideas discussed and argue rigorously in favour of them. They will be able to navigate the primary and secondary philosophy of nature literature.
 

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
Faculty or entity
EFIL


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Master [120] in Environmental Science and Management

Bachelor in Philosophy, Politics and Economics

Bachelor in Philosophy