The teaching is organized as follows:

Learning objectives

The course is an introduction to the Contemporary Philosophy of Science, with the aim of highlighting the most meaningful moments in the development of the Science and the philosophical issues which are involved in. Expected outcomes:
• to be able to critically examine the fundamental assumptions of Positivism, the relationship between the twentieth century “linguistic turn” of Philosophy and the Philosophy of Science and, finally, the implications of the sociological methodology when applied to epistemological subjects, in order to
• understand the conceptual grounds of the Philosophy of Science (i.e., realism, objectivity, experimental evidence, limits of validity, etc.);
• to master the Epistemological lexicon;
• to actively participate in the debates concerning developments (even the most recent ones) in the field of the Philosophy of Science.

Prerequisites and basic notions

The course requires knowledge of the fundamental concepts of the philosophy of science and the philosophy of mind. No prior knowledge of computer science or artificial intelligence is required. To facilitate the learning of the more conceptually challenging parts, in-depth videos will be provided.

Program

The Epistemology and Philosophy of Science course aims to delve into some central issues not only in philosophical research but in cultural debate in general.
The course program is divided into three parts.
The first part addresses the role of artificial intelligence in the modern conception of mind, cognition, rationality, and knowledge. The goal is to understand how the computational approach has changed the understanding of cognitive processes.
The second part will discuss the consequences of artificial intelligence on scientific practice, theory formulation, and research development.
The third part will focus on a specific area of artificial intelligence, namely natural language processing, and will analyze the impact of these techniques on the notion of meaning and semantic understanding.

Didactic methods

The course will be conducted using two main modalities: (1) traditional lectures and (2) seminar presentations. The lectures will be held in person and will not be streamed or recorded. Dedicated videos will be made available for: (1) explaining the examination procedures and grading, and (2) delving into specific parts of the course and important concepts. Although these videos are primarily intended as study support for non-attending students, attending students can also make use of them.

Learning assessment procedures

The final evaluation aims to determine not only the possession of knowledge but also the candidates' ability to argue correctly, to appropriately use the concepts and tools of the philosophy of science, and their creativity. The grade is obtained based on active participation in the seminar part, a paper (2000-5000 words) on a relevant topic related to the course, to be agreed upon with the instructor, and an oral examination according to the following proportions:
* 35% Oral examination
* 40% Paper (2000-5000 words)
* 25% In-class presentation
The in-class presentation on a topic to be agreed upon with the instructor can also be done in a small group (maximum 3 people).

Evaluation criteria

The main assessment criteria are: (1) conceptual competence and (2) linguistic competence. Students will also find an evalutation rubric to help them compose the assignments.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

* 35% Oral examination
* 40% Paper (2000-5000 words)
* 25% In-class presentation

Exam language

Italiano