Faculty of information technology  will open a doctoral course ”Philosophy of Science for Doctoral Students 3 ECTS”. 

Teachers

Professor Lauri Kettunen (LK), University of Jyväskylä
Professor Tommi Mikkonen (TM), University of Jyväskylä
Amir Haj-Bolouri (AHB), University of Jyväskylä

Registration

Open until November 1.

After registration please fill the following form and send it by email to office@inforte.jyu.fi by November 1: 

• Finnish students: https://www.jyu.fi/it/fi/hae-opiskelemaan/avoin-opiskelu-it-tiedekunnassa/ilmoittautumislomake.pdf/
• Other students: https://www.jyu.fi/it/fi/hae-opiskelemaan/avoin-opiskelu-it-tiedekunnassa/registration_form_2020-2021.pdf

Course Objectives

• Knowledge and Understanding
• Acquire and show knowledge about central positions, schools, and traditions in philosophy of science
• Acquire and show an understanding about similarities and differences between different scientific traditions, modes of thinking, and methodological, philosophical, and theoretical perspectives
• Describe central problem areas and questions in philosphy of science, concerning epistemology and ontology 
• Skills and Abilities
• Position and relate to your own research discipline, as well as research and science in general, within the frame of philosophy of science, its different traditions, and philosophical perspectives
• Exhibit a critical mode of thinking, argumentative skills, and constructive way of reviewing scientific work
• Present and motivate methodological and theoretical choices, based on philosophical stances. This will be done both orally and in text

Course Form

• Online Lectures 
• Online Seminar
• Discussions
• Individual assignment

Course Examination

• Hand in
• The overall purpose of the hand in is to write an individual manuscript. The manuscript shall incorporate aspects of the lectures (e.g. epistemology, concepts) and literature (e.g. articles, presentation material) and relate it to his/her own dissertation thesis. For instance, the student can justify methodological considerations based on epistemological discussions, the student can discuss his/her theoretical considerations based on a particular notion of theory that is relevant for his/her research discipline, the student can problematize his/her research problem or phenomenon based on philosophical perspectives, etc. 
• The assignment shall be written in between 4-8 pages, 12 pt Times New Roman, and handed in word format
• Oral presentation and discussion
• Group seminar where the students present and discuss their papers

Schedule

• Course Intro and Lecture 1 (8th of November, 09:15-12:00 Finnish time) (AHB + LK) 

• General info and overview 
• Introduction to Philosophy of Science 

• Lecture 2 (15th of November, 09:15-12:00 Finnish time) (AHB)

• Schools and Traditions in Philosophy of Science
• Positivism, Interpretativism, Phenomenology, and Pragmatism 

• Lecture 3 (22th of November, 09:15-12:00 Finnish time) (AHB)

• Epistemology, Ontology, Axiology
• Views on Truth and Theory
• Inductive, Deductive, and Abductive Reasoning

• Lecture 4 (29th of November, 09:15-12:00 Finnish time) (AHB)

• Paradigms and Falsificationism 
• Scientific Norms and Values
• Philosophy and Research in Information Systems

• Lecture 5 (7th of December, 09:15-12:00 Finnish time) (TM) 

• Philosophical background of IT
• Natural Sciences

• Lecture 6 (13th of December, 09:15-12:00 Finnish time) (LK)

• Natural Sciences
• Significance of Predictive Models
• The Driving Force of Natural Sciences in 20th Century
• The Current Situation

• Lecture 7 (20th of December, 09:15-12:00 Finnish Time) (AHB)

• The Role of Theory in Information Systems Research
• Philosophical Underpinnings of Theorizing
• Application Areas

• Students Hand In manuscripts (3th January - Moodle)
• Final Seminar (7th of January - 09:15-16:00)

Course Material

The course material will consist of a variety of supportive literature such as:

• Books
• Journal articles
• Conference papers

Registration fee

This seminar is free-of-charge for Inforte.fi member organization's staff and their PhD students.