Advanced Studies in Philosophy of Nature

lfilo2230  2019-2020  Louvain-la-Neuve

Advanced Studies in 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
Q2

This biannual learning unit is being organized in 2019-2020
Teacher(s)
Gambarotto Andrea (compensates Guay Alexandre); Guay Alexandre;
Language
French
Prerequisites
Basic instruction in philosophy of Nature and natural science; Reading knowledge of English sufficient to allow for study of contemporary texts in philosophy of Nature and natural science.
Main themes
Each year the course will select a particular theme - order and finality in Nature, determinism, ontological status of space and time, emergence, etc. The course will present and contrast different philosophical approaches to the selected theme. The course will attempt to include in the study of the theme a reflection on the goals and methods of the philosophy of Nature.
Aims

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

1 Upon completion of the course the student shall be able to analyze and discuss in a well-informed and original manner a question selected within the area of philosophy of Nature, relating this to developments in natural science. The student should at the end of the course be able to:
  • Use research tools appropriate for philosophy of Nature;
  • Conceptualize the selected question ;
  • Situate his or her answers to the question within the framework of the history of the philosophy of Nature, and in relation to contemporary debates between various theories and approaches;
  • To include contributions from other disciplines as appropriate to the philosophical discussion of the question ;
  • To develop his or her own original argumentation in relation to the question.
  • To submit the method chosen for the study of the selected question to a critical reflection.
 

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”.
Content
The 2019-20 class theme will be the contemporary philosophy of of natural necessity. We will discuss questions such as: what is a natural law? What is a natural possibility? Is there meta-laws? What is determinism?
Evaluation methods
The evaluation consists of two elements: an oral presentation about a research article and a personal research essay.
During the second session, the research essay represents 100% of the final grade.
Online resources
See course Moodle website.
Bibliography
Une bibliographie et des textes seront fournis aux étudiants via le site web du cours.
Faculty or entity
EFIL


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

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Master [120] in Ethics

Master [60] in Philosophy

Certificat universitaire en philosophie (approfondissement)

Master [120] in Philosophy