This course deals with the philosophy of science in the social sciences. The emphasis is on the various philosophical approaches that are relevant to humanistic studies. The course deals with presuppositions about the acquisition of knowledge (epistemology) and reality (ontology). Classical philosophical traditions (such as positivism, interpretivism, and critical theory) and more recent approaches (such as (neo)pragmatism, (post)structuralism, and social constructivism) are discussed in relation to the question of how to study issues of meaning and humanisation. Finally, attention is paid to the specific place of humanistic studies as an interdisciplinary and normative human science, within the broad field of philosophical approaches to science.
After participating in the course HUM1-30: Philosophy of Science according to the requirements, students will be able to:
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Philosophical, labour market and academic education
In particular, this subject contributes to students' academic education: in particular, recognising, assessing and critically reflecting on scientific philosophical principles underlying scientific texts, debates and research.
Brief explanation of relationship to other components
This course is part of the research line of the master's programme. It follows two courses in the learning line Humanism: the course Bronnen van Humanisme: natuur en mens, and the course Zingeving en gezondheid. These courses look at various humanist traditions, as well as humanism as a frame of meaning and philosophies of life in a broader sense. These courses take an interdisciplinary approach to issues of meaning and humanisation, drawing mainly on philosophy, history, sociology, and psychology. The Philosophy of Science course puts these scientific disciplines in a broader framework and further explores science-philosophical questions and discussions about them.
Working methods
Literature study, plenary lectures, working sessions, an instruction session and a response lecture. The plenary lectures aim to transfer and deepen knowledge and insight. The working sessions are intended for further processing and practical application of the material and for reading and discussing original scientific-philosophical texts. In the instruction session, students receive instructions for the written paper (essay). The response lecture is designed to prepare for the examination and clarify questions about the material studied. Relationship between theory and practice
Knowledge of the theoretical principles and presuppositions of scientific research that are central to this subject is important when assessing research into meaning and humanisation of others and when conducting research in this field, as a researcher or as a professional working in the domain of meaning and humanisation.
Relationship educational-research
This course deals explicitly with the theoretical principles and presuppositions of scientific research in general and humanistic studies in particular.
Possibility of specialisation
For the written paper (essay), students can choose from some texts relevant to the master in humanistics. This allows them to connect to their interests.