PHIL 3130
Philosophy of Science
Pivotal concepts common to empirical sciences are examined and clarified. These include: explanation, confirmation, prediction, systematization, empirical significance, and the relationship of all these concepts to the structure of scientific theory. Examples may be drawn from both contemporary and historical science, including the social, biological, and physical sciences. Students with a background in science are particularly encouraged to consider this course. Priority given to majors in Philosophy & PNP.
Instructors
Reviews
Awesome professor, awesome guy. Lectures are amazing and insightful, if a tad unorganized. Raise your hand, talk to the guy, know the readings coming in and it will be a great and pretty easy class. I will say very frequent pop quizzes about very specific parts of the reading (ie summaries dont work) but the readings are usually great.
5/2/2026
Amazing professor, one of the best I've ever had. His passion and curiosity is contagious and his lectures were the highlight of my week
12/5/2024
Dr. Craver is passionate about discussing with students. He understands you and will point you to the materials for further inquiry. Moreover, Dr. Craver gives very detailed remarks on papers, from concept structures to phrasing and clarity. Writing makes thoughts organized. The skills I learned from this course are beneficial in the long term.
5/20/2022
Great Professor! You could tell he was really passionate about the class content. The course material wasn't the easiest to grasp, but he did a good job of hitting the key points. Encouraged discussions and was easy to reach outside of class. He was also flexible and responsive to feedback from the class.
5/19/2022
Craver's Philosophy of Science class is a really worthwhile experience if you're interested in philosophy or science. It's not explicitly stated, but you should probably take some sort of philosophy or logic class as a background. There's also a fair amount of reading outside of the textbooks.
6/24/2010
I also was in Philosophy of Science class. Yeah, the amount of work's not too bad, but he's not the easiest grader either. His lectures are very fast-paced but he often goes off on tangents that are so confusing. He also wasn't very accommodating and wasn't so nice outside of class. Definitely a helpful class and I learned a lot though too bad.
5/9/2010
Carl Craver is hands down the most engaging lecturer I've ever had! I don't know about his PNP 201 class, but his Philosophy of Science class was one of the highlights of my academic career. Two in-class essay exams and two out of class papers. If you have any interest in science or just want to be a better thinker, TAKE THIS CLASS!
4/2/2010