Philosophy and Science Studies

It is well known that around 1830, the paths of philosophy and science began to diverge. Before that time, philosophy also encompassed "natural philosophy," which we would today call science, and philosophers often had a background that allowed them to excel in natural sciences. After that period, science and scientists increasingly developed their autonomy, creating new specialties, new languages, and strong ties with technology in ways that gradually alienated many successive generations of philosophers from science—up to the present day.

While acknowledging the substantial autonomy of philosophy and science in today’s research and educational institutions, the curriculum in Philosophy and Science Studies will provide training that enables PhD students to explore both the conflicts and the enduring connections that characterize the relationship between philosophy and science. The curriculum will integrate fields of study such as analytic and continental philosophy, the history and philosophy of science, logic and philosophy of language, and science and technology studies.

There is a growing awareness that Humanities and Social Science can offer crucial cultural, historical, and philosophical perspectives on issues of the contemporary world. Conversely, there is an increasing recognition within scientific communities that a clearer understanding of the philosophical, social, and moral dimensions at play in science and technology can benefit science itself.

The curriculum aims to train PhD students capable of developing new interpretative frameworks on a range of issues that surpass the traditional boundaries between philosophy, science, and technology.