Below are notes that I have assembled in preparation for our class.  Please read through them if you would like, but do not distribute them to anyone outside of our class, or refer to them for any purposes beyond those of our discussion on this blog (I do not want to see them referenced in the essays you will be writing on the exam).  Also, please note that the organization and level of detail differs from document to document–they do not necessarily contain all the information that you will be expected to know.  These notes may be used in combination with the articles from our text, the commentaries at the end of the sections, the discussions on our blog, and your own critical thinking skills, in preparing your answers to the essay questions on the exam.  

Science and Pseudo-Science

Popper and Kuhn on Criteria of Demarcation.doc

Lakatos and Thagard on Demarcation.doc

Ruse and Laudan on Science and Law.doc

Rationality, Objectivity, and Values in Science

Notes on Kuhn.doc