Science: Good, Bad, and Bogus

Philosophy 110 (1st semester, 2010)

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A government conspiracy?

Why were America’s air defenses stood down on the morning of 9/11? How can we buy the “official” story, when it’s clear that a military jet flew into the South Tower? Jet fuel burns at 1200ºC — no jet-fuel fire could have buckled the steel frames of the Twin Towers, since the melting point of steel is 1500ºC. Did a secret controlled explosion bring down the Towers? Was United Flight 93 shot down by an Air Force fighter?

A new Philosophy course at the University of Canterbury looks at the scientific and philosophical background of conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, and paranormal belief and shows how they contrast with legitimate science. The 9/11 conspiracy theories are just one of the topics of this course. Are flying saucers real? Can we talk to the dead? Does alternative medicine work? Did the face of Jesus ever actually appear in a toasted cheese sandwich?

This course assumes no background whatsoever — it is a course for absolute beginners.

PHIL 110, Science: Good, Bad, and Bogus reviews the fascinating history of science from Galileo through Darwinian biology. It explains logical fallacies of everyday thinking and shows how science can give us the kind of knowledge that builds computers, makes space flight possible, and cures deadly diseases. This course is especially recommended for students in the sciences and engineering.

PHIL 110: Science: Good, Bad, and Bogus is taught in Semester One, 2010, on Wednesday afternoons, 3.10 P.M. to 4.50 P.M. Lecturer is Denis Dutton of the Department of Philosophy. Prof. Dutton is a founder and past president of the New Zealand Skeptics and a recipient of the Royal Society of New Zealand Medal for Services to Science and Technology. He is editor of the scholarly journal Philosophy and Literature and the website Arts & Letters Daily, as well as coeditor of the website Climate Debate Daily.

The text for the course is How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age, by Schick and Vaughn. It is now in the bookstore.