About this course: Philosophy, Science and Religion mark three of the most fundamental modes of thinking about the world and our place in it. Are these modes incompatible? Put another way: is the intellectually responsible thing to do to ‘pick sides’ and identify with one of these approaches at the exclusion of others? Or, are they complementary or mutually supportive? As is typical of questions of such magnitude, the devil is in the details. For example, it is important to work out what is really distinctive about each of these ways of inquiring about the world. In order to gain some clarity here, we’ll be investigating what some of the current leading thinkers in philosophy, science and religion are actually doing. This course, entitled ‘Science and Philosophy’, will serve as the first of three related courses in our Philosophy, Science and Religion Online series, and in this first course we will ask important questions about the nature of scientific knowledge, its limits and implications for the disciplines of philosophy and religion, as well as for their intersection. We begin by asking whether scientific claims aspire to absolute truth. For instance, are there any scientific claims that are absolutely true, or are they all true relative to the system of thought that generated them? If we accept the latter, does this also hold true of any claims we might make, including within the domains of philosophy and religion? In this Science and Philosophy course we will also be exploring in some detail current and exciting questions about the relationship between physics and faith, science and pseudoscience, creationism and evolutionary biology. The second and third courses in the Philosophy, Science and Religion series—‘Philosophy and Religion’ and ‘Religion and Science’—will be launched later in 2017. Completing all three courses will give you a broader understanding of this fascinating topic. Look for: • Philosophy, Science and Religion II: Philosophy and Religion • Philosophy, Science and Religion III: Religion and Science Check out our trailer to hear more: https://youtu.be/OifqTI5VKek You can also follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/EdiPhilOnline and you can follow the hashtag #psrmooc
Who is this class for: This class can be taken by learners at all levels, and should be easy to understand for 1st and 2nd year undergraduate students. Although passing short quizzes is required to pass the course, those who want to engage further also have the option of receiving peer-feedback on optional short-answer questions. The course is self-contained but can also act as a taster for Edinburgh's online MSc in Philosophy, Science, and Religion.
Taught by: Dr J Adam Carter, Researcher
Epistemology - Philosphy
Taught by: Dr Orestis Palermos, Research Explorer
School of Philosophy
Taught by: Dr Mark Harris, Senior Lecturer in Science and Religion
School of Divinity
Taught by: Professor Duncan Pritchard, Professor of Philosophy
University of Edinburgh
| Level | Beginner |
| Commitment | 3 weeks of study |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
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Fine course, nice references for further reading, clear and nice instructors. Only two where a little odd: Statis Psillos, talking too fast, and Conor Cunningham, a bit too theatrical.
Great course !
Interesting introduction with a good list of further reading material.
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This course gave me the fundamentals of philosophy without being too chatty or lengthy. It made me think harder and sparked a desire to go deeper into philosophy outside of the course. This course also gave me excellent tools to do just that. I recommend it to all.