The course is devoted to subjects and authors of contemporary Philosophy of Science like Hempel, Popper, Kuhn, connecting them to fundamental authors in history of philosophy (Aristotle, Bacon, Locke, Leibniz, Descartes, Kant, Husserl); particular attention is paid to logical positivism or logical empiricism, by considering authors like Frege, Russell, Carnap, Wittgenstein, and the debate about realism vs. antirealism.
The following subjects will be particularly addressed: developments from logical empiricism to contemporary debate; verificationism vs. falsificationism; experience and scientific theorization; scientific revolution and progress; language of science and natural language.
Aim of the course is allowing the students to critically reflect on the proposed subjects, also by means of appropriate readings, acquiring the ability to connect them to open problems of contemporary science and technology.