The course aims at providing students with the means to develop a personal philosophical view about concepts built and used in the material sciences.
The content of the course varies from year to year. It consists in the philosophical study of a scientific concept (or a concept used by scientists), such as matter, causation, law of nature, probability, space, time, atom, force, field, intrication, mesure, chaos, determinism, chance, etc.
This year, the chosen concept will be emergence (and reductionism) in its relation to complexity.
There will be a limited amount of ex cathedra lectures devoted to introduce the overall topic.
Students will then be invited to carry out a personal investigation of the topic with the help of readings related to their prefered field (quantum gravity, quantum mechanics, relativity, thermodynamics, solid physics, quantum chemistry, organic chemistry, etc.), in order to get acquainted with - with the help of the teacher - a philosopher's of science reflexion.
Oral exam about the content of the introductory lectures together with a brief presentation of the personal investigation.
A portfolio of ressources will be suggested and/or made available on WebCampus.
Slides of the introductory lectures will be provided on WebCampus.
| Training | Study programme | Block | Credits | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Master in Physics, Professional focus | Standard | 0 | 3 | |
| Master in Chemistry, Professional focus | Standard | 0 | 3 | |
| Master in Physics, Professional focus in Physics and Data | Standard | 0 | 3 | |
| Master in Chemistry, Teaching focus | Standard | 0 | 3 | |
| Master in Chemistry, Research focus | Standard | 0 | 3 | |
| Master in Physics, Teaching focus | Standard | 0 | 3 | |
| Master in Physics, Research focus | Standard | 0 | 3 | |
| Master in Chemistry, Professional focus | Standard | 2 | 3 | |
| Master in Physics, Professional focus in Physics and Data | Standard | 2 | 3 | |
| Master in Chemistry, Teaching focus | Standard | 2 | 3 | |
| Master in Chemistry, Research focus | Standard | 2 | 3 | |
| Master in Physics, Teaching focus | Standard | 2 | 3 | |
| Master in Physics, Research focus | Standard | 2 | 3 | |
| Master in Physics, Professional focus | Standard | 2 | 3 |