Call for Papers: Synthese topical collection on minimal (anti-) metaphysics
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)
Journal of Cognitive Science is an official journal of the International Association for Cognitive Science (IACS, http://www.cogsci.org.cn/iacs) and the Institute for Cognitive Science at Seoul National University. It is published quarterly by the Institute for Cognitive Science at Seoul National University, located in Seoul, Korea. The Association currently consists of member societies of different countries such as Australia, China, Japan, Korea, and European Union. However, paper submission by anyone in the whole world is welcome at any time. Its main concern is to showcase research articles of the highest quality and significance within the disciplines of cognitive science, including, but not limited to, philosophy, psychology, linguistics, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, aesthetics, anthropology, and education, insofar as it is deemed to be of interest to those who pursue the study of mind. In particular, we would like to encourage submissions that cross the traditional disciplinary boundaries. Indexing:
Our articles are indexed in the following databases:
• SCOPUS
• EBSCO
• Google Scholar
• ESCI (Emerging Sources Citation Index, Thomson Reuters
• KCI (Korea Citation Index)
Aims & Scope:
The Journal of Cognitive Science (JCS) is published quarterly on 31 March, 30 June, 30
September, and 31 December (founded in 2000) as the official journal of International
Association for Cognitive Science (IACS) by the Institute for Cognitive Science at Seoul
National University. It is a SCOPUS, ESCI, EBSCO, and KCI journal. It aims to publish research
articles of the highest quality and significance within the disciplines that form cognitive
science, including philosophy, psychology, linguistics, artificial intelligence, neuroscience,
anthropology, and education for Interdisciplinary Journal. Submissions that cross traditional
disciplinary boundaries in either themes or methods are especially encouraged. AI
associated Cognitive Science will be newly reinforced and papers in this area are
encouraged to be submitted.
Editorial Board:
• Editor in Chief:
Chungmin Lee, Seoul National University
• Editors:
Cameron Buckner, University of Houston
Sook Whan Cho, The State University of New York at Stony Brook
Songdo Alberto Greco, University of Genova
Koiti Hasida, University of Tokyo
AI Assistant Editor: Taikyeong Jeong, Hallym University
The Editorial Board and Advisory Editorial Board:
Hojjat Adeli, The Ohio State University
Kenneth A. Augustyn, Michigan Technological University
Bruno G. Bara, University of Turin
Ned Block, New York University
David Chalmers, Australian National University
Ivan Enrici, University of Turin
Peter Gärdenfors, Lund University, Sweden
Merrill Garrett, University of Arizona
Dedre Gentner, Northwestern University
Etsuko Harada, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Hidehito Honda, Otemon Gakuin University
Joonhwan Lee, Seoul National University
Tania Ionin, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Kiwako Ito, The University of Newcastle (UON)
Hong-Gee Kim, Seoul National University
Kihyeon Kim, Seoul National University
Gary Geunbae Lee, Pohang University of Science and Technology
Martha Lewis, University of Bristol
Chen Lin, Chinese Academy of Science
Charles Ling, Western Ontario University, Canada
Edouard Machery, University of Pittsburgh
Asifa Majid, University of Oxford
Klaus Manizer, Technical University of Munich
Tetsuro Matsuzawa, Kyoto University
Reiko Mazuka, Duke University
Louise McNally, Pompeu Fabra University
Byoung-Kyong Min, Korea University
Jake Quilty-Dunn, Washington University in St. Louis
Yasuhiro Shirai, Case Western Reserve University
Hua Shu, Beijing Normal University
Peter Slezak, The University of New South Wales
Hyeon-joo Song, Yonsei University
Darcy Sperlich, Xi'an Jiaotong - Liverpool University
Li-Hai Tan, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience
Paul Thagard, University of Waterloo, Canada
Markus Werning, Ruhr University Bochum
Roman V. Yampolskiy, University of Louisville
Byoung-Tak Zhang, Seoul National University
Linmin Zhang, New York University, Shanghai
Submission Guidelines:
All submissions must be in English, written clearly and in sufficient detail so that referees can assess the merits of the work. Papers should be no longer than 10,000 words and should conform to the JCS style guide. (JCS style guide is distributed, if requested, via email.) Papers will be received anytime and processed as promptly as possible. All authors should send an electronic copy (MS word) to j-cs@j-cs.org. Each submission will be sent to two or three reviewers. The reviews will be forwarded to the authors, who will then have an opportunity to make revisions if warranted.
