Philosophy of Science
SECTION A
1 What is scientific progress?
2 Does the philosopher of science need the history of science more than the
historian of science needs the philosophy of science?
SECTION B
3 Either (a) Can a claim such as ‘I know I have two hands’ be used to argue
against epistemological scepticism?
Or (b) How good is the reliabilist solution to the problem of induction?
4 Either (a) What is the relationship between causes and counterfactuals?
Or (b) What is the difference between laws and coincidences?
5 Either (a) How is deducing that a phenomenon occurs different from
explaining why it occurs?
Or (b) Do scientists count the observation of something that is both F and
G a reason to believe that all Fs are G?
6 Should the same kinds of causes be used to explain true and false beliefs?
7 Are the results of science known primarily by individual scientists or by groups
of scientists?
8 Either (a) ‘Karl Popper’s philosophy of science is bad for philosophers but
good for scientists.’ Discuss.
Or (b) ‘Thomas Kuhn uses the term “incommensurable” in a wide range
of senses, from the mundane to the ridiculous.’ Where would you draw the
line?
9 What can biological evolution tell us about human nature?
10 Compare and contrast the ethics of the use of animal and human experimental
subjects.