Class 13 and 14 (April 8 and 10) - Rovelli on Science and Philosophy

Welcome

Hello everyone. I hope you’re all doing okay. It’s going to be a little bit of a strange week, as for many of you, you are still dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake. So this week’s class is going to be a combination of asynchronous and synchronous.

For this week, all tasks, and all attendance, are all entirely optional. But I thought it might be good to provide you with at least some content, some new ideas, and some things to think about if you would like to explore the topic of storytelling and persuasion a little bit more deeply. Again, I cannot stress enough that there is no obligation at all to attend this week’s classes, or to complete any of the tasks I’m going to adjust. If you would like to say hello, and your Internet is working, I will be in class during class time, and I will be delighted to see you. If you want to work quietly on your own, you can also do that. Or if you have other things that are more important, then please focus on those.

So nothing this week will affect your attendance, your grades, or anything else. But I’m here should you need me.

Science and Philosophy

In this session, we’re going to talk about the relationship between science and philosophy.

Rovelli sets out two models of education in ancient Athens: the model of Isocrates based around practical questions, and the model of Plato based around general questions. There are big issues here about what education is for.

Rovelli uses a reading of an early, reconstructed text by Aristotle, the Protrepticus, as a way of exploring these issues (you can read the text here).

Suggested exercise 1:

In the light of what you have read in the Rovelli piece, write for eight minutes in response to the question: what is education for?

Thinking Through The Protrepticus

Rovelli extracts four arguments from the Protrepticus that he thinks are worth reflecting on:

1. General theory supports and happens to be useful for the development of practice.
2. Those who deny the utility of philosophy, are doing philosophy.
3. Philosophy provides guidance how research must be done.
4. More in need of philosophy are the sciences “where perplexities are greater."

Suggested exercise 2:

Make notes on the following questions:

• Which of these arguments from the Protrepticus are most convincing?
• Which are most relevant in the contemporary world?
• What are Rovelli’s main arguments?
• In the light of this paper, do you think philosophy needs science, and if so, why?
• In the light of this paper, do you think science needs philosophy, and if so why?

In the sessions on Tuesday and Thursday, if we like, we can spend time talking about this! But — once again — none of this is obligatory!

All the best,

Will