Philosophy resources for scientists Logic and inference. Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, offers an introductory online course in logic and critical thinking that covers the basics of argumentation, including induction and deduction. These concepts are useful in evaluating other people’s reasoning, and in building your own sound arguments. For more in-depth material on formal logic and its semantics, try this free textbook: An Introduction to Formal Logic, by P. D. Magnus (Fecundity, 2012); or Introduction to Logic, a free online course designed to accompany a book of the same name by Paul Herrick (Oxford Univ. Press, 2012).

Philosophy of science. Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science, by Peter Godfrey-Smith (Univ. Chicago Press, 2003), provides an introduction to the subject aimed at general readers. It covers key thinkers in the area, including Thomas Kuhn, who wrote The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, and Karl Popper, who wrote The Logic of Scientific Discovery. Other titles in the field include The Fate of Knowledge by Helen Longino (Princeton Univ. Press, 2001), and Exceeding Our Grasp: Science, History, and the Problem of Unconceived Alternatives by Kyle Stanford (Oxford Univ. Press, 2006).

Ethics. For a general introduction to the field of ethics, read Plato’s The Republic or Aristotle’s Ethics, or try The Metaphysics of Morals by Immanuel Kant or Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill. These provide a historical perspective and broad frameworks of ethics and morality. Applied Ethics by Peter Singer (Oxford Univ. Press, 1986) aims to ground theory in a wide range of practical situations. Although it starts out intuitively, ethics quickly becomes complex; the best option is to seek out specialized material (for example, I am taking a workshop on ethical considerations in biomedical ‘big data’).

General notes. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a great and reliable online resource for exploring philosophical terms and concepts, and has entries on the philosophy of particular scientific subfields, such as the philosophy of cell biology. My background, and therefore my suggestions, are mainly rooted in the Western tradition, but I aim to continue diversifying my education.

fonte: nature