News for May 2010
Call for Papers for TRiP 2011
CALL FOR PAPERS
TRiP 2011: Three Rivers Philosophy Conference
"Science, Knowledge, and Democracy"
- Conference Location: University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
- Conference Dates: April 1st - April 3rd, 2011.
- Abstract Submission Due Date: November 1st, 2010 to TRiPconference@gmail.com
- Notification of Acceptance: Early December, 2010.
- PDF of CFP Flyer: http://www.cas.sc.edu/phil/flyers/trip2011.pdf
Keynote Speakers:
- Elizabeth Anderson (University of Michigan)
- Miranda Fricker (Birkbeck, University ofLondon)
- Henry Richardson (Georgetown University)
- Miriam Solomon (Temple University)
The goal of this conference is to bring together scholars working in moral and political philosophy, social epistemology, philosophy of science, and related areas to reflect broadly on the relationships between science, knowledge, and democracy. We aim to explore questions such as the following. In what ways should we be seeking to foster democratic influences on science, and why? Can we unpack the concept of objectivity (whether in the scientific or the political domain) more fruitfully by shifting from an individual to a social level of analysis? What is the nature of "lay expertise," and what are its implications for pursuing public participation in scientific research and policy making? Do various forms of "epistemic injustice" detract from scientific knowledge or political decision making? What are the implications of political theory for thinking about how to democratize science and to integrate scientific knowledge into policy making? Does governmental involvement in and funding of scientific research pose special challenges to traditional epistemic and moral justifications for democracy?
We invite abstracts of roughly 500 words for papers on these or related topics. Please submit abstracts by November 1st, 2010 to TRiPconference@gmail.com. Abstracts should be PDF or Word documents and prepared for blind review. We aim to notify the authors of accepted papers by early December, 2010.
The Three Rivers Philosophy (TRiP) Conference takes its name from the University of South Carolina's location in Columbia, the state capital, where the Saluda and Broad Riversmeet to form the Congaree River. April is a beautiful time to be in South Carolina, so come and enjoy both our wonderful weather and what promises to be a very fruitful intellectual exchange. If you have any questions about the conference, please contact one of the organizers: Kevin Elliott (ke@sc.edu) or Justin Weinberg (jweinberg@sc.edu).
HOPOS Call for Manuscripts
Call for Manuscripts
HOPOS: The Journal of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science
The editors of HOPOS invite manuscript submissions for its 2011 inaugural issue. The history of philosophy of science is broadly construed to include topics in the history of related disciplines, in all time periods and all geographical areas, using diverse methodologies. The journal does not limit submissions to members of HOPOS.
For more information go to the journal homepage at http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/hopos/current.
More information is also available in the announcement from March 31st.
Bryan Roberts wins the Seventh Annual Clifton Memorial Book Prize
The Seventh Annual Clifton Memorial Book Prize has been awarded to Bryan Roberts of the University of Pittsburgh for his "Time Reversal and the Symmetry of Nothing."
For a description of the prize and a list of past winners, see this website.
Call for Papers: SPSP Third Biennial Conference
CALL FOR PAPERS
Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice (SPSP)
Third Biennial Conference
- 22-24 June 2011
- University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
For registration and further information on the conference, please visit our website.
For general information on SPSP, please see http://www.gw.utwente.nl/spsp/.
- Deadline for submission: 1 December 2010
- Email paper proposals by attachment (word document preferred) to info.spsp@gw.utwente.nl
- Notification of acceptance: 1 February 2011
The Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice (SPSP) aims to create an interdisciplinary community of scholars who approach the philosophy of science with a focus on scientific practice and the practical uses of scientific knowledge. For further details on our objectives, see our mission statement on our website (URL above).
The SPSP biennial conferences provide a broad forum for scholars committed to making detailed and systematic studies of scientific practices — neither dismissing concerns about truth and rationality, nor ignoring contextual and pragmatic factors. The conferences aim at cutting through traditional disciplinary barriers and developing novel approaches. We welcome contributions from not only philosophers of science, but also philosophers working in epistemology and ethics, as well as the philosophy of engineering, medicine, agriculture, and other practical fields. Additionally, we welcome contributions from historians and sociologists of science, pure and applied scientists, and any others with an interest in philosophical questions regarding scientific practice.
In addition to keynote lectures by invited speakers, who will include Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent (Université Paris-X Nanterre), Philip Kitcher (Columbia University), and Sandra Mitchell (University of Pittsburgh), the conference will feature parallel sessions with contributed papers. For the 2011 conference, we encourage submissions on any topic related to the organization’s objectives. For examples of previous topics, please consult our webpage for programs from our past two conferences.
We welcome both individual papers, and also strongly encourage proposals for whole, thematic sessions with coordinated papers, particularly those which include multiple disciplinary perspectives and/or input from scientific practitioners. You may wish to involve other members of SPSP (a listing is available on our website) or post a notice to the SPSP listserv describing your area of interest and seeking other possible participants for a session proposal.
Individual paper proposals: must include a title and an abstract of 500 words, and full contact information for the speaker(s).
Session proposals: must include an overall title for the session, a title and 500-word abstract for each paper (or an equivalent amount of depth and detail, if the format of the proposed session is a less traditional one), and full contact information for each contributor. Session proposals should be submitted as a group by the organizer of the session.
Multiple submissions of any form by the same person will not be allowed. Please direct all queries to info.spsp@gw.utwente.nl.
To receive updates about this conference, please become a member of the SPSP mailing list at http://www.gw.utwente.nl/spsp/membership/Membership%20Mailinglist.doc/ and also check the SPSP website at http://www.gw.utwente.nl/spsp/events/Third_Biennial_SPSP_Conference/.
Cushing Prize 2010 Announcement
The James T. Cushing Memorial Prize in History and Philosophy of Physics
Announcement of 2010 Winner
The John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values, along with the Graduate Program in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Notre Dame and the Advisory Committee of the James T. Cushing Memorial Prize in History and Philosophy of Physics are pleased to announce the award of the Cushing Prize for 2010 to David John Baker, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan. He is being honored for his paper, "Against Field Interpretations of Quantum Field Theory," published in the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (2009). The Cushing Prize carries a $1000 award plus an invitation to deliver a lecture as part of the History and Philosophy of Science Colloquium at the University of Notre Dame.
David summarizes his argument in the abstract of his paper: "I examine some problems standing in the way of a successful 'field interpretation' of quantum field theory. The most popular extant proposal depends on the Hilbert space of 'wavefunctionals.' But since wavefunctional space is unitarily equivalent to many-particle Fock space, two of the most powerful arguments against particle interpretations also undermine this form of field interpretation."
His nomination expands on the significance of his work for the philosophy of physics: "Baker brings the physics of coherent states (deployed in quantum optics) and symmetry breaking (apparently widespread in the 'Standard Model' of high energy physics) to bear upon questions about the ontology of QFT…The examples enable Baker to rework recognized arguments against particle interpretations of QFTs into novel arguments against field interpretations of QFTs. Part of the arguments' novelty derives from Baker's willingness to frame them, and frame them deftly, in the language of metaphysics…Even though QFTs are among our best candidates to circumscribe what’s physically necessary, the nature of physical necessity has not been an ongoing theme in the foundations of QFT literature. Making it one, Baker strengthens the case that issues surrounding the foundations of physical theories have real philosophical relevance."
David earned his Bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Physics from the University of Michigan in 2003 and his Doctorate in Philosophy from Princeton University in 2008. At Princeton, his dissertation advisor was Hans Halvorson, who was the first recipient of the Cushing Prize in 2004.
