Table of Contents: - Short Reads by Grads
- DEI Caucus Job
- Prize in Phil Sci & Race Call
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UPSS Session Call
- PSA24 Call for Posters Open
- PSA24 Sponsors
- PhilSci Archive - Top 5 Downloads
- Calendar of Events & Calls for Papers - Upcoming Dates
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The PSA is pleased to share its eighth installment of Short Reads by Grads. Conny Knieling is a Ph.D. student in philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh. Before that, she studied philosophy, mathematics, and logic in Germany and at Carnegie Mellon University. Her research focuses on general philosophy of science, the philosophy of AI, and the philosophy and history of mathematics. More specifically, in the last years, she's been working on questions about models and explanations, the science of deep learning, trusting artificial agents, and the evolutions of different notions of rigor. Her approach to philosophy is informed by the history of philosophy but also the history of the scientific disciplines. In her rare free time during graduate school, she enjoys cooking and traveling, if she is not found reading novels. Also, she is co-chair of the local MAP (Minorities and Philosophy) chapter in her department. Her pronouns are she/her.
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Review of Hans Halvorson, The Logic in Philosophy of Science (Cambridge University Press, 2019) By Conny Knieling
Much of modern philosophy of science has taken place in a space that orbits around the question of when two theories are considered to be “equivalent”, i.e., when two theories are taken to be descriptions of the same thing. In recent times we have been presented with different notions of theoretical equivalence in general philosophy of science. Despite this central role, many philosophers of science accept a relatively informal or less explicit notion of “equivalence”. Hans Halvorson’s book addresses this, and by presenting us with numerous formal accounts of theoretical equivalence Halvorson hopes to overcome this lack of rigor.
In general, Halvorson’s book is a terrific overview of various formal accounts of theoretical equivalence, discussing their strengths and weaknesses. A focus here is the inclusion of category theory as a tool for approaching the question of how we can formally understand “equivalence,” which makes this book stand out from others. Halvorson himself also resists voicing a preference for any of these formal approaches. Nevertheless, we should not be mistaken in thinking that this is an introductory encyclopedic work easily accessible for beginners. We are presented with the development of an array of formal tools with the aim of introducing rigor into discussions about theoretical equivalence. The book itself is quite technical and at times requires the reader to already possess a relatively advanced mathematical background.
Also, the motivation behind such a project as Halvorson’s is not just tucked away in the introduction. For Halvorson, the only way for the debate to become more rigorous is to employ more formal tools. While Halvorson withholds judgment on a choice between these different formal approaches, his distinct point of view shines through his presentation. The various formal tools are supplemented with Halvorson’s view on how philosophers ought to incorporate and think of these model-theoretic resources. These interpretations are also related to historical events in philosophy of science. Halvorson’s motivation also shines through: Chapter 6, for example, which presents us with the notion of categorical equivalence, is motivated to provide us with “tractable formal analogies” or “toy models” that are said to bring us closer to scientific practice.
But it is exactly this which some readers in philosophy might object to: the more complex theories found in scientific practice often resist such formalizations suggested by Halvorson, and the technical tools provided to us are only ever practiced on toy models that do not resemble most models in actual science. Halvorson claims to bring arguments in philosophy of science back into their scientific context and align our usage of concepts such as “equivalence” with the way these are used in the sciences. But the “technical mooring” Halvorson seeks threatens to tie the philosophical voyage to the safe harbor of logical arguments—at a great distance from the free waters of scientific practice.
Nevertheless, Halvorson’s aim to provide more clarity and rigor into arguments about equivalence of scientific theories is well placed. Halvorson’s book is a grand project, and it will help students or professionals in the field who are looking for more formal tools to guide their endeavors. They should not be discouraged by these cautionary observations. Anyone interested in the general philosophy of science and metaphysics will find this book intriguing. |
The DEI Caucus is also looking for nominations for the role of senior co-chair to serve the term 2025-2028. The senior co-chair of the Caucus works with the junior co-chair doing crucial work to support inclusion and equity in the PSA. For more information and to nominate, visit: https://forms.gle/KzAtJKAuto88D2ZT7, self nominations strongly encouraged.
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Prize in Philosophy of Science & Race |
The PSA Underrepresented Philosophers of Science (UPSS) Initiative invites nominations for the Prize in Philosophy of Science & Race. This prize is awarded biennially by the Philosophy of Science Association for the best book, article, or chapter published in English that integrates philosophy of science with discussions of race,
ethnicity, and/or racism. Eligible publications must be published within five years prior to the prize year/PSA meeting year. Recipients will receive the award and a $500 cash prize made possible through generous donations to the UPSS initiative. The Prize will be awarded in person at the PSA 2024 Biennial Meeting awards ceremony.
Eligibility
- Any book, article, or chapter on any topic that integrates philosophy of science with
discussions of race, ethnicity, and/or racism
- Published within five years prior to the prize year/PSA meeting year (2019-2024)
- Author must be a current PSA member. (If you are not yet a member, you may join here.)
- Co-authored publications welcomed, but prize will only be awarded to authors who are current members of the PSA. For co-authored entries, submitting author(s) should include a brief statement of their role in, or contributions to, the publication.
Nominations for this prize must include a brief rationale for why this publication is worthy of the prize and an electronic copy of the publication. Self nominations are welcomed. Nominations and all materials must be submitted here by June 15th , 11:59 PM Anywhere on Earth. Please contact office@philsci.org with any questions.
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PSA UPSS Session Call for Abstracts |
All UPSS scholars participating in the UPSS Mentoring Program who are current graduate students or within 3 years of receiving their PhD are eligible to submit a paper for presentation in the UPSS Session at the PSA Biennial Meeting. UPSS scholars work with their mentors to refine a paper for presentation on any topic in the philosophy of science. If you do not yet have a mentor, please click here, and indicate that you would
also like assistance developing a talk to present at the PSA Biennial Meeting. Co-authored papers are permitted only if all co-authors are participants in the UPSS Mentoring Program. Papers co-authored with an UPSS mentor are only allowed if the mentee is the first author and PSA session presenter.
Your Submissions must include a 1,000-word abstract (word count does not include references). Abstracts should be prepared for blind review. A second, short abstract of no more than 100 words should also be submitted for inclusion in the PSA program if accepted. The UPSS Session submission form also asks you to provide a brief diversity statement explaining how your participation would contribute to increasing diversity and advancing the mission of the UPSS Initiative. Please click here to submit your materials.
Abstracts will be reviewed by a subcommittee of the UPSS Committee. Deadline for submitting abstracts to be considered for UPSS PSA Session at the upcoming PSA 2024 meeting in New Orleans is August 1 st , 2024, 11:59 PM Anywhere on Earth. The top three submitted abstracts will be selected for presentation at the biennial meeting. A fourth alternate will be invited to serve as UPSS Session Chair.
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PSA24 Posters Call Now Open |
We are looking forward to hosting the 2024 Philosophy of Science Association Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. Call for Posters is now open - we can't wait to see your fantastic submissions.
Call for Posters open until June 15, 2024 |
The PSA is pleased to announce its first round of PSA24 sponsors for the upcoming biennial meeting in New Orleans: Emerald Sponsors: University of California Irvine, Logic & Philosophy of Science
Platinum Sponsors: Ann Johnson Institute
Gold Sponsors: Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Philosophy Arizona State University, Centre for Biology and Society, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science Silver Sponsors: The Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh
The Institute for Practical Ethics, University of California San Diego Simon Fraser University, Department of Philosophy Bronze Sponsors:
The Center for Public Engagement with Science, University of Cincinnati
Our sponsors help make the PSA biennial meeting possible. Thanks to them, not only are we able to have a high quality meeting but we are also able to keep conference registration more accessible for students. If you are interested in becoming a PSA24 sponsor, please reach out to director@philsci.org. |
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PhilSci Archive - Top 5 Downloads |
PhilSci-Archive is the official preprint repository for the PSA and the best place to host your philosophy of science preprints. It offers a free, stable, and openly accessible archive for scholarly articles and monographs. With PhilSci-Archive, researchers can search the open-access repository and get curated alerts about new work delivered to their inboxes. Many journals encourage authors to post preprints on archives like the PhilSci-Archive in order to increase readership, and historical data suggests that posting to the archive increases a published paper's citation rates (see https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/20778/). Visit philsci-archive.pitt.edu today to create a free account and post your preprints.
The most downloaded preprints for the last 6 months of articles deposited in the previous 2 years are:
Cobb, David (2022) Empiricism in the Philosophy of Science
Wiggleton-Little, Jada and Callender, Craig (2022) Screening Out Neurodiversity
Chen, Eddy Keming (2023) Laws of Physics
Andrews, Mel (2023) The Devil in the Data: Machine Learning & the Theory-Free Ideal.
Ardourel, Vincent and Bangu, Sorin (2023) Finite-size scaling theory: Quantitative and qualitative approaches to critical phenomena |
Calendar of Events & Calls for Papers - Upcoming Dates |
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