Kursplan

POG0069 Etik och vetenskapsfilosofi, 3,0 Hp

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AIM

The course aims at introducing central topics in research ethics and philosophy of science, and to allow students to gain insight into the possibilities and limitations of science, its role in society, and humans’ responsibility for how science is used, and develop an ability to conduct ethical assessments of research.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After the course students should demonstrate the ability to:

• understand the most central concepts in theory and philosophy of science

• tentatively apply these ideas to one’s own field of research

• explain and discuss differences and similarities between different fields of inquiry (e.g. social sciences vs. natural sciences)

• explain some possibilities and pitfalls at the intersection of science/scholarship and societal decision making

• describe and discuss the contents of some codes of professional conduct and their ethical underpinnings

• identify cases of scientific misconduct and suggest strategies for dealing with suspected cases of misconduct

• analyze a concrete ethical problem of relevance for his or her research or for SLU and present a well-argued ethical assessment of the problem

Innehåll

• Truth and knowledge, data and information

• Core concepts in philosophy of science: Hypothesis testing, explanation and understanding, causation and correlation, positivism and falsificationism, hyopthetico-deductive method.

• Science and society: The consequences of research, the function of scientific results in policy, and the role of disciplinary perspective in societal discourse and policy making

• Professionalism, professional ethics and its theoretical underpinnings

• Scientific misconduct – fabrication/falsification, plagiarism, publication ethics

• Research involving humans – harm, privacy, informed consent;

• Research involving animals – ethical and legal aspects, relation to research ethics

• Relevant SLU policies and other guidelines

Ytterligare information