Hans Halvorson Physics, Logic, Philosophy

PHI 363/REL 393: Religion and Scientific Objectivity

The official, and up to date, version of this syllabus is locked in the bowels of the Canvas LMS.

Monday/Wednesday 1:30-2:50, McCosh Hall 60

Hans Halvorson, (220 1879 Hall, Office Hours TBA)

Z Quanbeck (3-N-21 Green Hall, Office Hours TBA)

Course description

This course investigates the concept of “objectivity” with special reference to its relationship to science and religion. We will examine the revolt against objectivity by 19th-century religious thinkers such as Kierkegaard, and the impact this revolt might have had on the development of the sciences—in particular, on the major revolutions in physical science in the 20th century (e.g., Einstein's relativity, and quantum physics). We will also consider the scope of objectivity in the social sciences, as well as the relationship between objectivity and values in accepting scientific theories, making religious commitments, and forming beliefs in other domains. 

Learning objectives

  1. Gain a nuanced understanding of various historical and contemporary conceptions of objectivity.

  2. Develop one’s own considered views about objectivity in science, religion, and other domains.

  3. Carefully reflect on one’s own scientific, ethical, and/or religious beliefs and practices in light of philosophical concepts discussed in the course.

  4. Improve one’s skills in understanding dense, argumentative texts.

  5. Improve one’s analytical writing skills.

  6. Improve one’s discussion/verbal communication skills.

Assessments and grading

  • Short Written Assignments (20%)

    • Throughout the semester, students will submit various short written assignments (e.g., reconstructions or critical evaluations of the arguments from course readings). Many of these written assignments will be completed in class. Regularly attending class and completing assigned readings before class is necessary to do well on these assignments.

  • Participation (25%)

    • See the more detailed description of the guidelines and expectations for participation below.

  • Two oral exams (30% total; 15% each)

    • Students will complete two oral exams which will essentially consist in an extended one-on-one philosophical conversation with a course instructor. The first oral exams will be scheduled during the week of 9/30. The second oral exams will be scheduled during the week of 11/4.

  • Final exam (25%)

    • The final written exam will take place during the official final exam period on December 14th at 8:30 AM.

*Note that there are no opportunities to earn extra credit for this course.

Participation guidelines and expectations

This is a primarily discussion-based class. During class time, we will focus on:

  1. Understanding the philosophical arguments offered in the readings, and

  2. Asking as a group whether these philosophical arguments are persuasive.

In general, we will not be lecturing extensively beyond briefly introducing and contextualizing the readings.

Accordingly, each of you is expected to participate actively and constructively in discussions. This involves both speaking and listening. Listening attentively to those with views different from your own is essential to being able to tell whether your initial view of the topic being discussed is in fact the best one. Speaking constructively in class likewise involves thoughtfully addressing discussion questions or responding to your classmates’ comments and views in a way that clarifies or advances the class discussion. While disagreement and vigorous debate are encouraged, it is important to approach class discussion with a spirit of respect, interpretive charity, and humility. Dominating or monopolizing a conversation in a way that prevents others from joining the conversation should be avoided.

You will lower your grade by having unsatisfactory attendance or by being disruptive or disrespectful in class. You can raise your attendance and participation grade by participating regularly in class discussion, making particularly insightful or helpful contributions to class discussions, coming to office hours to discuss the course content, or completing discussion reconstruction assignments to demonstrate engagement with class discussion.

Discussion reconstructions may be submitted via Canvas up to once per class and are due by midnight the day the discussion took place. This assignment requires you to reconstruct part of a full-class or small-group discussion in 1-2 paragraphs (roughly 200-300 words). The discussion must include at least two interlocutors (which can include yourself or the instructor, but at least two people cannot be you). You should 1) describe the philosophical content of each comment, and 2) explain its contribution to the class discussion. When explaining 2), please identify which of the “20+1 ways to contribute to a philosophical conversation” each comment made. (If you think it made multiple types of contributions, you may list more than one way.) You may (but are not required to) briefly add your own commentary about the discussion. 

Reading materials and course website

All readings will be available online or via our course Canvas site. See the reading and exam schedule for more details.

Grading scheme

Grades will be assigned according to the standards described here. Percentage grades will be converted to letter grades as follows:

A+ 100% to 97%

A < 97% to 94%

A- < 94% to 90%

B+ < 90% to 87%

B < 87% to 84%

B- < 84% to 80%

C+ < 80% to 77%

C < 77% to 74%

C- < 74% to 70%

D < 70% to 60%

F < 60% to 0%

Course policies

Re-grading: We are always willing to meet to elaborate further on comments you receive on assignments. However, grades on assignments will not be changed. While there is no system to ensure perfect fairness and accuracy in grading, selective “re-grading” at students’ request generally makes things worse. “Second grades” are likely to be less accurate and less fair than “first grades.” This is because, among other things, we will not have fresh on our minds other students’ papers for purposes of comparison. Moreover, the student will inevitably supply additional input (clarifications, explanations, etc.) that the original paper did not, and this changes our grounds of assessment in a way which is unfair to students who do not supply such additional input. The only exception is suspected arithmetical or recording errors.

Office Hours: Our scheduled office hours are “drop in,” which means you can attend without giving any prior notice, and anyone is welcome to enter and leave as they like. You are warmly encouraged to attend whenever you like, and/or to coordinate with classmates to attend together. Office hours provide a terrific opportunity to further discuss course material (or related philosophical ideas) and understand it better.

Technology: Research shows that the use of laptops, tablets, and phones in the classroom provide distractions that inhibit learning. For this reason, we discourage using laptops, tablets, or phones during class and ask that you print out readings before class. If you feel strongly that using your laptop or tablet to take notes during class will facilitate your learning, however, we ask that you only use it to take notes and take care not to distract your classmates.

Academic Integrity and AI: Intellectual honesty is vital to an academic community and for our fair evaluation of your work. All work submitted in this course must be your own – so the ideas must not derive from or be written by generative AI – and completed in accordance with the University’s academic regulations. Please be aware that we will refer any suspected infractions of the honor code or the University’s academic regulations to the Honor Committee or the Faculty-Student Committee on Discipline. If you are found to have plagiarized or copied the work of another scholar or student on any portion of an assignment or exam, you will receive an automatic “0,” which may result in a failing grade for the course.

That said, we recognize that generative AI can be a useful tool for improving your thinking and writing, so we would encourage you to use generative AI responsibly to provide feedback on your work. Please ask us if you have questions about the appropriate use of generative AI in this course.

Diversity and Inclusion: We strive to create a respectful and welcoming environment for all students and expect the same from both the instructional team and members of the course. Our course and dialogue are enhanced by the diversity of perspectives, backgrounds, and lived experiences among all who are a part of this course.

We will gladly honor your request to address you by a name that is different from what appears on the official roster and by the gender pronouns you use. You can let us know by email or in class.

Disability Services and Academic Accommodations: Students must register with the Office of Disability Services (ods@princeton.edu; 258-8840) for disability verification and determination of eligibility for reasonable academic accommodations. Requests for academic accommodations for this course should be made at the beginning of the semester, or as soon as possible for newly-approved students. We encourage students with approved accommodations to contact us at the beginning of the semester, and again before major course assessments. Please note that no accommodations for a disability will be made without authorization from ODS, or without advance notice.

University resources

Academic Support Resources: Princeton offers extensive academic support to undergraduates. We encourage you to take advantage of the following resources:

  • The Writing Center - The Writing Center offers student writers free one-on-one conferences with experienced fellow writers trained to consult on assignments in any discipline. 

  • The McGraw Center - The McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning offers one-on-one learning consultations that can be particularly useful for developing active reading strategies, project management skills, and note-taking tactics. You can make an appointment for an individual consultation by visiting their website. The McGraw Center also supports group study hall and peer tutoring. 

  • Princeton Undergraduate Research Calendar - Princeton's Undergraduate Research Calendar (PURC) helps you navigate the many programming opportunities and resources available to support your research at Princeton. Use their one-stop website to learn about upcoming events and plan for important funding, internship, and fellowship deadlines. 

  • Princeton Correspondents on Undergraduate Research - Drawn from across class years and divisions, the Correspondents promote a culture of research and scholarship amongst undergraduates, support students through all stages of research and independent work, demystify the research process, and empower more students to get involved in research opportunities that enable them to make well-informed decisions about their course of study and career. The PCUR blog helps demystify the steps of the research process, highlights different kinds of research opportunities, and offers insight into what it’s like to do research and independent work in different disciplines. 

  • Reference Librarians - Reference librarians can help students make a research plan, find sources (electronic and print), and provide guidance through the research and citation process. 

Mental Health Resources: Princeton University offers a variety of resources to support your mental health and wellbeing.  If you or someone you know needs support or is looking to access specific services, consider reaching out to these university and student-led resources: 

  • Your residential college advising team is always a good first resource for advice and counsel. The assistant deans for student life (DSLs), whose offices are located in each residential college, serve as case managers in crisis situations. They are also available to talk with you about well-being concerns and can refer you to appropriate campus resources. 

  • If you are feeling distressed or need support, please contact Counseling & Psychological Services (CPS) at 609-258-3141 for immediate support or to schedule an appointment with a counselor. CPS is a confidential resource. 

  • The Sexual Harassment/Assault Advising, Resources and Education (SHARE) office is a survivor-centered, trauma-informed, confidential resource on campus. SHARE provides crisis response, support, counseling, advocacy, education, and referral services to students experiencing unhealthy relationships and abuse, including harassment, sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, and stalking. 

  • The Princeton Peer Nightline is a student-run anonymous peer listening service. It is not affiliated with CPS or the University administration. They offer anonymous chat/call peer support.

Reading and Exam Schedule

Note: readings are subject to change. All course readings are either linked below or posted on Canvas.

Unit One: Dimensions of Objectivity

Wed, 9/4: Introduction

  • Lowery, “A Reckoning Over Objectivity, Led by Black Journalists”

  • Bailey, “20+1 Ways to Contribute to a Philosophical Conversation” [link]  

Mon, 9/9: Understanding Philosophical Arguments; Values in Social Science

  • Concepción, “Reading as a Philosopher” [link]

  • Pryor, “Guidelines on Reading Philosophy” [link] 

  • Prinzing, “Positive Psychology is Value-laden—It’s Time to Embrace It”

Wed, 9/11: Values and Objectivity in Natural Science

  • Longino, “Values and Objectivity

Mon, 9/16: Bias and Objectivity

  • Kelly and McGrath, “Bias: Some Conceptual Geography”

Wed, 9/18: Knowledge, Social Position, and Objectivity

  • Dror, “Is There an Epistemic Advantage to Being Oppressed?”

Mon, 9/23: The Nature of Objectivity

  • Douglas, “The Irreducible Complexity of Objectivity”

Wed, 9/25: Hegel on Objectivity

  • Hegel, Lectures on the History of Philosophy, “The Final Result”

  • Perkins, “Perspectivity and Objectivity: A Critical Clue to Hegel's Epistemology”

  • Stern podcast on Hegelian Dialectic [link]

Unit Two: Objectivity in Ethical and Religious Commitments

*** Oral Exam #1 the week of 9/30 ***

Mon, 9/30: Introduction to Kierkegaard

  • Kierkegaard, “At a Graveside” (focus esp. on pp. 73-76)

  • Lippitt and Evans, “Kierkegaard,” §1-3 (focus esp. on §1) [link]

Wed, 10/2: Kierkegaard on Modality and Epistemology

  • Philosophical Fragments, “Interlude” (focus esp. on §4, pp. 79-86)

Mon, 10/7: Kierkegaard on Historical Reasoning and Religious Faith

  • Kierkegaard, Postscript, “The Historical Point of View” (pp. 21-49)

Wed, 10/9: Objective Reasoning and Religion Faith

  • Adams, “Kierkegaard’s Arguments against Objective Reasoning in Religion”

  • Adams, “The Leap of Faith”

FALL BREAK: no class 10/14 or 10/16

Mon, 10/21: Probabilistic Arguments for Theism

  • Swinburne, The Existence of God, chapter 1

Wed, 10/23: Faith and Rationality

  • Buchak, “Can it be Rational to Have Faith?”

Mon, 10/28: Kierkegaard on Ethical Values in Belief Formation

  • Kierkegaard, Works of Love, “Love Believes All Things—and Yet is Never Deceived”

Wed, 10/30: Ethical Values and Accepting Scientific Theories

  • Douglas, “Inductive Risk and Values in Science”

Unit Three: Objectivity and the God’s-Eye Point of View

*** Oral Exam #2 the week of 11/4 ***

Mon, 11/4: Kierkegaard on the Thinking Subject

  • Kierkegaard, Johannes Climacus, “What is it to Doubt?”

  • Kierkegaard, Postscript, “The Speculative Point of View”

Wed,11/6: Kierkegaard on Objectivity and the God’s-Eye Point of View

  • Kierkegaard, Postscript, “Possible and Actual Theses by Lessing,” Fourth Thesis (pp. 106-125)

Mon, 11/11: Kierkegaard on Objective Truth and Subjective Truth

  • Kierkegaard, Postscript, “Subjective Truth, Inwardness; Truth Is Subjectivity (pp. 188-204)

Wed, 11/13: Kierkegaard on Paradox and Religious Belief

  • Kierkegaard, Postscript, “Subjective Truth, Inwardness; Truth Is Subjectivity” (pp. 204-234)

Mon, 11/18: The Absolute Conception of Reality

  • Williams, Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy, “Knowledge, Science, and Convergence”

Wed, 11/20: Objectivity and Perspective

  • Nagel, The View from Nowhere (excerpts TBA)

Mon, 11/25: Niels Bohr on Objectivity

  • Reading TBA

THANKSGIVING BREAK: no class 11/27

Mon, 12/2: Objectivity in Physics

  • Halvorson, “Objective Description in Physics”

Wed, 12/4: Hegel, Kierkegaard, and Feminist Conceptions of Objectivity

  • James, “Hegel, Harding, and Objectivity”

  • Walsh, “Subjectivity versus Objectivity: Kierkegaard's Postscript and Feminist Epistemology”

*** Final Exam on Sat, 12/14 at 8:30 AM ***