CFP: The Forgotten Giants: Overlooked Scientific Revolutions in Natural Philosophy

The Forgotten Giants’ Shoulders: Overlooked Scientific Revolutions in Natural Philosophy

10-12 September 2024

Although it is tempting to follow in Kuhn’s footsteps and regard the history of natural philosophy as a series of revolutions led by giant figures – theoretical watersheds standing out from the landscape of the normal course of events – an accurate picture seems to be more complex and nuanced. Not every breakthrough contribution is immediately noticed as such, and not always is its field favourably disposed towards revolutionary change. Thus, some revolutions remained invisible in the shadow cast by a dominating paradigm or influential rival approach, to be rediscovered only after the theoretical potential of those has been fully exploited. Some other approaches were overlooked because of their philosophical affiliations, historical-cultural background, socio-religious or political context, or peculiarities of notation and terminology. Finally, some innovations were quickly intercepted and developed by mightier competitors.

It is precisely this topic that the second edition of The Forgotten Giants Conference is about. While our main focus is on overlooked, forgotten, and unnoticed theories, we welcome all contributions concerning the issue of revolution throughout the history of science and natural philosophy at all periods of time.

However, we are also interested in the problem of revolutionary change itself. What are the conditions that need to be satisfied in order that the theory could become a landmark in its field? What attributes are necessary to attract sufficient attention? What are the biggest obstacles in its path? Finally, how can we distinguish a truly revolutionary idea from one merely eccentric? Could progress be achieved through revolution alone? And does thinking out of the box, apart from the prevailing theoretical framework, always pay off?

To submit a paper for consideration, please send an abstract (max. 1500 characters) in English to the following email address: [email protected]

Submission deadline: the 30th of April 2024.

Applicants whose abstracts have been accepted will be notified by the 20th of May

The fee for participation in the conference is 50 Euro for participants from abroad and 250 PLN for guests from Polish institutions. The costs of travel and accommodation are covered by the participants.

For questions, please do not hesitate to email the organizers: [email protected]

The website address of The Center of Philosophy of Nature: https://www.cfp.uni.lodz.pl/en/

Organizers:

Professor Elżbieta Jung, PhD, MSc (Director of The Center of Philosophy of Nature, University of Lodz)

Joanna Papiernik, PhD (chairwoman of the Organizing Committee)

Professor Bartosz Żukowski, PhD (secretary of the conference)

Professor Robert Podkoński, PhD

Marcin Leszczyński, PhD