Philosophy of science

The course description is available on our student websites (student.oslomet.no).

Admission requirement: A master’s degree (120 ECTS) or equivalent.

This course is primarily for students enrolled in a PhD program. Pending availability, applicants with a master’s degree or equivalent will be considered for admission.

Spring 2026

To receive an automatic e-mail notification when admission opens, please subscribe to our PhD-course interest list (lists.oslomet.no). 

Course dates:

• May 8-9.
• May: 22-23.
• June: 5-6.

All classes are held from 10:00 until 15:00 and attendance in person is mandatory.

Total number of pages: 706.

• Barnes, B. (1984). “On the Conventional Component in Knowledge and Cognition”, i N. Stehr & V. Meja (red):  Society and Knowledge, New York: Transaction Books, s. 185-208 (23 sider).
• Broom J. (1999). “Utility”.  Ethics out of Economics. Cambridge University Press, s. 19-28 (9 sider).
• Cartwright, N. (2009). “What is This Thing Called “Efficacy”?” I C. Mantzavinos, Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Cambridge University Press, s. 185-206 (s. 21).
• Coleman, J. (1987). “Microfoundations and Macrosocial Behavior”, Alexander, J.C. et al.:  The Micro-Macro Link. Berkeley and Los Angeles: The University of California Press, s. 153-173 (20 sider).
• Davidson, D. (1980). “Action, Reasons and Causes”, I Essays on Actions and Events, Oxford University press, s. 3-19 (16 sider).
• Douglas, H. (2011). “Facts, Values and Objectivity”. I I.C Jarvie & J. Zamora-Bonilla (red.)  The Sage Handbook of The Philosophy of Social Sciences, s. 513-529 (s. 16).
• Elster. J (1983). “Functional Explanation”, I “Explaining Technical Change”, Cambridge University Press, s. 403-414 (11 sider).
• Elster, J. (1983). “Rationality”.  Sour Grapes. Studies in the Subversion of Rationality. Cambridge University Press, s. 1-42 (s. 41).
• Fabienne P. & Spiekerman, K. (2011) “Rules, Norms, Commitments”. I I.C Jarvie & J. Zamora-Bonilla (red.) The Sage Handbook of The Philosophy of Social Sciences, s. 217- 239 (s. 22).
• Føllesdal, D. (1979). “Hermeneutics and the Hypothetico-Deductive Method”, Dialectica, vol. 33, s. 319-336 (17 sider).
• Føllesdal, D. (1982). “The Status of Rationality Assumptions in Interpretation and the Explanation of Action”, Dissalectica , vol. 33, s. 301-316 (15 sider).
• Hacking, I. (1999). “Why ask what?”  The Social Construction of What?  Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, s. 1-34 (31 sider).
• Haslanger, S. (2012). “Social Construction: Myth and Reality”.  Resisting Reality. Social Construction and Social Critique. New York: Oxford University Press, s. 183-218 (s. 35).
• Hedström, P. og Ylikoski, P. (2010). “Causal Mechanisms in the Social Sciences”.  The Annual Review of Sociology , s. 49-67 (s. 18).
• Hempel, C. (1994). “The Function of General Laws in History”. I M. Martin og L.C. McIntyre (red.), Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, s. 43-54 (11 sider).
• Horowitz, A. (2012). Social Constructions of Mental Illness. I H. Kincaid (red.), The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Social Science, Oxford University Press, s. 559-578 (s. 19).
• Kincaid, H. (1986): “Reduction, Explanation and Individualism”, Philosophy of Science, vol. 53, s. 492-513 (s. 21).
• Kincaid. H. (1994). “Assessing Functional Explanations in the Social Sciences”. I M. Martin og L.C. McIntyre (red.), Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, s. 415-428 (s. 13).
• Kuhn, T. (1996). “Vitenskapelige revolusjoners vesen og nødvendighet».  Vitenskapelige revolusjoners struktur, Spartacus forlag AS, s. 96-113 (s. 17).
• Kögler, H. H. (2012). “Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, and Ethnomethodology”. I I. C Jarvie & J. Zamora-Bonilla (red.)  The Sage Handbook of The Philosophy of Social Sciences, s. 445- 462 (s. 17).
• Longino, H. E. (1998). “Values and Objectivity”. I M. Curd & J. A. Cover, Philosophy of Science. The Central Issues, New York, London: W. W. Norton & Company, s. 170- 191 (s. 21).
• Lucas, Jeffrey W. (2003). “Theory-Testing, Generalization, and the Problem of External Validity”, Sociological Theory 21:3, 236-253 (s. 17).
• Merton, R. (1968). “Manifest and Latent Functions”.  Social Theory and Social Structure, s. 73-138 (s. 65).
• Mitchell, S. (2009). “Complexity and Explanation in the Social Sciences”. I C. Mantzavinos, Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Cambridge University Press, s. 130- 145 (s. 15).
• Popper, Karl (1998). “Science: Conjectures and Refutations”. I M. Curd & J. A. Cover, Philosophy of Science. The Central Issues, New York, London: W. W. Norton & Company, s. 3-10 (s. 7).
• Reiss, J. (2006).  “Do We Need Mechanisms in the Social Sciences?”  Philosophy of the Social Sciences 37(2), s. 163-184 (s. 21).
• Rosenberg, A. (2008). “What is the Philosophy of Social Science?”  Philosophy of Social Science, Westview Press, s. 1-29 (s. 28).
• Sen, Amartya. (1977). “Rational Fools: A Critique of the Behavioral Foundations of Economic Theory”, Philosophy & Public Affairs, Vol. 6, No. 4, s. 317-344.
• Taylor, C. (2001).  “Fortolkning I humanvitenskapene”, i S. Lægreid og T. Skorgen (red): Hermeneutisk lesebok, Oslo: Spartacus, s. 239-287 (s. 48).
• Van Bouwel, J. & Weber, E. (2012). “Explanation in the Social Sciences”. I I. C Jarvie & J. Zamora-Bonilla (red.)  The Sage Handbook of The Philosophy of Social Sciences, s. 632- 646 (s. 14).
• Watkins. J. W. N (1957). “Historical Explanation in the Social Sciences”, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, vol. 8, s. 441-450 (s. 9).
• Weber, M. (1999). “Objectivity”. I Martin, M., McIntyre, L. C. (eds.):  Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, s. 43-54 (s. 11).
• Winch, P. (1964). “Understanding a Primitive Society”.  American Philosophical Quarterly 1(4), s. 307-324 (s. 17).

Participants that have successfully completed the course can order a transcript of records either via StudentWeb (fsweb.no) or Vitnemålsportalen (vitnemålsportalen.no).

You can find more information about transcript of records and diplomas at the OsloMet student websites (student.oslomet.no).