Information Package / Course Catalogue
| Business Administration | |||||
| Bachelor | Length of the Programme: 4 | Number of Credits: 240 | TR-NQF-HE: Level 6 | QF-EHEA: First Cycle | EQF: Level 6 |
Ders Genel Tanıtım Bilgileri
| School/Faculty/Institute | Faculty of Econ., Admin. and Social Sciences | ||||
| Course Code | POLS 444 | ||||
| Course Title in English | Philosophy of Social Sciences | ||||
| Course Title in Turkish | Philosophy of Social Sciences | ||||
| Language of Instruction | EN | ||||
| Type of Course | Flipped Classroom | ||||
| Level of Course | Select | ||||
| Semester | Spring | ||||
| Contact Hours per Week |
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| Estimated Student Workload | 120 hours per semester | ||||
| Number of Credits | 5 ECTS | ||||
| Grading Mode | Standard Letter Grade | ||||
| Pre-requisites | None | ||||
| Expected Prior Knowledge | None | ||||
| Co-requisites | None | ||||
| Registration Restrictions | Only Undergraduate Students | ||||
| Overall Educational Objective | To familiarize students with the basic philosophical problems and themes pertinent to social sciences | ||||
| Course Description | This course aims at questioning the nature of scientific reasoning; exploring the differences between natural and social science and looking into the specific problems of the social sciences. For the first couple of weeks, we will have a general introduction to the philosophy of science and scientific reasoning. After that, we will briefly look into the ideas of some of the most prominent theorists of science such as Karl Popper, Thomas Kuhn, Imre Lakatos and Paul Feyerabend. For the rest of the term, we will probe into the philosophy of social science via reading texts from eminent figures such as Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, Carl Hempel, Charles Taylor, Donald Davidson, William Dray, Harold Kincaid, Alan Nelson and others. | ||||
| Course Description in Turkish | Bu ders bilimsel akıl yürütmenin doğasını, doğa bilimleri ile sosyal bilimler arasındaki farkları ve sosyal bilimlerin Batı’da ortaya çıkışını inceler. İlk haftalarda bilimsel düşünce ve bilim felsefesine genel bir giriş yapılacaktır. Ardından Karl Popper, Thomas Kuhn, Imre Lakatos ve Paul Feyerabend gibi önde gelen bilim felsefecileri tanıtılacaktır. Dönemin geri kalanı boyunca Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, Carl Hempel, Charles Taylor, Donald Davidson, William Dray, Harold Kincaid ve Alan Nelson gibi önde gelen teorisyenlerin metinleri eşliğinde sosyal bilim felsefesi ve sosyal bilimlerin kendine has sorunları irdelenecektir. |
Course Learning Outcomes and CompetencesUpon successful completion of the course, the learner is expected to be able to:1) Identify basic criteria of scientific reasoning 2) Distinguish between natural science and social science in terms of methods, approaches and values 3) Outline distinct positions of leading philosophers of science 4) Analyze basic philosophical problems and themes of social science |
| Program Learning Outcomes/Course Learning Outcomes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1) Has a broad foundation and intellectual awareness with exposure to mathematics, history, economics, and social sciences | ||||
| 2) Demonstrates knowledge and skills in different functional areas of business (accounting, finance, operations, marketing, strategy, and organization) and an understanding of their interactions within various industry sectors | ||||
| 3) Applies theoretical knowledge as well as creative, analytical, and critical thinking to manage complex technical or professional activities or projects | ||||
| 4) Exhibits an understanding of global, environmental, economic, legal, and regulatory contexts for business sustainability | ||||
| 5) Demonstrates individual and professional ethical behavior and social responsibility | ||||
| 6) Demonstrates responsiveness to ethnic, cultural, and gender diversity values and issues | ||||
| 7) Uses written and spoken English effectively (at least CEFR B2 level) to communicate information, ideas, problems, and solutions | ||||
| 8) Demonstrates skills in data and information acquisition, analysis, interpretation, and reporting | ||||
| 9) Displays computer proficiency to support problem solving and decision-making | ||||
| 10) Demonstrates teamwork, leadership, and entrepreneurial skills | ||||
| 11) Displays learning skills necessary for further study with a high degree of autonomy |
Relation to Program Outcomes and Competences
| N None | S Supportive | H Highly Related |
| Program Outcomes and Competences | Level | Assessed by | |
| 1) | Has a broad foundation and intellectual awareness with exposure to mathematics, history, economics, and social sciences | N | |
| 2) | Demonstrates knowledge and skills in different functional areas of business (accounting, finance, operations, marketing, strategy, and organization) and an understanding of their interactions within various industry sectors | N | |
| 3) | Applies theoretical knowledge as well as creative, analytical, and critical thinking to manage complex technical or professional activities or projects | N | |
| 4) | Exhibits an understanding of global, environmental, economic, legal, and regulatory contexts for business sustainability | N | |
| 5) | Demonstrates individual and professional ethical behavior and social responsibility | N | |
| 6) | Demonstrates responsiveness to ethnic, cultural, and gender diversity values and issues | N | |
| 7) | Uses written and spoken English effectively (at least CEFR B2 level) to communicate information, ideas, problems, and solutions | N | |
| 8) | Demonstrates skills in data and information acquisition, analysis, interpretation, and reporting | N | |
| 9) | Displays computer proficiency to support problem solving and decision-making | N | |
| 10) | Demonstrates teamwork, leadership, and entrepreneurial skills | N | |
| 11) | Displays learning skills necessary for further study with a high degree of autonomy | N |
| Prepared by and Date | BAŞAK KEKİ , January 2024 |
| Course Coordinator | CANSU GÜLEÇ |
| Semester | Spring |
| Name of Instructor | Öğr. Gör. BAŞAK KEKİ |
Course Contents
| Week | Subject |
| 1) | Introduction to the course |
| 2) | Science and scientific reasoning |
| 3) | Popper’s theory of science |
| 4) | Scientific revolutions: Kuhn and scientific paradigms |
| 5) | Science and its critics: Lakatos, Lauden and Feyerabend |
| 6) | Introduction to social science |
| 7) | Are there laws governing human action? |
| 8) | Social science and rationality |
| 9) | The methodology of social science: naturalism versus interpretation |
| 10) | The individual versus the collective |
| 11) | Facts and values in the human sciences |
| 12) | Objectivity and bias in social science |
| 13) | Critical Social Science |
| 14) | Debate: Moral Obligations of High Income Nations towards Low Income Nations |
| 15) | Examination Period |
| 16) | Examination Period |
| Required/Recommended Readings | The coursepack will include excerpts from the following: Delanty, Gerard & Piet Styrdom. Philosophies of Social Science: The Classic and Contemporary Readings, (Philadelphia: Open University Press, 2003). Feyerabend, Paul. Against Method: Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge, (New York: Verso, 2010). Godfrey-Smith, Peter. Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003). Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012). Lakatos, Imre. “Science and Pseudoscience”, http://www.inf.fu-berlin.de/lehre/pmo/eng/Lakatos-Science.pdf Martin, Michael & Lee C. McIntyre. Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science, (Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1996). Okasha, Samir. Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002). Popper, Karl R. Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge, (New York: Routledge, 2002). Rosenberg, Alexander. Philosophy of Social Science, (Colorado: Westview Press, 2016). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Teaching Methods | Flipped Learning technology – Perusall (texts will be uploaded pre-class with questions) -, in-class discussions, presentations, response papers | ||||||||||||||||||
| Homework and Projects | Perusall questions, three response papers, presentations | ||||||||||||||||||
| Laboratory Work | None | ||||||||||||||||||
| Computer Use | None | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other Activities | None | ||||||||||||||||||
| Assessment Methods |
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| Course Administration |
Email: kekib@mef.edu.tr Attendance and active participation are required. There would be no late presentations and papers unless medical report provided. MEF university values academic integrity. Therefore all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the code of student conduct and disciplinary procedures. Any improper behavior, academic dishonesty or plagiarism is subject to the YÖK Disciplinary Regulation. |
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ECTS Student Workload Estimation
| Activity | No/Weeks | Hours | Calculation | ||||
| No/Weeks per Semester | Preparing for the Activity | Spent in the Activity Itself | Completing the Activity Requirements | ||||
| Course Hours | 14 | 3 | 3 | 84 | |||
| Presentations / Seminar | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |||
| Homework Assignments | 14 | 1 | 1 | 28 | |||
| Paper Submission | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||
| Total Workload | 120 | ||||||
| Total Workload/25 | 4.8 | ||||||
| ECTS | 5 | ||||||