CFP: What Do We Talk About When We Talk About (Scientific) Practices?

Extended Deadline: Early career researchers interested in scientific and/or mathematical practices are invited to submit an abstract until 10/02/2024.

In recent years, many researchers working in the philosophy of science have become more and more interested in scientific practices. This so-called “practice turn” seeks to replace or amend the attention traditionally given to scientific theories (their structure, content, and ontological status) with a focus on the practical activities carried out by physicists, chemists, biologists, mathematicians etc. in their day-to-day work (cf. Mancosu 2008, Hüttemann 2021, Soler et al. 2022).

These developments have in common their reliance on the notion of scientific/mathematical practice. But what exactly is a scientific/mathematical practice? What is the relation between such practices and scientific theory? Are there, in fact, no theories, but only bits of “theory-shaped practices” (cf. French 2020, Baird 2003)? The current workshop aims to address concerns of this kind by raising a broad philosophical question: What do we talk about when we talk about scientific practices?

Keynotes will be given by:

• Prof. Dr. Michela Massimi (Edinburgh)
• Prof. Dr. Friedrich Steinle (TU Berlin)
• Dr. Silvia De Toffoli(IUSS Pavia)

The workshop will be held from 23/05/2024 to 24/05/2024 at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. It is organized by Daian Bica and Paul Hasselkuß (Düsseldorf), and generously supported by the Department of Philosophy, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, the German Society for Analytic Philosophy, and by Prof. Dr. Markus Schrenk (Düsseldorf).

Submission

We encourage early career researchers (MA and PhD students) to submit an abstract of max. 500 words prepared for blind review. The deadline for submissions is 01/02/2024. To submit an abstract, please use our submission form: https://www.dgwp.org/events/2024/cfa#submission. For questions, please contact the organisers (dgwp2024 [at] phil.hhu [dot ]de).

The organizing committee will notify authors of its decision by 15/02/2024. There is no participation fee. Unfortunately, we cannot cover travel and accommodation expenses.

Please note that this is an in-person event, it is not possible to participate virtually.