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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Philosophy of Science by University of Pennsylvania

4.7
stars
227 ratings

About the Course

For the last four centuries, scientists have aimed to provide us with an understanding of the world around us. By all appearances, science has made substantial progress during this time. But is this progress real or illusory? And if it is real, how has this progress been made? This four-week course will consider these important questions. Specific topics will include how scientists generate knowledge through observations, experiments, and simulations; scientific objectivity and failures of scientific objectivity; the self-correcting nature of the scientific community; the positive and negative influences that values can have on science; the relationship between science and religion; and the role of the public in guiding the scientific enterprise....

Top reviews

SB

Feb 19, 2020

Interesting information, well presented. The course gave me new ways of looking at scientific studies and research that will, I believe, make me a more sophisticated consumer of science reporting.

JH

Dec 8, 2023

Very well made instructions. Topic is also very relevant these days with people being more skeptical about science. Follow-up course on values and practical implications would be interesting.

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51 - 74 of 74 Reviews for Philosophy of Science

By Philip W

Feb 27, 2020

i am looking forward to more training!

By Laura G

May 18, 2020

Very interesting. I loved to do it.

By Rafael A T

Aug 17, 2023

Excelente curso, muy recomendable.

By Madel S

Sep 17, 2024

Its good to know this matter

By K.M S U

Aug 4, 2021

It was a great course.

By Zheng X S

Dec 2, 2021

Excelente. Gracias.

By Manjunath m s

Jan 24, 2022

excellent course

By Tauseef R

Jan 18, 2022

Fantastic course

By Alan R P M

Oct 25, 2021

simply excelent

By Keyana H

May 28, 2021

great course

By Charlotte d V

Feb 27, 2020

Thank you!

By Edgar H C L

Sep 12, 2020

Excellent

By Erasyl A

May 28, 2024

Good 👍

By Harris C

Feb 29, 2020

Well structured course, Prof. Weisberg's videos were clear, articulate, Vanessa of the teaching staff was very supportive, encouraging, and engaged in participants' comments. I wish there could have been some opportunity to contrast other lines of inquiry about the world in which we live, broadly speaking "the arts," which I think could help us better understand the inquiry about the "the sciences." To carry this a bit further, the legal system has elements of the scientific inquiry (e.g., "peer review" via jury, rules of evidence, cross examination) yet it isn't, and perhaps shouldn't be "scientific. And what are the structure and rules of inquiry in a subject such as history that allow "truth" to be discovered? I present these points also to indicate that this course got me thinking.

By Nicholas J

Jun 14, 2021

Four and one-half stars. The course work was simple and well presented, as were the lectures. One of the exams included duplicate answers and another had a grammatical error, but it was easy enough to figure out the answers. I really appreciated the assignment, finding it both challenging and accessible. Thanks to The University of Pennsylvania for putting out this program!

By Paul T

Mar 1, 2020

I found the material of the course very interesting as I have a background in physics and astronomy. The discussion on bias and methods for reducing it was well done.

I did have difficulty navigating the course material at times. It did not feel very intuitive to me, but I caught on after a while.

Thanks you for an over-all good experience.

By Arun V

Feb 26, 2021

This was a very brief overview of a few key concepts in the philosophy of science. However, the course doesn't go into any significant detail at all. It has nonetheless whetted my appetite for further reading on the topic, to which there is no substitute in philosophy.

By Broney J

Jul 11, 2020

Gives clear insight into "What science is... and how it is done by scientists", if you have a tendency to criticize the scientific methods, I would recommend this course.

By Montse P

Oct 5, 2022

I enjoyed this course very much, learning new concepts from a discipline I was a beginner. I am looking forward to know more!!

By Masoud A

Nov 17, 2020

Enjoyed doing the course and certainly have learned a few principles related to the Philosophy of Science.

By James W M

Feb 21, 2020

Very intellectually stimulating considering the relatively few hours involved.

Tough quizes!

By Victoria F

Oct 20, 2020

a good course for undergrad students, well put together and entertaining.

By Saeed E

May 12, 2021

The course did not go deep enough

By saritha p

Sep 24, 2021

no video