Reflections on IT (Spring 2024)
Official course description:
Course info
Programme
Staff
Course semester
Exam
Abstract
The course provides a basic introduction to scientific thought and introduces central philosophical perspectives on science, epistemology and technology, including central concepts in scientific methodology. The course puts a special focus on IT technologies, exploring its foundations and ethical implications.
Description
The course is important because it provides a set of concepts for critical evaluation of the theoretical and methodological basis underpinning research traditions in the information sciences.
The student will receive a basic introduction to scientific thought and central philosophical perspectives on science, epistemology and technology. This includes gaining familiarity with central concepts in scientific methodology and foundational problems of computation.
Reflections on IT provides a basic introduction to scientific thought and introduces central philosophical perspectives on science, epistemology and technology. The literature introduces students to paradigms such as positivism, scientific realism, computationalism and utilitarianism. It also introduces central concepts in scientific methodology, including deductivism, inductivism and falsification. Finally, it encourages students to reflect on the interrelationships between science, technology and society.
The objective of the course is thus to provide a set of coherent concepts for critical evaluation of the theoretical and methodological basis of research traditions in the information sciences. The course introduces students to important philosophical and historical perspectives on science and technology as well as to more general epistemological and reflexive issues relating to natural and social science disciplines.
The course especially emphasizes topics that relate to information sciences and information technologies, including questions about how humans, technologies and knowledge are assumed to operate in the information and social sciences.
Formal prerequisites
This course is part of the sixth semester on the bachelor programme in Software Developement
Intended learning outcomes
After the course, the student should be able to:
- Identify and account for key, select positions in the Philosophy of Science
- Account for relevant theoretical perspectives on technology with a particular emphasis on the interactions between IT, the general BA subject area and the broader context.
- Identify and analyze a problem of interest that touches upon the relationships between IT and its context (may it be of political, ethical, philosophical, historical or societal nature).
- Present relevant concepts from the curriculum accurately, and critically use these concepts in an investigation of the select problem
Learning activities
Lectures and exercises. The course is generally based on readings that are presented and discussed in the lecture. In the exercise sessions the students will discuss the readings and will be asked to do written exercises that will also be discussed. In the final exam report (10-12 pages) each student individually formulates a relevant question relating to philosophy of science and technology and discusses it with reference to central arguments from the syllabus. Preparations for class usually involve reading one to two articles and considering specific questions relating to the texts or other illustrations.
Course literature
The course literature is published in the course page in LearnIT.
Student Activity Budget
Estimated distribution of learning activities for the typical student- Preparation for lectures and exercises: 25%
- Lectures: 20%
- Exercises: 25%
- Exam with preparation: 30%
Ordinary exam
Exam type:D: Submission of written work with following oral, External (7-point scale)
Exam variation:
D22: Submission with following oral exam supplemented by the submission.
Individual essay, 10-12 pages. In short, the goal of the paper is: Find an IT-related problem with philosophical consequences and explore it using theories introduced during the course. Always start with a problem and try to formulate questions that demand philosophical discussion. Once you have the problem, choose literature relevant from the syllabus (and outside of it) and apply concepts and theories described in the literature to answer the question. In cases when you cannot find a clear answer to your question, explain why the question cannot be answered (maybe the theories show that it is not a problem at all?).
20 minutes
reexam
Exam type:D: Submission of written work with following oral, External (7-point scale)
Exam variation:
D22: Submission with following oral exam supplemented by the submission.
Individual essay, 10-12 pages. In short, the goal of the paper is: Find an IT-related problem with philosophical consequences and explore it using theories introduced during the course. Always start with a problem and try to formulate questions that demand philosophical discussion. Once you have the problem, choose literature relevant from the syllabus (and outside of it) and apply concepts and theories described in the literature to answer the question. In cases when you cannot find a clear answer to your question, explain why the question cannot be answered (maybe the theories show that it is not a problem at all?).
20 minutes
Time and date
Ordinary Exam - submission Mon, 27 May 2024, 08:00 - 14:00Ordinary Exam Wed, 19 June 2024, 09:00 - 21:00
Ordinary Exam Thu, 20 June 2024, 09:00 - 21:00
Ordinary Exam Fri, 21 June 2024, 09:00 - 21:00
Ordinary Exam Mon, 24 June 2024, 09:00 - 21:00
Ordinary Exam Tue, 25 June 2024, 09:00 - 21:00
Ordinary Exam Wed, 26 June 2024, 09:00 - 21:00
Ordinary Exam Thu, 27 June 2024, 09:00 - 21:00
Reexam - submission Wed, 24 July 2024, 08:00 - 14:00
Reexam Tue, 13 Aug 2024, 09:00 - 19:00