POLITICAL EPISTEMOLOGY

Anno accademico
2018/2019 Programmi anni precedenti
Titolo corso in inglese
POLITICAL EPISTEMOLOGY
Codice insegnamento
FM0459 (AF:283892 AR:160741)
Modalità
In presenza
Crediti formativi universitari
6
Livello laurea
Laurea magistrale (DM270)
Settore scientifico disciplinare
M-FIL/02
Periodo
4° Periodo
Anno corso
1
Spazio Moodle
Link allo spazio del corso
From historical reconstruction to philosophical comprehension: This class aims at articulating a historical-epistemological reflection on science based on concrete historical cases taken from the history of science in the longue durée that will be lifted to the level of a cultural-political philosophical generalization.

The course will be arranged around three basic categories of science as a cultural phenomenon:
1. Abstraction: the process of codification of knowledge considered in relation to alienation as an ethical-political tension;
2. Orientation: the ambivalent uses of scientific methods for exploration and control;
3. Valuation: the ideal of science as a drive of scientific policies and ideology.
Objectives:

• To introduce students to research in political epistemology;
• To explore the ways to connect the philosophy of science with the history of science;
• To address a crucial topic of epistemology, namely the problems of abstraction, orientation and valuation of science through the analysis of historical cases;
• To become acquainted with the history of science in the longue duree;
• To learn how to gain a more general philosophical understanding of the development of science through generalization;
• To learn how to critically construct a narrative after the end of ‘grand narratives’;
To become capable of reflecting of and discussing historical and philosophical sources and critically interpret them.
Preconditions

• Enthusiasm and readiness to engage with challenging historical and philosophical discussions and readings;
• Knowledge of English in order to read the materials and participate in the discussion.
Contents:

The course will be arranged around three basic categories of science as a cultural phenomenon:

1. Abstraction: the process of codification of knowledge considered in relation to alienation as an ethical-political tension;
2. Orientation: the ambivalent uses of scientific methods for exploration and control;
3. Valuation: the ideal of science as a drive of scientific policies and ideology.

The historical range of case studies will be broad (from ancient Egypt to India, early-modern China, and Europe) in order to enable a long-term perspective on the emergence of scientific practices and reason. This is essential to reflect on the dynamics of scientific developments in general, in order to critically construct an integrated theory of science. The political focus will consist in looking at science in relation to its practical origins and the consequences of its uses.
Teaching materials, abstracts, papers, which will be assigned and shared during the classes and/or through a database.
Evaluation:

Active participation to the classes and final written assignment. The last two meetings of the class will be dedicated to the preparation for the written assignment. In these final meetings, students are expected to prepare and discuss abstracts of the topics they will write about as an assignment for evaluation.
-Experts' introduction to the topics
-Presentations by guests
-Seminarial discussion
-Group work on texts and problematics
-Interdisciplinary and object-oriented debates guided by a group of scholars in political epistemology and assisted by PhD students.
Italiano
scritto e orale

Questo insegnamento tratta argomenti connessi alla macroarea "Povertà e disuguaglianze" e concorre alla realizzazione dei relativi obiettivi ONU dell'Agenda 2030 per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile

Programma definitivo.
Data ultima modifica programma: 06/01/2019