The news archive of the German Society for Philosophy of Science (GWP).

CfA: What Do We Talk About When We Talk About (Scientific) Practices?, Graduate Workshop, 23rd ‑ 24th May 2024, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany

dgwp.org

In recent years, many researchers working in the philosophy of science have become more and more interested in scientific practices. This so-called “practice turn” seeks to replace or amend the attention traditionally given to scientific theories (their structure, content, and ontological status) with a focus on the practical activities carried out by physicists, chemists, biologists, mathematicians etc. in their day-to-day work (cf. Mancosu 2008, Hüttemann 2021, Soler et al. 2022).

These developments have in common their reliance on the notion of scientific/mathematical practice. But what exactly is a scientific/mathematical practice? What is the relation between such practices and scientific theory? Are there, in fact, no theories, but only bits of “theory-shaped practices” (cf. French 2020, Baird 2003)? The current workshop aims to address concerns of this kind by raising a broad philosophical question: What do we talk about when we talk about scientific practices?

Keynotes will be given by:

  • Prof. Dr. Michela Massimi (Edinburgh)
  • Prof. Dr. Friedrich Steinle (TU Berlin)
  • Dr. Silvia De Toffoli (IUSS Pavia)

The workshop will be held from 23/05/2024 to 24/05/2024 at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. It is organized by Daian Bica and Paul Hasselkuß (Düsseldorf), and generously supported by the Department of Philosophy, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, and by Prof. Dr. Markus Schrenk (Düsseldorf).

Submission

We encourage early career researchers (MA and PhD students) to submit an abstract of max. 500 words prepared for blind review. The deadline for submissions is 01/02/2024. To submit an abstract, please use our submission form: https://www.dgwp.org/events/2024/cfa#submission. For questions, please contact the organizers (dgwp2024@phil.hhu.de).

The organizing committee will notify authors of its decision by 15/02/2024. There is no participation fee. Unfortunately, we cannot cover travel and accommodation expenses. Please note that this is an in-person event, it is not possible to participate virtually.

CfR: Wittgenstein and the formal sciences 3, 10 January 2024, Online [World Logic Day Event] 

Wittgenstein and the formal sciences 3
Wednesday – January 10, 2024
A Zoom meeting to celebrate the World Logic Day 2024 (which is actually a few days later)
https://sites.google.com/view/wittgenstein-formal-sciences3

= Call for registration:
We are organizing a one-day online workshop to commemorate the World Logic Day.

Registration is free of charge and everybody is welcome to attend. To receive the zoom link, please see the homepage for further information. Or go directly to the google form:
https://forms.gle/sM92P1T539Msg2346

== Speakers:
Ásgeir Berg (University of Iceland)
Felix Mühlhölzer (Universität Göttingen)
Kai Michael Buttner (Universidad del Norte)
Hans-Johann Glock (Universität Zürich)
Mikkel Willum Johannsen (University of Copenhagen)
Wei Zeng (Nagoya University)

== World Logic Day
This event is part of the celebration of world logic day. If you would like to contribute an event as well, please see http://wld.cipsh.international/organise_event.html for further information.

== Topic:
Ludwig Wittgenstein, despite being one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th Century, is often perceived as confusing and misunderstood. Furthermore, in spite of Wittgenstein’s belief that his most important work was his philosophy of mathematics, his work on it is generally more unknown than the rest. Given the potential of his work in areas like the philosophy of mathematical practice, ethnomathematics, and even the development of AI, this workshop aims at discussing it and raising its visibility.

== Contact:
Web: https://sites.google.com/view/wittgenstein-formal-sciences3
Mail: jose.antonio.perez.escobar (at ) ens.psl.eu / or Deniz.Sarikaya (at) vub.be

== Organizers:
Jose Antonio Perez Escobar (ESN Paris) & Deniz Sarikaya (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

CfP: Symposium, Model Organisms: Materiality, History and Politics, 21-22 March 2024, ICI Berlin

Organized by
Maria Dębińska, Julia Sánchez-Dorado, Ben Woodard

Model organisms are life forms used to test biological theories of various kinds in laboratory settings. Research with model organisms muddies the line between models as material objects and models as abstract entities. Model organisms are not fully constructed, since they are evolved beings, but the longer they reside in a laboratory the less they resemble their kin in the wild. At the same time the construction of biological generalities from the research results from one model organism involves an extrapolation beyond species constraints.

The aim of this symposium is to investigate how research practices and theories of life are differently deployed according to different organisms and their affordances.
This is particularly evident in the choice of organism and how it produces not only bio-medical results but also generates historical, cultural, and artistic relations.

For example, the genetics of fruit flies slowly begins to stand in for genetics in general, the deep homologies discovered through cephalopod eyes surprises in part due to their supposed alienness, epigenetic effects in agouti mice give hope for human dietary diseases, the regenerative capacities of the axolotl become bound up with fantasies of immortality, and the horizontal gene transfer among archaea and bacteria undermine our notions of organismal or even philosophical individuality.

The organizers welcome proposals for 20-minute talks that present case studies of particular model organisms as well as more general critical accounts of the practice of modeling with living organisms and its historical and political aspects.

Keynotes by
Sabina Leonelli and Rachel Ankeny
Jan Baedke

Deadline: Abstracts of 250 words should be sent to modelorganismsICI@gmail.com by 30 November 2023. Letters of acceptance will be sent out by 15 December 2023.

Funding: Participants with limited funding to attend the workshop can apply to receive a lump sum towards travel and accommodation costs.

Any queries should be addressed to the organizers.

CfR, EXUNMA 2: Explanation and understanding with(in) mathematics 2 – WLD 2024 in Brussel (virtual), January 16, 2024


A Zoom meeting to celebrate the World Logic Day 2024 (which is actually two days earlier)
https://sites.google.com/view/exunma-2024/

== Topic
Explanation and understanding are central topics in the philosophy of science. This discipline has made important developments to account for the role explanations play in scientific activities. A current trend is that philosophers emphasize the relation between explanation and understanding, and stress the need for theories of scientific understanding. This events wants to bring together scientists from different fields tackling the question of mathematical explanations both: in the sense of explanation within mathematics as well as mathematical explanations in the sciences.

== Speakers
Otávio Bueno (University of Miami)
William D’Alessandro (Oxford)
Ellen Lehet (Lees-McRae College ) 
Christopher Pincock (The Ohio State University)

== Organized by 
Joachim Frans and Deniz Sarikaya (both at the Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels) 

== Registration
The number of participants is limited and registrations will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis. See here for further information:
https://sites.google.com/view/exunma-2024/registration
Or go directly to the registration form:
https://forms.gle/eTzC4CvdHwdesKyV8

== Support
The event is supported by the CLPS: Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science Research Group, the  FWO-project “The Epistemology of Big Data: Mathematics and the Critical Research Agenda on Data Practices” and the FWO-project “Collective Knowledge in Mathematics: Proofs, Collective Justification, and Reliability”

== Contact 
For questions please contact deniz.sarikaya@vub.be

CfP: Ästhetik als epistemisches Kriterium in den Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften, 29. Februar und 1. März 2024, Zentrum für Wissenschaftstheorie, Universität Münster

https://www.uni-muenster.de/Wissenschaftstheorie/veranstaltungen/AesthetikalsepistemischesKriterium.html

CfP: The Direction of Time in a Physical World, Online-Workshop, 30-31 August 2023

Invited Speakers: 

Alison Fernandes, Bryan Roberts, Cristian López, Eddy Chen, Jill North, Natalja Deng, and Nina Emery

Abstract:

The problem of the direction of time is a central issue in contemporary philosophy of science. On the one hand, we experience many time-directed phenomena, such as causal relationships and local thermodynamic behavior; on the other hand, our fundamental dynamic laws of nature are time-reversal invariant. The key question regarding the direction of time is therefore: If not in the time-reversal invariant laws, what is the direction of time grounded in? The workshop seeks to elucidate the relationship between the direction of time and our physical world, by addressing questions such as: Is the direction of time an objective feature of our world? Can the direction of time be physically justified? How is it related to the asymmetries we experience?
This International Workshop is organized as an event of the DFG projects “The Direction of Time and The Direction of Causality” and “The Time of Science and the Time of Our Lives”.

Registration:
Participation is free, but limited. To register and receive the Zoom link, please send an email to mvoggena@uni-koeln.de or k.salimkhani@uni-koeln.de with your name and affiliation.

Website: https://philevents.org/event/show/112966

Organizers:
Martin Voggenauer
Kian Salimkhani

CfR: Trivalent Suspension, Uncertainty and Reasoning with Conditionals, University of Regensburg, August 30 – September 1, 2023

Aims:
The international workshop on “Trivalent Suspension, Uncertainty and 
Reasoning with Conditionals” (TSUC) aims to bring together renowned 
researchers from philosophy, logic, formal epistemology, and mathematics 
to discuss the major issues, contemporary methodologies that have arisen 
in the study of suspension, uncertainty, and conditionals. We would like 
to investigate a specific perspective concerning trivalent logic, 
probability and conditionals. Specifically, this workshop intends to 
bring together researchers to introduce and discuss i) major TSUC 
research issues that have arisen in recent years, ii) innovative 
methodologies developed in response to such issues, iii) the connections 
between the three components of TSUC, and iv) major TSUC research 
challenges in its future development. Such research issues include the 
formal models of judgment suspension, indeterminism, uncertainty 
inference, many-valued connectives and consequences, subjective prob- 
ability, conditional probabilities, trivalent conditionals, branching 
time structure, and so forth. We will be able to understand the major 
issues, and research problems and gaps for the future development of TSUC.

Speakers:
Caitlin Canonica (Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany)
John Cantwell (KTH Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, Sweden)
Massimiliano Carrara (Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy)
Mario Günther (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany)
Sven Ove Hansson (KTH Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, Sweden)
Tim Kraft (University of Regensburg, Germany)
Ondrej Majer (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Czech Republic)
Niki Pfeifer (University of Regensburg, Germany)
Hans Rott (University of Regensburg, Germany)
Giuseppe Sanfilippo (Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy)
Daniela Schuster (Universität Konstanz, Germany)
Verena Wagner (Universität Konstanz, Germany)
Wei Zhu (University of Regensburg, Germany)

Organisers:
Hans Rott, Niki Pfeifer, Wei Zhu (Department of Philosophy, University 
of Regensburg)

For titles, abstracts, and updates to the program please check out our 
website at

https://go.uni-regensburg.de/tsuc

CfR: “Explainable AI and Society” Lecture Series, Winter Semester 23/24, online/TU Dortmund

Call for Registration: “Explainable AI and Society” Lecture Series

The 4th installment of the lecture series “Explainable AI and Society” will take place during the winter semester 2023/2024, online and in person at TU Dortmund.

Modern AI can be used to drive cars, to decide on loans, or to detect cancer. Yet, the inner workings of many AI systems remain hidden – even to experts. Given the crucial role that AI systems play in modern society, this seems unacceptable. But how can we make complex, self-learning systems explainable? What kinds of explanations are we looking for when demanding that AI must be explainable? And which societal, ethical and legal desiderata can actually be satisfied via explainability?

The interdisciplinary, hybrid lecture series presents the latest research on these and related topics and invites exchange with researchers, students, and the interested public.

Lecture Dates

  • 19.10.23, 6.15 p.m. (CEST): Claus Beisbart, University of Bern (philosophy): 
    “Explained – agreed. On the consequences of informed consent on explainability”
  • 16.11.23, 6.15 p.m. (CET): Emmanuel Müller, TU Dortmund (computer science): 
    “Trustworthy Machine Learning”
  • 14.12.23, 6.15 p.m. (CET): Anne Lauber-Rönsberg, TU Dresden (law): 
    “A Legal Perspective on Explainable AI: Why, How Much and For Whom?”
  • 18.01.24, 6.15 p.m. (CET): Gudela Grote, ETH Zurich (psychology): 
    “Organizing AI: How to shape accountable AI development and use” 


Registration

To register, send an e-mail with the title “Registration” to sara.mann@tu-dortmund.de. Include which lecture(s) you would like to attend and whether you will attend online or in person.

For further information visit https://explainable-intelligent.systems/forthcoming-lectures/

The lecture series is organized by the research project “Explainable Intelligent Systems“, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

RUB, History, Philosophy and Culture of Science

Dear colleagues and students,

please find here some information about the two-year Master program “History, Philosophy and Culture of Science” (HPS+) offered by the Philosophy Department in cooperation with other Departments at Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB): HPS+-info [1]

An important novelty is that from now on a specialization in logic (next to a focus on HPS) is also possible. (The title of the program will show this soon).

If you see opportunities to announce our Master program in your field and / or to draw the attention of suitable students to it, we would be very pleased!
There will be a hybrid info event on Wednesday, July 5, 11:00 AM (CET). Interested students can contact us via our homepage (https://www.hpsplus.org/contact) and will receive a Zoom-link in advance.

Many thanks in advance and kind regards,
The HPS+-Team

[1] Link to HPS+Info: https://www.hpsplus.org/_files/ugd/70ba36_996d5eec22e6406c9bb9726ea9645f1a.pdf

EPSA25 Venue – Call for Bids

The European Philosophy of Science Association calls for proposals for the venue of EPSA25, its 10th Biennial Conference, to be held in the autumn of 2025. The biennial conference is the main scientific event of the EPSA, typically attracting 200-300 philosophers of science from across the world. It usually comprises 200 contributed and symposia talks, organized in as many as eight different sections, and taking place in five or six parallel sessions. A selection of papers from the conference will be published as a special edition of the European Journal for Philosophy of Science.

The conference is typically hosted by a philosophy of science unit, and its venue must be a recognized European academic or research institution. The event takes place in the autumn over a period of 3-4 days in alternating years to the conference of the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA). Past conferences have taken place in Madrid (2007), Amsterdam (2009), Athens (2011), Helsinki (2013), Düsseldorf (2015), Exeter (2017), Geneva (2019) and Turin (2021). EPSA23 will take place in Belgrade, Serbia.

A Local Organizing Committee (LOC) is set up at the host institution — with a remit to organize the event itself. About one year in advance, the Steering Committee (SC) of the EPSA puts out a call for papers and selects a Programme Committee (PC) comprising distinguished philosophers of science. The LOC, SC, and PC are non-overlapping sets of people, with the exception of the Chairs of the LOC and PC, who may be drawn from the SC.

Proposals (one PDF document) should be submitted to the President of the Association (Prof. Stéphanie Ruphy | email: epsa@philsci.eu) by November 15, 2023 and must include the following:

  • The name of the organizing unit or research institution.
  • The name of the academic or research institute hosting the event.
  • The proposed dates in the autumn of 2025 (expected to be a long weekend between end of August and end of November 2025).
  • The names of the members of the LOC, including Chair(s) and/or Deputy (please note that the members of the LOC have to be EPSA members).
  • The CV of the Chair(s) of the LOC.
  • An estimated budget proposal, including rough estimates for the following expenses: a) building and facilities, b) catering, c) conference registration packs (200 delegates minimum), d)personnel, e) expected financial contribution by the host institution and/or a funding agency.

For more information about our past conferences, click here or contact us at epsa@philsci.eu.

All the best,

The European Philosophy of Science Association.

CfR: Netzwerk „Argumentieren in der Schule“, Workshop 2023: Ziele und Grenzen, 18. bis 20. September 2023 in Düsseldorf

Ankündigung

Das Netzwerk „Argumentieren in der Schule“ richtet im Rahmen seines Arbeitstreffens einen öffentlichen Workshop mit dem Titel „Ziele und Grenzen des Argumentierens“ aus, der vom 18. bis 20. September 2023 in Düsseldorf stattfindet.

Welche Ziele können und sollen im Argumentieren verfolgt werden? Wo liegen die Grenzen des Argumentierens und wie lässt sich mit ihnen umgehen? Diese und weitere Fragen zu Status, Funktion und Kontexten des Argumentierens sowie ihre Konsequenzen für die Argumentationsdidaktik und die Unterrichtspraxis stehen im Zentrum des Workshops. Angenommen, das Formulieren, Analysieren und Bewerten von Argumenten steht als Kernkompetenz freier und kritischer Bürger*innen zurecht im Zentrum der Bildungsziele von Universitäten und Schulen. Denn schließlich haben diese Kompetenzen einen wesentlichen Anteil an dem im „Dresdener Konsens“ formulierten Ziel der Stärkung einer ganzheitlich verstandenen Urteilskraft. Dennoch, und um so mehr, gilt es zu fragen, wie genau sich das Argumentieren zum Urteilen verhält, welchen Zwecken es dient und wo seine Grenzen liegen.Plakat-u.-Flyer-Düsseldorf-1Herunterladen

Zeit und Ort

Montag, 18. September 2023

  • 15:00 Informelles Zusammenkommen
  • 15.30 Begrüßung
  • 15:45–17:00 David Lanius (Karlsruhe)
    Warum es unmöglich ist, gut zu argumentieren – und was das für Demokratiebildung und den öffentlichen Diskurs bedeutet
  • 17:00 Pause
  • 17:30–18:45 Kirsten Meyer (Berlin)
    Förderung argumentativer Kompetenzen und moralische Bildung

Dienstag, 19. September 2023

  • 09:30–10:45 Peggy H. Breitenstein (Jena)
    „It is largely undisputed …”? Wie umgehen mit dem aktuellen Blasphemismus gegenüber argumentativen Diskursen?
  • 10:45 Pause
  • 11:15–12:30 Thomas Grundmann (Köln)
    Soziale Erkenntnis-Rollen und zulässige Argument-Typen
  • 12:30 Mittagspause
  • 14:00–15:15 Monika Platz (München)
    Zur (epistemisch) asymmetrischen Beziehung zwischen Lehrkraft und Schüler*in: Positive und negative Auswirkungen auf das Argumentieren in der Schule
  • 15:15 Pause
  • 15:45–17:00 Kinga Golus (Bielefeld)
    Philosophie inklusiv lehren – Können Menschen mit kognitiven Einschränkungen von argumentativen Kompetenzen profitieren?
  • 17:00 Pause
  • 17:30–18:45 Gregor Betz (Karlsruhe)
    Argumentlandkarten als Mittel der Urteilsbildung

Mittwoch, 20. September 2023

  • 09:30–10:45 Philipp Richter (Bochum)
    „Mehr als nur Sätze…“. Zur Funktion von Sinnlichkeit und Bildern beim Argumentieren
  • 10:45 Pause
  • 11:15–12:30 Linda Merkel (Potsdam)
    Mit Geschichten argumentieren? – Narrative Texte und ihr Beitrag zur philosophischen Urteilsbildung

Registrierung und weitere Informationen

Alle Interessierten sind herzlich zur Teilnahme eingeladen und werden gebeten, sich bis zum 10. September per E-Mail an donata.romizi@univie.ac.at anzumelden.

Organisation und Dank

Der Workshop wird organisiert von Donata Romizi und David Löwenstein. Für die großzügige Finanzierung des Workshops im Rahmen des Netzwerks „Argumentieren in der Schule“ danken wir der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft, für die Übernahme von Verpflegungskosten der Gesellschaft für Analytische Philosophie.

Call for Applications / CfA: PhD position in the Philosophy of the Life Sciences, Bielefeld University Deadline: July 5th, 2023

Job: PhD position (3 years) in the Philosophy of the Life Sciences at Bielefeld University, Germany (deadline: July 5th, 2023)

The Faculty of History, Philosophy und Theology, Department of Philosophy (research group philosophy of science, Prof. Dr. Marie I. Kaiser/Prof. Dr. Lara Keuck/Jun.-Prof. Dr. Alkistis Elliott-Graves), has the following job opening: PhD position in the Philosophy of the Life Sciences

Your tasks

– conduct independent research in the philosophy of the life sciences and in related areas (65 %)- teaching at Bachelor and/or Master level in philosophy and/or in the Master’s program “Interdisciplinary Studies of Science”; 2-3 courses per year, in German or English (25 %)- actively participate in the meetings and events of the philosophy of science group and the Department of Philosophy (5 %)- organizational tasks that are part of the self-administration of the university (5 %)
Employment is conductive to scientific qualification (PhD).
We offer– salary according to Remuneration level 13 TV-L- fixed-term (3 years) (§ 2 (1) sentence 2 of the WissZeitVG; in accordance with the provisions of the WissZeitVG and the Agreement on Satisfactory Conditions of Employment, the length of contract may differ in individual cases)- part-time 65%- internal and external training opportunities- amount of health, consulting and prevention service- reconcilability of family and working life For more information about our expectations, documents required for application and the online form for application please have a look at the following website:

English: https://uni-bielefeld.hr4you.org/job/view/2528/research-position-in-the-philosophy-of-the-life-sciences?page_lang=en

German: https://uni-bielefeld.hr4you.org/job/view/2530/wissenschaftliche-r-mitarbeiter-in-m-w-d-in-der-philosophie-der-lebenswissenschaften?page_lang=de

application deadline: July, 5th, 2023

Contact

Prof. Dr. Marie I. Kaiser

+49-(0)521-106-4605kaiser.m@uni-bielefeld.de

CfP: 10. Jahrestagung der Carl Stumpf Gesellschaft, Deadline: 1. Juli 2023

Logik
philosophisch – psychologisch – mathematisch – informatisch

Hintergrund:
In seiner Erkenntnislehre unterscheidet Stumpf zwischen universalen Axiomen oder logischen Grundsätzen einerseits und regionalen Axiomen oder phänomenologischen Grundsätzen andererseits. Das so bestimmte, phänomenologisch geprägte Logikkonzept soll im Mittelpunkt der Jahrestagung stehen und mit anderen, auch aktuellen Logikkonzepten verglichen werden.

Call for papers

Die Carl Stumpf Gesellschaft lädt dazu ein, die Bedeutung der verschiedenen Logikkonzepte für den Erkenntnisprozess im allgemeinen und für die verschiedenen wissenschaftlichen Disziplinen im besonderen aufzuzeigen. Es wird begrüßt, wenn die Beiträge einen Bezug zur Erkenntnislehre von Carl Stumpf aufweisen.

Im Rahmen der Tagung wird Studenten in einer eigenen Sektion die Gelegenheit gebeten, über ihre aktuellen Abschlussarbeiten (Thema beliebig) aus dem Bereich der Systematischen Musikwissenschaften zu berichten.

Die Vorträge können in Deutsch oder Englisch gehalten werden. In begründeten Ausnahmefällen ist auch ein Online-Vortrag möglich.

Interessenten werden gebeten, kurze Abstracts für Vorträge und Präsentationen bis zum 01. Juli 2023 per E-Mail beim Vorstand der CSG einzureichen: martin.ebeling@tu-dortmund.de

CfA: The Unconventional Memory Workshop, deadline: July 7th, 2023

The Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy invites abstracts for the following event: 

The Unconventional Memory Workshop

MCMP, LMU Munich

September 12-13, 2023https://www.mcmp.philosophie.uni-muenchen.de/events/workshops/container/memory_workshop_2023/index.html
*********************************************

Recent philosophical and scientific research has aimed to widen the boundaries of what we think memory is as well as where and how we think it occurs. This workshop is dedicated to the implications of research on these “unconventional” cases of memory. These cases include, but are not limited to:

  • Odd memory phenomena (or memory quirks) in humans
  • Memory in non-humans, including other biological and non-biological systems
  • Systems that are conventionally thought to be orthogonal to memory, such as hereditary or immune systems
  • Accounts of memory from research programs like 4E cognition, minimal cognition, basal cognition, or ecological psychology 
  • Non-synaptic explanations of memory phenomena

Call for abstracts

We have space for a small number of talks that fit the topic of unconventional memory. Works that take formal, empirical, historical, and philosophical perspectives on the topic are welcome. Talks that are supportive or critical of unconventional memory are welcome as well, as are talks that address its implications for philosophy of science or cognitive science. 

Please submit an abstract no longer than 1000 words to david.colaco@lmu.de. Please put “Unconventional Memory” in the subject line of your email, list author(s) and affiliation(s) in the body of the email, and include the abstract as an attachment. Please submit by by July 7th, 2023 for consideration. 

Organizer

David Colaço (LMU Munich, Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy)

CfP: minimal (anti-) metaphysics, deadline: 31 December 2023

Guest editors: Tobias Henschen (Cologne), Andreas Hüttemann (Cologne)

Topical Collection Description: The metaphysics of science debate is often characterized as dividing philosophers who endorse positions of “maximal” metaphysics and “maximal” anti-metaphysics: philosophers who believe and philosophers who refuse to believe that the content or practice of science is to be explained in terms of unobservable entities, that these entities exist independently of the content and practice of science, that explanations in terms of these entities are (approximately) true, and that we can come to know that these explanations are true, and the negation of this position. What often remains unnoticed is that the metaphysics of science debate has shifted: that the leading participants in the debate have moved toward more moderate positions – positions that can be referred to as positions of “minimal” metaphysics and “minimal” anti-metaphysics. Like maximal metaphysicians, minimal metaphysicians believe that the content or practice of science is to be explained in terms of unobservable entities (for instance, structure), and that these entities exist independently of the content and practice of science. But unlike maximal metaphysicians, minimal metaphysicians emphasize the fallibility of their positions and restrict their ontological commitments to some minimal set of entities. Like maximal anti-metaphysicians, minimal anti-metaphysicians believe that the content or practice of science is not to be explained in terms of unobservable entities that exist independently of the content or practice of science. But unlike maximal anti-metaphysicians, minimal anti-metaphysicians believe that the content or practice of science is to be explained in terms of phenomenal entities, or that scientific realism about observable entities needs to be extended to “unobservable” entities that (like subatomic particles) can be “observed” by our aided senses. The planned collection is supposed to describe the shift in the metaphysics of science debate by providing a forum for the various positions of minimal (anti-) metaphysics that have been defended more recently, for clarifications or elaborations of these positions, and for the arguments and methods that have been or can be employed in support or against these positions.

Appropriate topics for submission include

  • presentations, clarifications, or elaborations of and
  • arguments for or against

positions of (anti-) metaphysics that qualify as “minimal” in the sense described above, or in a similar sense. These positions include (but are not limited to) variants of

  • ontic structural realism,
  • pragmatism,
  • conventionalism,
  • neo-Kantianism,
  • Super Humeanism

For further information, please contact Tobias Henschen (lead guest editor): tobias.henschen@uni-koeln.de

The deadline for submissions is 31 December 2023.

Submissions via: https://www.editorialmanager.com/synt/default.aspx

Tobias Henschen (tobias.henschen@uni-koeln.de), Andreas Hüttemann (ahuettem@uni-koeln.de)

CfA: Ringvorlesung “Menschenbilder in der Wissenschaft” des Zentrums f. Wissenschaftstheorie/Münster

Die Frage nach der Stellung des Menschen in der Wissenschaft gewinnt durch die immer umfassendere wissenschaftliche Erschließung der menschlichen Lebenswelt an Bedeutung. Das Feld der damit verbundenen Phänomene erstreckt sich von der geistes- und sozialwissenschaftlichen Erforschung des Menschen und seiner Lebenszusammenhänge über die Vorstellungen vom Menschen in den Rechts- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften bis hin zu praktischen Eingriffen in das menschliche Leben durch Medizin und die angewandten Wissenschaften. Nicht zuletzt sind auch die zunehmenden Verflechtungen technologischer und menschlicher Aktivitäten ein Ausdruck wissenschaftlichen Fortschreitens und fordern die Standortbestimmung des Menschen heraus. Diese Entwicklungen sind von Fragen begleitet, welche Rolle der Mensch in der Forschung spielen sollte, welche Bedeutung und Geschichte Menschenbilder in der Wissenschaft haben und welche epistemischen und ethischen Konsequenzen sich daraus ergeben. In welcher Form lässt sich heute überhaupt noch vom Menschen sprechen, ohne die sich spätestens seit dem Poststrukturalismus ausbreitenden Debatten um die Entmachtung und Dezentrierung des menschlichen Subjekts als sinnkonstituierendes Zentrum der Welt zu vernachlässigen? Post- und transhumanistische Bewegungen differenzieren das Feld einer kritischen Haltung gegenüber klassischen Vorstellungen über den Menschen immer weiter aus und verweisen vor allem auf die mangelnde Berücksichtigung anderer, nicht-menschlicher Lebensformen. Diese und angrenzende Problemlagen stoßen eine tiefgreifende Transformation der Wissenschaft an, der sich diese Ringvorlesung widmen möchte.

Vorträge (jeweils in Hörsaal F5, Domplatz 20-22, Münster)

20.04.2023 Prof. Dr. Martina Hessler (TU Darmstadt):
“Das Bild fehlerhafter Menschen in den Wissenschaften und die Konsequenzen”

27.04.2023 Prof. Dr. Michael Hagner (ETH Zürich):
“Mit Kopernikus ins Anthropozän. Das Foucaultsche Pendel und seine Menschenbilder“

11.05.2023 Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Wolf Singer (Max-Planck-Institut für Hirnforschung):
“Menschenbilder aus den Perspektiven der Selbstwahrnehmung und neurobiologischer Fremdbeschreibung: Der Versuch eines Brückenschlags“
(Der Vortrag findet im Raum F4, Domplatz 20-22 statt)

25.05.2023 Prof. Dr. Jürgen Gadau (Universität Münster):
“Der Mensch – das andere Tier?“

22.06.2023 Prof. Dr. Katharina Block (Universität Oldenburg):
“Der Anthropos im Anthropozän”

29.06.2023 Dr. Janina Loh (Stabsstelle Ethik, Stiftung Liebenau):
“Zum Menschenbild des kritischen Posthumanismus”

Die Teilnahme ist in Präsenz oder per Zoom möglich. Der Zoom-Link für die Online-Teilnahme wird jeweils am Donnerstagvormittag per E-Mail zugestellt
(nach Anmeldung unter https://listserv.uni-muenster.de/mailman/listinfo/zfw-rv).

CfA: HaPoC 2023 – 7th International Conference on the History and Philosophy of Computing, October 18-20, 2023, Warsaw University of Technology, deadline: April 30, 2023

Dear all. 

Submissions are now open for the 7th edition of HaPoC, to be hosted by the Faculty of Administration and Social Sciences at Warsaw University of Technology from 18 through 20 October, 2023.

Important dates: 

– Submission deadline: April 30, 2023 

– Notification of acceptance/rejection: June 30th, 2023

– Conference: October 18-20, 2023 

Conference website: https://hapoc2023.sciencesconf.org/

Submission website: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=hapoc7

HaPoC website (with links to past conferences): https://hapoc.org/

About the conference: 

Since 2011, the biennial History and Philosophy of Computing (HaPoC) conference series has contributed to building an interdisciplinary community that addresses the topics of computing and computing technology. HaPoC aims to bring together historians, philosophers, computer scientists, social scientists, legal scholars, designers, engineers, practitioners, artists, logicians, mathematicians, each with their own experience and expertise, to participate in the collective construction of a comprehensive and forward-looking image of computing. 

For HaPoC-7, we welcome contributions from researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds who intend to participate in the debates on the implications of computing and computing technologies for culture, science, and society. HaPoC participants contribute from their respective areas of expertise and are open to engage in interdisciplinary discussions across multiple fields. Topics include but are not limited to:

– Historical aspects of computing 

– Philosophical aspects of computing 

– Ethical and legal aspect of computing 

– Social and cultural aspects of computing

– Computing and the arts 

How to submit: 

We cordially invite researchers working in a field relevant to the main topics of the conference to submit two items for review:

i. a short abstract of 180-200 words and

ii. an extended abstract of at most 1.000 words (references included)

Submissions shall be made through EasyChair under this link: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=hapoc7 

All abstracts will be reviewed by the members of the Programme Committee.

We look forward to meeting you at HaPoC-7 in Warsaw!

The local organising committee

CfP: How Should We Reason? Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives, MCMP, LMU Munich (deadline: July 1st, 2023)

The Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy invites submissions for the following event: 

How Should We Reason? Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives 

MCMP, LMU Munich

October 12-13, 2023https://www.mcmp.philosophie.uni-muenchen.de/events/workshops/container/perspectives_2023/index.html
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According to a long-standing insight going back to Hume, the normative and the descriptive are distinct in kind, so that it is wrong to conclude “is” from “ought” or vice versa. And yet, in a variety of contexts, the normative and the descriptive seem to be closely intertwined in many ways. Accordingly, the relationship between the two is as yet poorly understood. This is detrimental not only to philosophical efforts at normativity, but also to descriptive research that draws on normative concepts. This workshop will comprehensively discuss this intertwining. In particular, we are interested in exploring different theoretical frameworks for theory building and examining case studies associated with new normative challenges. In doing so, the workshop will not least promote interdisciplinary dialogue on human reasoning and argumentation. The workshop is part of the AHRC-DFG funded project “Normative vs. Descriptive Accounts in the Philosophy and Psychology of Reasoning and Argumentation: Tension or Productive Interplay? ”.

Call for papers

We have a few spots for contributed speakers. If you are interested in presenting your paper (20 min presentation/10 min discussion) at the workshop, please send a short abstract (about 100 words, no references) and an extended abstract of 1000-1500 words (including references) to borut.trpin AT lrz.uni-muenchen.de by July 1, 2023.

Please use the subject line “Submission: How should we reason?”, and do not forget to include your name and institutional affiliation in the main text of the email.

Dates and Deadines

Workshop: October 12-13, 2023

Deadline for submissions: July 1, 2023

Deadline for registration: September 10, 2023

Organizers 

Ulrike Hahn (Birkbeck and MCMP/LMU)

Stephan Hartmann (MCMP/LMU)

Borut Trpin  (MCMP/LMU)

CfP/R: Masterclass in the Philosophy of Mathematical Practices with Jean Paul Van Bendegem (21 – 23 June 2023 // Brussels, Belgium (in person))

Masterclass in the Philosophy of Mathematical Practices with Jean Paul Van BendegemDate: 21 – 23 June 2023Location: Brussels, Belgium (in person)Costs: FreeDeadline for abstract submission: April 1, 2023Webpage: https://sites.google.com/view/mc-pmp-brussels-2023/ The Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science (CLPS) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) will host its fifth Masterclass in the Philosophy of Mathematical Practices on […]

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