Universität Wien

300182 SE Selected topics in the philosophy of biology (2014S)

2.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 30 - Biologie
Continuous assessment of course work

Vorbesprechung am 03.03.2014 um 17.15 Uhr im Seminarraum des Department für Theoretische Biologie, UZA 1, Biozentrum Althanstraße 14, 1090 Wien, 2. Ebene, 4. Spange
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. 20 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes

Currently no class schedule is known.

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Big data biology (bioinformatics, computational biology, and systems biology, including 'omics') and synthetic biology (the attempt to 'rationally' design and construct biological functions and systems not present in nature) raise a number of interesting issues for the philosophy of biology. This seminar deals with several such, for instance: Is data-intensive biology a new kind of science, presumably 'post-reductionist'? To what extent is big data biology data-driven? Can (big) data 'speak for themselves', making biological theory superfluous? Are 'big data' turning biological science into engineering, and if so, is this good or bad? Will synthetic biology be able to transgress the limits of evolution imposed by natural selection?

Assessment and permitted materials

Participation in group discussions; Powerpoint presentation on one of the topics at the end of the seminar.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

We will approach these issues by way of discussing microbiologist Carl Woese's worry that 'a society that allows [biology] to slip into the role of changing the living world without trying to understand it, is a danger to itself'. This discussion will include the sociological and historical dimensions of scientific change.

Examination topics

Introduction to the themes by the instructor; individual readings; group discussions.

Reading list

Association in the course directory

B-WZB

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:43