Universität Wien
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180087 VO-L Which kind of nature we can recognize with the help of natural science? (2019S)

Concepts of Nature between scientific self-understanding, philosophical criticism and perspectives of non-European philosophy

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 18 - Philosophie

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

Language: German

Examination dates

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Monday 11.03. 18:30 - 20:00 Hörsaal 1 Hauptgebäude Tiefparterre Stiege 1 Hof 1
  • Monday 18.03. 18:30 - 20:00 Hörsaal 1 Hauptgebäude Tiefparterre Stiege 1 Hof 1
  • Monday 25.03. 18:30 - 20:00 Hörsaal 1 Hauptgebäude Tiefparterre Stiege 1 Hof 1
  • Monday 01.04. 18:30 - 20:00 Hörsaal 1 Hauptgebäude Tiefparterre Stiege 1 Hof 1
  • Monday 08.04. 18:30 - 20:00 Hörsaal 1 Hauptgebäude Tiefparterre Stiege 1 Hof 1
  • Monday 29.04. 18:30 - 20:00 Hörsaal 1 Hauptgebäude Tiefparterre Stiege 1 Hof 1
  • Monday 06.05. 18:30 - 20:00 Hörsaal 1 Hauptgebäude Tiefparterre Stiege 1 Hof 1
  • Monday 13.05. 18:30 - 20:00 Hörsaal 1 Hauptgebäude Tiefparterre Stiege 1 Hof 1
  • Monday 20.05. 18:30 - 20:00 Hörsaal 1 Hauptgebäude Tiefparterre Stiege 1 Hof 1
  • Monday 27.05. 18:30 - 20:00 Hörsaal 1 Hauptgebäude Tiefparterre Stiege 1 Hof 1
  • Monday 03.06. 18:30 - 20:00 Hörsaal 1 Hauptgebäude Tiefparterre Stiege 1 Hof 1
  • Monday 17.06. 18:30 - 20:00 Hörsaal 1 Hauptgebäude Tiefparterre Stiege 1 Hof 1

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Course is held in German.

The physicist Stephen Weinberg criticizes philosophy in his book "Dreams of a Final Theory": He thinks that since the Second World War the progress in physics has been slowed down by philosophical criticism.
But what kind of progress is it? Is the progress proclaimed by Stephen Weinberg an actual advance in the realization of nature?

Is nature really the one governed by "natural laws"? How can complex theoretical constructs, which are then confirmed by technical experiment constructions, describe something like nature?
Then what distinguishes the natural from the constructed and the cultivated? What are the characteristics of scientific knowledge, and when and why can we say that they are knowledge of nature?
The criticism that technical constructions - even the technical constructions of an experimental setup - can obscure the view of nature is not new. Edmund Husserl speaks in this context of different attitudes to knowledge in the consideration of nature.

Goal of the course: To get an insight into the principles of modern occidental scientific thinking - also in contrast to non-European contexts.

Assessment and permitted materials

Written examination at the end of the semester from given topics (lecture material)

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Positive completion of the exam

Examination topics

Contents of the lecture and knowledge of defined primary literature and selected text passages - will be specified for the exam (see Moodle).

Reading list

The used literature will be completed and the exact text passages will be added and selected before the beginning of the semester!
Arendt, Hannah: Vita Activa oder vom tätigen Leben. München: Piper 1992.
Böhme, Gernot: Was ist Natur? Charaktere der Natur aus der Sicht der modernen Naturwissenschaft. Chemie in unserer Zeit, August 1990, Vol.24(4), pp.166-175
Hampe, Michael: Eine kleine Geschichte des Naturgesetzbegriffs. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag 2007.
Husserl, Edmund: Die Krisis der europäischen Wissenschaften und die transzendentale Phänomenologie. Hamburg: Meiner Verlag 1996
Lyre, Holger: Kants „Metaphysische Anfangsgründe der Naturwissenschaft“ gestern und heute, in: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie. 54, 2006, S. 1-16 Abrufbar im Internet. URL: http://www.lyre.de/Lyre-DZPhil2006.pdf
Needham, Joseph: Wissenschaft und Zivilisation in China. Band 1 der von Colin A. Ronan bearbeiteten Ausgabe. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp 1988
Poser, Hans: Wissenschaftstheorie. Eine philosophische Einführung. Stuttgart: Reclam 2001.
Spaemann, Robert: „Natur“., in: Ders.: Philosophische Essays. Erweiterte Ausgabe. Stuttgart: Reclam 1994.
Weinberg, Steven: Der Traum von der Einheit des Universums. München: Bertelsmann 1993.
Whitehead, Alfred North: The Concept of Nature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1971.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: We 15.12.2021 00:21