Aesthetics of Science

This conference aims to analyse questions about the status and role of aesthetic judgments in science. In particular, we will address questions such as: what aesthetic properties do scientists value?; is beauty reducible to a set of aesthetic properties?; are aesthetic properties valuable in themselves or are they subject to change and fashion?; are aesthetic factors more than simply heuristic aids in decision-making?; can aesthetic factors be truth-indicators?; what epistemic role can aesthetic values play in science?. The conference will address these questions by involving specialists in aesthetics, philosophers of science, and philosophers working in integrated philosophy and history of science.