Ace my homework – Write a 1500-2000-word essay on your view on science from a philosophical perspective. A good starting point for this essay might be your current role in science as a student. Why did you opt for a scientific education, how does a liberal arts and science programme suit you better than a more “traditional” science programme (which is historically a more novel thing than LAS)? Explain which (multiple) roles you feel science plays in society and how it should affect society. Compare how science is actually done to how science is described by the philosophers we study in class. Below are some criteria that might be helpful:
– Reflect on your role in science. Formulate what you feel science should be and connect that to concepts we see in the lectures and tutorials such as ethics, the scientific method, logical positivism…
– Demonstrate an understanding of the materials discussed in class by referring to tutorials, lectures and additional literature
– Demonstrate a proper understanding of the work of the work of Kuhn, Feyerabend and Popper and connect that to your view on science.
– Reflect on what you think your future career path might look like and what role you can play in science and therefore in society
RUBRIC
Essay Structure (15%)
• Clear lay-out: proper use of sub-chapters, consistent spacing and paragraphing
• Clear, coherent story that has a logical build-up and a thesis topic that is the main topic throughout the essay
• Clearly stated conclusion based on the writer’s overall reflections
Essay Content (60%)
• Show an understanding of the history of science, demarcation and the scientific method
• Reference the work of Kuhn, Popper and Feyerabend
• Reflect on the role of science in society: responsible research, role of ethics, social position of science
• Reflect on at least 3 personal issues related to science: examples can include your struggle to determine what field in science you want to study, equality and inequality in science, potential future career paths, problems that you envision to encounter when doing research (examples from media about unethical behaviour in science for example)…
Essay Creativity (15%)
• Was the essay engaging? Was it creative?
• It the essay clearly written and appropriate for the target audience? Is it too simple, too cliché or maybe too chaotic or too difficult to grasp?
Formatting and citations (10%)
• Within the word count
• Grammar and spelling errors
• At least 5 references apart from the three mandatory books, cited and referenced in a systematic manner (stick to 1 citation and reference style)
