H 399: How to Think About Weird Things: The Philosophy of Science and Pseudoscience
During the Fall 2009 semester I will be teaching an Honors Interdisciplinary Seminar on science and psuedoscience. My primary reason for teaching this class is that I simply find the ideas fascinating: what are the rules for how we should think (about anything, much less science and its pretenders)? What makes science special? Why are people inclined to believe in psuedoscience? And so on . . . . For the record, I do believe there is a difference between science and psuedoscience, and I will argue against those who say otherwise--but if you disagree and you want to take the course, I'm willing to listen to opposing viewpoints. The groundrules for arguments will be discussed the first day of class.
If you are interested, I have posted, under the syllabus section, some information on the planned course readings. The primary texts for the course will be How to Think About Weird Things (hence, the course title) by Schick and Vaughn and Introductory Readings in the Philosophy of Science by Klemke, Hollinger, and Klein. There will be some philosophy involved in the course--and the philosophy reading will be challenging--but I will not assume you have a philosophical background. This is a class for all comers.