In this course, students will engage with the concept of nature, as well as philosophical reflections on current scientific knowledge. They will be introduced to the understanding of the quantum world and its philosophical consequences. Additionally, questions from modern biology, relevant to philosophical thought, will be addressed.
UNIT 1: CONCEPT OF NATURE AND NATURAL MOVEMENT
Topic 1: The Concept of Nature
1.1 Principle and cause of nature
1.2 The physics of nature
1.3 The scientific image of nature
Topic 2: Natural Movement
2.1 Absolute and relative motion
2.2 Natural motion: inertia
2.3 Zeno's paradoxes
2.4 Alterations of motion
UNIT 2: PHILOSOPHY OF PHYSICAL NATURE
Topic 3: Philosophy of Microscopic Physical Nature
3.1 The physics of matter: the standard model
3.2 The fundamental interactions of nature
3.3 The Higgs boson
3.4 The physical activity of matter
3.5 The physics of energy: the concept of fundamental particles
Topic 4: Philosophy of the Quantum Nature of Matter
4.1 The double-slit experiment
4.2 Quantum coherence and state superposition
4.3 The uncertainty principle
4.4 Quantum state reduction
4.5 Non-local interactions and macroscopic quantum physics
Topic 5: Philosophy of Macroscopic Physical Nature
5.1 The origin of the universe
5.2 Evolution of the universe
5.3 The standard cosmological model
5.4 Cosmic microwave background radiation
5.5 Quantum theory and gravitation: beyond space-time
UNIT 3: PHILOSOPHY OF LIVING PHYSICAL NATURE
Topic 6: The Nature of the Living
6.1 The enigmatic origin of life
6.2 The thermodynamics of life
6.3 The Miller experiment
6.4 The human genome project
6.5 Synthetic biology
6.6 The minimal genome project
6.7 Is there a place for quantum theory in biology?
6.8 Philosophical dimensions of the scientific study of nature
Topic 7: The Nature of the Conscious
7.1 Algorithms and thought
7.2 Intelligent machines and human intelligence
7.3 Towards a scientific explanation of consciousness
7.4 The Penrose-Hameroff hypothesis
7.5 The mind-matter hypothesis
7.6 The problem of the emergence of consciousness
For the development of the course, the following strategies will be employed:
? Expository method: Presentation of theoretical content through in-person classes, slides, audiovisual materials, as well as documentation on the platform.
? Text and document analysis: Personal reading of materials that cover the main content of the course, with individual preparation and group discussion during sessions.
? Oral presentation method: Presentations by students followed by a reply period from both the professor and the rest of the students.
? Written presentation method: Responses from the student and submission of the questionnaires for the thematic units.
? Debates and exchanges in class: Guided by the course professor, these debates encourage participation in lectures and the critical, personal analysis of sources. The student must be able to test their knowledge intersubjectively through supervised debates, which help make the content of each unit more dynamic and its results more accessible, always striving to engage with the social and historical context surrounding the student.
Ordinary Exam: In order to be evaluated in the ordinary exam, all the activities subject to evaluation must be completed. The evaluable activities must be submitted on the dates indicated by the professor. If for any properly justified reason, and communicated to the professor, the activities could not be submitted within the designated period, they can be submitted before the date of the final exam, so that the professor can grade them. However, in this case, the professor is not obligated to provide feedback on these activities. On the other hand, the student has the right to take the final written exam, even if they have not submitted all the other evaluable activities, but the final grade for the course will only be calculated if all the activities have been submitted, in accordance with the evaluation criteria and weightings established in this syllabus. If any evaluable activity has not been submitted or completed, it will be marked as "Not presented" in the record for the exam.
Extraordinary Exam: The evaluation criteria are the same as those in the ordinary exam, meaning that all evaluation activities considered in the course must be completed. The grades for the activities already completed (including the final written exam) will be saved, pending the completion of the outstanding activities. The same weighting criteria used in the ordinary exam will apply in this evaluation. This measure will only apply to the current academic year, meaning that if the extraordinary exam is not passed, re-enrollment will require repeating the entire course.
Partial and Final Synthesis Tests: 30%.
Individual Presentations and Class Participation: 10%.
Reflective Papers: 60%.
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(1999) DYSON, F. J., Los orígenes de la vida. Cambridge. University Press
(2015) FERNÁNDEZ, J., Los secretos de la vida. Breve historia de la biología. Cambridge. University Press
(2011) GILMORE, R., Alicia en el país de los cuantos. Una alegoría de la física cuántica. Alianza. Madrid
(2001) ´t HOOF, G, Partículas elementales. En busca de los elementos más pequeños del universo. Crítica. Barcelona
(2007) HUANG, K., Fundamental Forces of Nature. The Story of Gauge Fields. World Scientific. New Jersey
(2010) LUISI, P. L., La vida emergente. De los orígenes químicos a la biología sintética. Cambridge. University Press
(1998) MONSERRAT, J., La percepción visual. La arquitectura del psiquismo desde el
enfoque de la percepción visual, Madrid, Biblioteca Nueva.
(2013) MONSERRAT, J., El gran enigma. Ateos y creyentes antes el enigma del más allá. San Pablo. Madrid
(1972) PANIKKAR, R., El concepto de naturaleza. Análisis histórico y metafísico de un concepto. CSIC. Instituto de Filosofía Luis Vives. Madrid
(1989) PENROSE, R., La nueva mente del emperador, Madrid, Mondadori.
(1994) PENROSE, R., Las sombras de la mente. Hacia una comprensión científica de la conciencia, Barcelona, Crítica.
(1984) RABI, S. A, Particle Physics and the Standard Model. Los Alamos Science
(2013) RUTHERFORD, A, Creation. The future of life. London. Viking
(2017) RYDEN, B, Introduction to cosmology. Cambridge. University Press
(2008) SCHNEIDER, E. D., La termodinámica de la vida. Barcelona. Tusquets
(2016) WEINBERG, S., Los tres primeros minutos. Alianza. Madrid
(2001) YNDURÁIN, F. J., Electrones, neutrinos y quarks. Crítica. Barcelona