Athabasca University: Course Syllabus, Science 326

Science (SCIE) 326
Scientific Reasoning (Revision 1)

This version of SCIE 326 closed Oct. 9/02. To current version.

Delivery mode:	Individualized study.
Credits:	3 - Science
Prerequisite:	Twelve credits of university-level science courses including at least six credits in courses with lab components.
Centre:	Centre for Science
Challenge for Credit:	SCIE 326 has a Challenge for Credit option.

>> Overview | Evaluation | Course Materials | Course Fees | Course Availability

Overview

This course deals with both the formal and informal aspects of scientific reasoning. Topics covered include: what is science? what is reason? the scientific method; relations between theory and experiment; scientific paradigms; explanation and prediction; what is a scientific theory? principles of reasoning; systems of analytical reasoning; tools for analysis (Venn diagrams, classification, syllogisms, Boolean logic); statistical inference; traps and fallacies of reason; mathematics in science.

Evaluation

To receive credit for SCIE 326, students must achieve a course composite grade of at least 50 percent. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

2 Exercises (20% each) Mid-term Exam Final Exam Total

40% 30% 30% 100%

Course Materials

Textbooks

Chalmers, A. F. 1982. What is This Thing Called Science? St. Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press.

Goldstein, Martin, and Inga Goldstein. 1984. The Experience of Science. New York: Plenum Press.

Hempel, Carl G. 1996. Philosophy of Natural Science. Englewood Cliffs, NY: Prentice-Hall Inc.

Klemke, E. D., Robert Hollinger, and A. David Kline, eds. 1988. Introductory Readings in the Philosophy of Science. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.

Lessing, Doris. 1987. Prisons We Choose to Live Inside. New York: Harper & Row.

Toulmin, Stephan. 1981. Foresight and Understanding. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Reprinted with permission of Indiana University Press.

Other Material

The course materials include a study guide and a student manual.

Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice.
Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.