Welcome to the canvas information page for the course

MNXA19/MNXA29/SASF10: (Exploring) The Scientific Method, 7.5 credits

given by the Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Physics.

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Contents

The course is an interdisciplinary course at the faculty of Science. The course is also an elective course for first-cycle studies for a Bachelor of Science with a specialisation in physics.

The course covers basic questions about what constitutes science and the scientific method; what are the differences between true science and pseudoscience, from charlatanism and fraud; the relationship between faith and reason, religion and science; anthropocentricity and gender perspectives in science; and the connection
between natural science and other creative activities such as painting, sculpture and composition. Selected topics:

history of science
theory of science
pseudoscience and fraud
faith, religion and science
gender perspectives
creativity

The teaching consists of lectures and mandatory group discussions, seminars and interviews as well as connected mandatory assignments and presentations.

There is typically one lecture per week (normally on Thursdays afternoons). These are followed by group discussions the afternoon after, where the students discuss the previous lecture. The lectures themselves do not directly connect to the course literature, but are designed to provoke discussion. The course literature is instead covered by the students themselves in a series of student seminars in the beginning of the course. The students are also tasked to read a book of their choice and write a report on it from a theory of science perspective. In addition the students should find and interview two or three active researchers and summarise this in a written report.

The mandatory course elements are

An oral presentation at a seminar
Oral feedback to a presentation at a seminar
Act as group discussion leader at least once
Active participation in at least six group discussions
A written report from a group discussion
A written report from interviews with active researchers
Oral and written feedback on an interview report
An essay treating a book from a scientific perspective
Oral and written feedback on an essay

General information

Semester: spring
Study period: 2
Level: bachelor
Language: Swedish and English
Form of teaching: combination of lectures and exercises
Assessment: the assessment consist of the mandatory course elements as outlined above
Grading scale: U-G
Course plan: in English, in Swedish

Course literature

Alan F. Chalmers
What is this thing called science? 3rd or 4th edition
University of Queensland Press, Open University press, 4th revised edition, Hackett, 1999.

Teachers

Christian Bierlich, Christian Bierlich, christian.bierlich@thep.lu.se
Leif Lönnblad, leif@thep.lu.se, phone: 046-22 24816

Schedule

The schedule for the next instance of the course can be found here (add link)

Application

Through antagning.se