EMR 6490 - The Nature of Science and Scientific Inquiry

This course is designed for graduate students engaged or preparing to engage in social and educational research. As an introduction to philosophy of science, it centers on conceptual questions concerning the nature and scientific investigation of the world. The questions are both metaphysical, concerned with the most general account of what sorts of things science aims to represent, and epistemological, concerned with the justification of belief. The course examines debates surrounding the question of what distinguishes science and scientific reasoning from other forms of thought and sources of belief. Particular attention will focus on the rise of historicist, postpositivist conceptions of scientific inquiry and, in light of these, on questions about objectivity, relativism, and value neutrality in scientific research, particularly in social sciences. The course will conclude with examination of the status, aims, social context, and value commitments of educational research as a form of scientific inquiry.

Credits: 3 hrs.

Notes: Open to Graduate Students Only.