CFP: All you need is science? Scientism and our multifaceted knowledge of reality

Conference Theme

This conference is meant to explore the nature and tenability of scientism as an epistemological position. Questions to be addressed in the conference are:

• How can scientism best be defined?
• How does it relate to (philosophical) naturalism, physicalism, logical positivism and other philosophical neighbors?
• How should the rise of scientism (especially in academia) be explained, what is its ‘pull’?
• What arguments can be given in favor of scientism?
• Why should scientism be deemed unsatisfactory, and, if so, what problems does it cause?
• How does scientism make a difference to the ways in which scientific research is conducted?
• What fields of research can be discerned where scientism makes a difference for the interpretation of data, theory choice etc.?
• What alternatives to scientism can be distinguished, and how should we evaluate them?
• What tasks and possibilities do disciplines like epistemology, philosophy of science, metaphysics and theology have here?

Call for Papers

We cordially invite you to submit a 500 word abstract on any topic relevant to the conference theme. Please prepare your abstract for anonymous review. Abstracts may be submitted by e-mail (as plain text, MS Word, Pages, or pdf files) or by regular mail. Abstracts should be submitted to the conference organizers by September 1st, 2013. Notification of acceptance / rejection: September 15th, 2013. Selected papers will be eligible for publication in a special issue of a leading philosophical journal.

Background

The conference is the first in a series organized by the recently founded Abraham Kuyper Center for Science and Religion at VU University in Amsterdam. Part of the Center’s activities is a large scale philosophical study on the topic of ‘Science beyond scientism’.  

Registration

To register, send us your full contact details including e-mail address. Also let us know of any special dietary requirements you may have. The conference fee is €200 and €150 for PhD students.

Conference Organizers

Gerrit Glas, Gijsbert van den Brink, René van Woudenberg, Jeroen de Ridder and Rik Peels

Conference Website

Please visit the website of the Abraham Kuyper Center (www.abrahamkuypercenter.vu.nl/scientism) regularly for new information regarding this conference.

Contact Details

To register and/or to submit a proposal please use the following e- mail address:

[email protected]