Workshop \;&ldquo\;Integrated History and Philosophy of Climate Data&rdquo\; \;
Climate data \;encompass a broad range of heterogeneous data\, from paleoclimate \;proxies to climate model outputs. In the scientific practice\, there are \;inherent issues of production and use \;of climate data. In this \;workshop \;we will investigate the potentials and limits of \;Integrated History and Philosophy of Science \;(IHPS) for analysing climate data production and use.
History \;of science studies the development of science in its socio-cultural \;context while philosophy of science aims to reflect\, on a normative \;basis\, on the instruments and methods used to \;produce scientific \;knowledge. \;Integrated History and Philosophy of Science \;(IHPS) contains the idea that history of science and philosophy of \;science could and should benefit from each \;other. On the one hand\, \;philosophical \;concepts of science are used in history of science. Reflecting on these \;concepts &ldquo\;can elucidate historiographical categories\, justify \;historiographical \;choices and\, thereby\, enrich and improve the stories \;that \;historians \;tell \;about past science as a knowledge-producing enterprise&rdquo\; (Arabatzis \;2017: 70). On the other hand\, \;philosophical \;concepts of science are \;supposed to apply to practices situated in a social and cultural \;world. \;Therefore\, they should be elaborated or revised in the light of the \;socio-cultural contexts that \;historical studies provide. \;However\, the HSP discussion \;does \;rarely leave the disciplinary boundaries of \;philosophy\, and the \;dialogue across the disciplines is challenged due to diverging \;goals and \;understandings of what \;history \;or \;philosophy \;should achieve. \;
This \;workshop therefore wants to bring historians and philosophers \;interested in climate science into a conversation with each other. Our \;goal is 1) evaluating how philosophy \;and history can benefit from each \;other&rsquo\;s work and approach\, and 2) discussing how we can combine our \;approaches in order to study climate data in an innovative way. \; \;
We believe that an integrated history and philosophy of science perspective is particularly relevant to study climate data. \;Philosophical \;questions related to data ask to which extent data \;count as evidence\, \;and how scientists can gain understanding from data models. \;Historical \;research shows that the methods\, technologies and practices in \;producing climate data have a \;history\, and how they are shaped by their \;social\, cultural and political contexts. \;We agree with Leonelli that \;&ldquo\;thinking \;about the complex history\, processing and use of data can encourage \;philosophers to avoid ahistorical\, uncontextualized approaches to \;questions of evidence\, and instead consider the methods\, skills\, \;technologies and practices involved in handling data &hellip\; as \;crucial to \;understanding empirical knowledge-making&rdquo\; (Leonelli 2020). \;We want to further explore \;how \;can historical insights into the role of \;socio-political \;agenda\, institutions and \;instruments in scientific research and data \;production enrich or change epistemological inquiry. And vice-versa\, (how) \;can we make historical studies \;on climate data \;richer and more \;coherent by integrating underlying philosophical concepts? And beyond &ldquo\;enriching&rdquo\; historical research\, what \;new \;historical questions may be asked when including philosophical \;considerations? \;
Possible questions and topics for presentations may address\, but are not limited to the following: \;
The \;workshop is intended as an exploratory and interdisciplinary meeting to \;bring together historians\, philosophers and climate scientists \;interested in climate data and in discussing the \;potential and limits of \;IHPS in this context. If interested in participating\, please send an \;abstract of max. 300 words and a short \;bio \;to: \;achermann@uni-wuppertal.de \;and \;julie.jebeile@philo.unibe.ch. Deadline for abstract submission: \;22 \;March \;2021. \;Please indicate in your application whether you need travel funding\, \;as \;there \;might \;be \;external support for \;young \;researchers \;in particular. \;
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Cited literature:
Arabatzis\, \;Theodore 2017. "What's in It for the Historian of Science? Reflections \;on the Value of Philosophy of Science for History of Science"\, \;International Studies in the Philosophy of Science \;31: 1. pp. 69-82. Leonelli\, Sabina 2020. "Scientific Research and Big Data"\, \;The Stanford \;Encyclopedia \;of Philosophy \;(Summer 2020 edition)\, \;Zalta\, Edward N. (ed.). \;https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2020/entries/science-big-data/.