Science and Society: history of science, ethics, critical thinking

Science in today's societies is at the heart of many ethical, economic, and societal issues. The aim of this course is to encourage students to reflect on their knowledge and practices through a historical approach to the construction of knowledge and through reflections on the bioethical aspects of science, the place of researchers in society, and the relationship between science and society. The aim is to raise students' awareness of the use of scientific arguments in society and to encourage them to debate and confront contradictory points of view, thereby developing their critical thinking skills. This is therefore an open-minded course unit that allows students to take a broader view while maintaining a scientific approach, in other words, to "look up from the handlebars."

- 7CM = 10.5 hours for History of Science, panhistorical and pangeographical approach

- 4 CM = 6 hours to present the concepts of bioethics and critical thinking that will be necessary for the debates (methodology of controversy, complexity, issues, arguments from authority)

- 2CM= 3 hours on the role of scientists in society (historical approach and discussion of potential pitfalls)

- 2TD = 3 hours on cognitive biases, concepts of epistemology, language traps, and the concept of proof, major types of flawed reasoning

- 4 sessions of 2TD = 4x3 hours = 12 hours of debates on topics at the heart of scientific and societal controversies: GMOs, vaccination, pharmacogenetics and genetic testing, endocrine disruptors, feeding the planet, demographic challenges, climate change, transhumanism, cloning and assisted reproduction, animal experimentation, neuroscience and marketing, biological control, nanotechnologies, etc. Starting with a press article, students work in groups to produce a presentation (which counts towards their assessment) with the aim of providing historical context, presenting opposing viewpoints (ethical and scientific arguments), and then leading a debate. Each debate session (3 hours) will have a theme, and researchers or ECs will be invited to participate in the jury and provide a summary at the end.

In groups and over the course of the EU, students will produce a bibliographic summary on a topic of their choice, with a structured argument, illustrated with carefully chosen examples, placing the subject in the context of the history of science with bioethical considerations. The idea is not simply to recount the history of a subject, but rather to emphasize the links with the advancement of scientific knowledge and the ethical questions raised.

- Understand the process of knowledge formation in different disciplines (hypotheses, experimental results, controversial findings, mathematical theorems, scientific facts, theories, paradigms)

- Know the basics of the history of science

- Know how to search for and extract information critically, prioritize information sources and identify their reliability, and synthesize them.

- Ability to make connections between knowledge of organism biology, evolutionary biology, and ecology, and bioethical, economic, and social issues

- Ability to successfully complete a project within a group

- Be able to develop a logical argument with a critical mind (limitations, comparison with the literature, defense of a point of view)