Royal Institute of Philosophy Graduate Conference: Wittgenstein and the Idea of a Social Science

On 11-12 November 2022, Durham University will host a conference co-sponsored by the Royal Institute of Philosophy and the Aristotelian Society, on ‘Wittgenstein and the Idea of a Social Science’. 

This conference will explore Wittgensteinian perspectives on the philosophy of social science, in order to promote further dialogue between philosophy and the social sciences, and to build on the legacy of Peter Winch and his book The Idea of a Social Science. 

This is an in-person event, but with an option for online attendance via Zoom.

Day 1 (11 November)

13.30 – 13.50 
Registration; Coffee & Tea 

13.50 – 14.00 
Conference Welcome 

14.00 – 14.45 
David Chandler (UCL) 
Meaningfulness in Social Conventions  

14.45 – 15.30 
Martin Magnus Petiz (São Paulo) 
Peter Winch’s Idea of a Social Science and its Relation to the Concept of Law

15.30 – 15.45 
Coffee & Tea 

15.45 – 17.00 
Keynote Lecture: Rachael Wiseman (Liverpool)
Degrees of Understanding: Winch and Midgley on rules, reasons, and the limits of sense  

Day 2 (12 November)

9.30 – 10.00
Coffee & Tea

10.00 – 10.45 
Lawrence Espino (UP Diliman) 
Three Different Research Paradigms in Social Research: Why We Ought to Be Critical Realists

10.45 – 11.30 
Stephen Welch (Durham) 
‘Look and See’: Wittgensteinian Implications for Interpretivism, Social Constructionism and Positivism in the Social Sciences

11.30 – 11.45 
Coffee & Tea 

11.45 – 13.00 
Keynote Lecture: Nigel Pleasants (Exeter)
The Idea of 'Wittgenstein and the Idea of a Social Science'  

13.00 – 14.00 
Conference Sandwich Lunch 

14.00 – 14.45 
Michel Le Du (Aix-Marseille) 
Are Beliefs Social Realities?  

14.45 – 15.30 
Amadeusz Just (Warsaw) 
Anything but Rules? Rahel Jaeggi and the Concept of Social Practice

15.30 – 15.45 
Coffee & Tea 

15.45 – 17.00 
Keynote Lecture: Arif Ahmed (Cambridge)
Social Dimensions of Meaning 

17.00 – 17.10 
Conference Roundup  

18.30 – 20.30 
Conference Dinner (Bowes Dining Room)