| CODE | MSS3007 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Science and the Quest for Truth | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Mathematics and Science Education | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study-unit introduces students to truth and its genres (myth, philosophy and science; theology; and their relationships). It then delves into explanatory models (as identity versus change and the philosophical and scientific understanding of causality; paradigm shifts in the scientific understanding of the world and the ‘Old’ Model; philosophy, God and contemporary science, and the ‘New’ Model; religion and science, in terms of faith and reason; and the ‘new’ biology and its impact on our understanding of the world) and applications (as big bang cosmology and its implications for belief in a creator; evolutionary theory and its implications for religious belief; scientific mind-sets and ethical considerations; bioethics; and the impact of scientific and ethical models on healthcare practices). Study-Unit Aims: The aims of this study-unit are: - to introduce students to truth and its various genres; - to distinguish between myth, philosophy and science in the quest of answering the big questions; - to expose theology and its truth and the relationship between reason and faith; - to discuss the meaning of life and the answers given by religions; - to expose explanatory models; and - to present and discuss applications and their implications. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - recognise the meaning of truth and its genres; - distinguish between myth, philosophy and science, and discuss the answers to the 'big' questions; - discuss theology and its truth in terms of revelation, the texts and the community, the relationship between reason and faith, the meaning of life and the answers given by religions universally; - describe the phenomenon of identity versus change and its effect on the way of seeing the world; - recognise the important paradigm shifts in the scientific understanding of the world; - discuss whether religion is opposed to science; - explore the ‘new’ biology and its impact on our understanding of the world; and - outline and discuss a number of applications and relative implications. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - recognise and discuss truth and its genres, and relate them to their contexts; and - apply and fit the underlying 'philosophical' principles and concepts to explanatory models and real-life, actual applications. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: Polkinghorne, J., Science and Religion in Quest of Truth, Yale University Press, 2012. McGrath, A., Science and Religion: A New Introduction, Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Midgley, M., Science and Poetry, Routledge, 2000. John Paul II, Fides et Ratio. Supplementary Readings: Plantinga, A., Where the Conflict really lies: Science, Religion and Naturalism, Oxford University Press, 2011. Collins, F., The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, Free Press, 2006. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Christopher Caruana Martin M. Musumeci |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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