In this course, students will develop the capacity to think of their discipline “from the outside”, thus preparing them for possible future revolutionary phases in behavioral science's development. Upon completion of this course, students will
1) understand how one’s assumptions and theoretical frameworks inform an experimental setup and the interpretation of scientific results.
2) know what paradigm is taken for granted in contemporary behavioral science.
3) have an understanding of the different levels of explanation that are fundamental to current scientific perspectives.
4) be able to think about the strengths and weaknesses of the disciplinary’s key theories, instruments, values and metaphysical assumptions
5) be aware of the influence that the behavioral sciences have on society.
6) be capable of identifying promises and threats for tomorrow’s behavioral science.
7) have learned to articulate their views on such issues and support those views with logically sound arguments |
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The course will focus on a range of philosophical questions that emerge from taking a reflective perspective on the students’ own major research proposals. These questions will address issues such as underlying evaluative structures, implicit conceptual presuppositions, the history of specific paradigms, the relationship between experimental designs and theory formation.
Teaching methods: Lectures – class debates – writing – learning from (peer) feedback. |
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