The course is part of HF's PhD-week
Course description
Students will learn about how fundamental ideas from philosophy of science apply to – and are well illustrated by – linguistics. Discussions and disagreements between linguists will often relate to different philosophies of science. Nicholas Allott will focus particularly on the application of philosophy of science to linguistic theories and research programmes such as generative grammar, covering topics such as confirmation holism (Duhem), questions about rationality and progress in science and the units of science (Popper; Kuhn; Lakatos; Laudan) and abstraction and the relation of theories to data (Bogen & Woodward; Fodor). Camilo Ronderos will address the conceptual basis of statistical inference, which has direct bearing on the practice of using empirical linguistic data to draw theoretical generalizations and test competing hypotheses. We will motivate the reasoning behind different schools of thought in statistical thinking, as well as discuss confusions and misuse of orthodox statistics, and what the alternatives might be.
Credits: 1 ECTS
Course preparation
Course participants will read the mandatory readings and select roughly 100 pages of their own choice from the lists of suggested readings. Participants will also write a brief (1 page) response-paper where they critically engage with a proposition in one or several of these texts.
Assignments
Course participants will write a 2-page essay relating themes from the workshop to their own field or research project. In class your reflections will be the starting points for our discussions—in groups and plenary. Expect an interactive and problem-driven day filled with intellectual engagement with core issues, starting with discussing issues arising from your response-papers, to move on to your reflections centering on your own field or research project.
Mandatory readings
Course participants will read the mandatory readings.
Participants will write a brief (1 page) response-paper where they critically engage with a proposition in one or several of these texts.
Mandatory literature
Readings for Dr. Allott’s lesson
Allott, N. & Lohndal, T. (forthcoming). Minimalism: Emergence and theoretical foundations. In K. Grohmann & E. Leivada (Eds.), Cambridge Handbook of Minimalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Sections 1 & 2. Ca. 5 pages.
Allott, N., Lohndal, T., & Rey, G. (2021). Chomsky’s “Galilean” explanatory style. In N. Allott, T. Lohndal, & G. Rey (Eds.), A Companion to Chomsky (pp. 517–528). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell. Ca 8 pages.
Readings for Dr Rodríguez Ronderos’ lesson
Dienes, Zoltan. 2008. Understanding Psychology as a Science: An Introduction to Scientific and Statistical Inference. New York: Red Globe Press – Palgrave Macmillan. Chapters 3–4.
Meehl, P. E. (1967). Theory-testing in psychology and physics: A methodological paradox. Philosophy of science, 34(2), 103–115.
Teaching: Two lessons of 2 hours each
Camilo Rodríguez Ronderos will address the conceptual basis of statistical inference, which has direct bearing on the practice of using empirical linguistic data to draw theoretical generalizations, making robust causal inferences, and test competing hypotheses.
Language
The course language is English.
Course convenors
Dr Camilo Rodríguez Ronderos, IFIKK/ILN
Senior lecturer Nicholas Allott, ILOS
Registration
Registration opens 1 October.
Candidates admitted to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Humanities at UiO are given priority.