SX1516: MANKIND IN THE UNIVERSE: THE QUESTION OF OBJECTIVITY? (2015-2016)

How do we know what we know and how do we judge what we know? How do we make sense of what is around us, and how do we make informed judgements? The course looks at some key topics in relation to objectivity, uncertainty vs realism and the philosophy of science. It also examines how our world view is shaped by values and religion and how myth and science interact and affect our knowledge of the scientific world. The first half will look at objectivity as viewed by science, philosophy and religion. This will challenge any preconceived notions that there is a single way of viewing the world about us. The first half of the course begins with a ‘quick tour of the Universe’, a selective summary of what we think we know in such fields as astronomy and atoms/particles and how we have come to know these things. It follows with the basic philosophy of objectivity and then how Mankind has used story-telling as a way of making sense of the world around (“Myth”). The second part of the course looks at current thinking in relation to a number of topical themes in biology/ethics, evolution, genetics and disease and the climate system and tried to look at these objectively from a standpoint of current thought. The aim is to understand objective thinking and to be aware of how we are influenced in making judgements.

This course is only available to students registered in Programme Years 1 and 2. Attendance at classes for Sixth Century courses is compulsory. Students who do not attend all classes (including lectures) for a Sixth Century course, without exceptional cause, will not pass the engagement component of the course and will therefore fail the course.

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

View SX1516 Timetable

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1st Attempt: Continuous Assessment (100%); A series of short assessments will be set corresponding to each section of the course: science, myth, objectivity, climate, and genetics/evolution/ethics. These will be a mixture of individual and group work, with class discussions, blogs, wikis, online tests as examples. Resit: Continuous Assessment (100%); Only available to those who have attended sufficient classes and have exceptional good cause. Make-up essays will be provided.

As the students are regularly completing small summative assessments, they will have feedback throughout the course. Marks (and comments, where possible) will be returned through MyAberdeen.

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