Universität Wien

040049 SE Philosophy and Economics (MA) (2024W)

Social Sciences and the Philosophy of the Vienna Circle: Selected Readings

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 4 - Wirtschaftswissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

ATTENTION: Please note tha the first meeting of the seminar will take place in HS 16, OMP 1.
Meetings are in person. Individual meetings may be moved online.

  • Friday 04.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Friday 11.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Friday 18.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Friday 25.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Friday 08.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Friday 15.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Friday 22.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Friday 29.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Friday 06.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Friday 13.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Friday 10.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Friday 17.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Friday 24.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Friday 31.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum 5 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Content
The Vienna Circle and more generally logical empiricism is particularly renowned for contributions to general philosophy of science, philosophy of formal scinces, and philosophy of physics. Yet, some members of the Vienna Circle including Felix Kaufmann, Karl Menger, Otto Neurath, and Edgar Zilsel also contributed to the social sciences (including economics) and their philosophy. The seminar critically discusses (1) a selection of social scientific writings of (predominantly) logical empiricist authors and their historical context as well as (2) whether logical empiricist positions in the general philosophy of science are applicable to the social sciences.

Aims
By discussing logical empiricist positions regarding philosophy of social science, methodology of social science and social science, diligent students will learn to make sense of the theoretical problems and their historical background as well as to evaluate the achievements and main criticisms proposed in different debates.

Method:
Teaching consists in one unbroken 90-minute seminar, in which usually one or two texts are critically discussed. The language of discussion is English, though German may be welcome as well, depending on the participants and the texts discussed. Participation for students who do not read German is possible. Students are required to prepare for every meeting on the basis of obligatory readings.

Assessment and permitted materials

Efforts of students are evaluated on the basis of critical contributions to discussions (35%), talks (‘kick-off presentations’) (5%), seminar papers (30%), and written answers to short assignments (30%). Written answers to questions, talks and seminar papers are evaluated according to the clarity, precision, logical structure and completeness regarding the problems and arguments discussed. Weekly assignments and seminar papers can be in English as well as in German.

The exact weights of these activities for the composition of the final grade depend on the number of participants and will be announced during the first class meeting.

By registering for this course, you tacitly agree to having all your electronic submissions checked by Turnitin. The lecturers reserve the option to assign written or oral additional tasks, especially in cases where there is doubt whether performances were achieved independently.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

In order to conclude this seminar successfully, students have to provide at least one ~5 min kick-off presentation and hand in a seminar paper of about 4000 words; they also have to hand in answers to questions assigned on a weekly basis (usually ~200-300 words) and contribute in a lively manner to discussions. Written answers, talks and seminar papers are evaluated according to the clarity, precision, logical structure, and completeness regarding the problems and arguments discussed. Weekly assignments and seminar papers can be in English as well as in German.

Examination topics

Problems discussed in the seminar.

Reading list

to be announced and will be provided via Moodle.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 11.11.2024 07:05