Teacher(s)
Language
French
Content
General section (A)
This course will explore central themes in the philosophy and history of science, epistemology, and the ethics of science. The three central axes of the course will be the relation between science and our society (including ethical and political dimensions), the history of science, and the concept of science itself. Particular attention will be paid to the importance of scientific knowledge for responding to societal challenges, including the ecological transition.
VETE section (B)
In this section of the course, we will explore the ethical relationship between humans and animals. Do we have ethical obligations to non-human creatures? Normally, we think this is obvious. But most of our ethical theories are founded on “exceptional” characteristics of humans: cognition or consciousness, for instance. First, we'll examine these “exceptions:” are they really so exceptional? What is the extent of consciousness or cognition in animals? And if this is larger than we thought, how does that observation change our ethical reasoning? Then, we'll explore attempts to better found our moral obligations toward animals. Do these obligations change when animals are in particular situations (like domestication)?
Teaching methods
This will primarily be a traditional lecture course; I will present concepts, problems, and classic interpretive questions from the philosophy of science (and, in the veterinary section, from animal ethics), applied as much as possible to your scientific degree program.
Evaluation methods
General section (A)
The evaluation will take the form of a written exam.
VETE section (B)
The evaluation will take the form of a written exam. The final grade will be the average of the grades of the two parts.
Online resources
All readings as well as the syllabus are available on the website of Pr. Pence:
Bibliography
(voir ressources en ligne ci-dessus)
(see online resources above)
(see online resources above)
Faculty or entity
