Program Overview

Program Overview

The University of Copenhagen offers a course titled "Videnskabsteori for husdyrvidenskab" (Philosophy of Domestic Animal Science). This course is part of the Bachelor's program in Animal Science and Biotechnology.

Course Description

The course introduces students to central scientific and ethical concepts and theories, focusing on their application to animal science problems. Students learn about science as an institution, including norms for good scientific practice, and central scientific theoretical problems and concepts, such as causality, different forms of conclusion, scientific uncertainty, evidence, and the role of values in science. Additionally, students are introduced to welfare and ethical issues related to different forms of animal keeping and use, such as behavioral problems in dogs, the use of animals as disease models in the pharmaceutical industry, intensive animal production, and the keeping of wild animals in captivity.

Course Objectives

The objective of the course is to provide students with knowledge about a range of ethical and scientific theoretical problems that arise in the field of animal science. Students should gain an understanding of the social roles of science and be able to critically discuss the possibilities and limitations of science. This will give students a basis for understanding their own professionalism in a broader perspective and enable them to qualify the public discussion of the ethical and scientific theoretical problems that their field raises.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completing the course, students are expected to be able to:

• Describe central ethical and scientific theoretical problems and concepts
• Describe central concepts related to animal welfare
• Describe central scientific theoretical concepts and problems
• Identify ethical and scientific theoretical problems in an animal science context
• Describe norms for good scientific practice, with a special focus on animal science problems
• Analyze questions related to animal keeping and use, incorporating knowledge of ethics and scientific theory
• Identify violations of good scientific practice in relation to their own field
• Discuss animal science problems in an ethical and societal perspective
• Independently identify, acquire, and critically relate to the necessary scientific information to cover selected animal science problems
• Identify requirements for good scientific practice, with a special focus on avoiding plagiarism and poor practice in data handling
• Analyze, discuss, and reflect critically on ethical and scientific theoretical problems in relation to animal science practice
• Communicate scientific, ethical, and scientific theoretical problems clearly in writing and speech

Teaching Materials

The literature for the course will be presented during the course.

Teaching Methods

The course is based on lectures, exercises, and project work. During the lectures, relevant ethical and scientific theoretical theories and concepts are presented in connection with animal science problems. In the exercises, the themes and problems raised during the lectures are followed up. With the help of cases, discussions, and supplementary literature, students have the opportunity to reflect on the scientific theoretical and ethical problems related to the animal science field. In the independent, group-based project work, students take a concrete animal science case as their starting point and illuminate it from several ethical perspectives, discussing the scientific basis.

Workload

• Lectures: 33 hours
• Preparation (estimated): 105 hours
• Theoretical exercises: 11 hours
• Project work: 52 hours
• Supervision: 4 hours
• Examination: 1 hour
• Total: 206 hours

Feedback

• Written feedback
• Oral feedback
• Collective feedback
• Ongoing feedback during the course
• Feedback at the final examination (in addition to the grade)
• Peer feedback (students giving each other feedback)
• Written feedback on draft project reports
• Oral feedback to project groups during supervision, mid-term seminar, and comments on beta-versions
• Collective oral feedback to the class during exercises
• Ongoing feedback during lectures, exercises, and project work
• Feedback at the final examination in the form of a brief explanation of the grade
• Peer feedback to project groups at the mid-term seminar and comments on beta-versions

Examination

• Point: 7.5 ECTS
• Examination form: Oral examination, 20 minutes
• Examination details: 20 minutes of oral examination based on questions related to the learning objectives drawn by the student at the start of the examination. 20 minutes of preparation.
• Examination requirements: Active participation in group-based project work. Project report submitted and approved
• Aids: All aids allowed
• Assessment form: 7-point scale
• Censorship form: External censorship
• Re-examination: Same as the ordinary examination. If the student has not submitted the group-based project report, an individual project report must be submitted no later than two weeks before the re-examination. The project report must be approved before the re-examination.

Course Information

• Language: Danish
• Course code: NIFB13002U
• Point: 7.5 ECTS
• Level: Bachelor
• Duration: 1 block
• Placement: Block 2
• Schedule group: A (Tuesday 8-12 + Thursday 8-17)
• Course capacity: No limitation – unless you enroll during the late enrollment period (BA and KA) or as a merit or single-course student.

Study Board

• Study Board for Natural Resources, Environment, and Animal Science

Offering Institutes

• Department of Food and Resource Economics
• Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (IVH)

Offering Faculty

• Faculty of Science

Course Responsible

• Peter Sandøe
• Trine Dich

Teachers

Peter Sandøe, Mickey Gjerris, Mads Paludan Goddiksen, and Trine Dich