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PHIL0110-1

Epistemology of Health Sciences

[ version française ]

Duration :15h Th
Credits/ECTS :
1st year of a Bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences2
1st year of a Bachelor's degree in dental sciences2
1st year of a Bachelor's degree in medicine2
1st year of a Bachelor's degree in pharmaceutical sciences2
Holder(s) :Vinciane Despret
Course contents : a. Introduction: What is epistemology? The place of epistemology in philosophy. The different sciences’ specific problems: norm and objectivity; the specificity of sciences; the issue of testing.
b. The notion of truth: history of the production of truth (M. Foucault)
c. Science philosophy: theoretical history (Inductivism, Falsificationism, Popper, Kuhn’s paradigms). New theories: the sociology of science, constructivism.
d. How does science relate to culture?
Practical case: nature sciences: Darwinism and its reception; contemporary ethology and primatology. How does the social, political or ideological context influence the definitions of scientific subjects, examination and interview methods and information collection? (Is science really natural?)
e. Biology as a science of culture
Practical case: the role of metaphors, practices and representations in biology’s recent history: ova; embryology and genetics; sexual hormones. How have political, social, ideological but also technical contexts influenced the evolution of the subjects of biomedical sciences; how do scientists build reality? Are scientific facts objectively established or collectively created?
Course objective : Critically considering the epistemological foundations of sciences, esp. those on which biomedical knowledge relies.
Written notes : Recommended reading: Stengers I. (1993) L’Invention des sciences modernes. Paris: la Découverte.
Bruno Latour (2001) L'espoir de Pandore. Paris: La Découverte.
Lecture notes will be available at the end of the cycle.
Assessment : Exam: written
Contacts : Professor V. Despret
Département de Philosophie, office 2/32b
Place du XX Août
Phone: 04/366 55 98
Secretary: 04/366 55 99
Email: v.despret@ulg.ac.be




ULg : Students and Studies Administration - Academic Affairs
Contact : Monique Marcourt, direction A.E.E.
Date of data : 27/02/2006
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