CFP: Philosophical and Technological Reflections on Contemporary Cosmology
Submission deadline: November 15, 2026
Conference date(s):
January 27, 2027 - January 29, 2027
Topic areas
Details
Online Workshop: "Philosophical and Technological Reflections on Contemporary Cosmology"
When: 27-29 January 2027.
Where: Online (Zoom and streamed on the YouTube channel of the UNAM's Institute for Philosophical Research).
Submission deadline: 15 November 2026.
Keynote speakers:
Motivation and central questions:
Cosmology has undoubtedly become an epistemically successful science. Some of its successes include explaining the Cosmic Microwave Background and its features (temperature, anisotropies, polarization, etc.) with high precision; accounting for the abundances of the light chemical elements in the universe with high accuracy; discovering the isotropic accelerated expansion of the universe; establishing a model that synthesizes the results of various observational research projects (SNIFS, BOSS, COBE, etc.) into a relativistic model of an overall flat geometry with predictive power, and much more.
On the one hand, its success makes cosmology a reliable ground on which to test philosophical theses and frameworks motivated by research in other areas of science (Doboszewski & Elder, 2026; Elder, 2025). On the other hand, despite its success, there remain several philosophical concerns regarding the standard model of cosmology and inflation (Jacquart, 2021; Smeenk, 2014), the conceptual character and metaphysics of the phenomena it aims to account for (Martens & Lehmkuhl, 2020; Josset, Pérez & Sudarsky, 2017), the integration of relativistic and quantum theories into a coherent whole (Sudarsky, Urrutia & Vucetich, 2002; Okón & Sudarsky, 2014), the epistemological significance of computational methods (Gueguen, 2020; Meskhidze, 2023), and the challenges involved in developing a science of the universe itself (Ellis, 2001; Smeenk, 2017).
The workshop aims to open a dialogue between physics and philosophy. We welcome contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following questions:
Abstracts should be no longer than 300 words (references not included), and they should be prepared for blind review. Abstracts must be sent in PDF format to [email protected].
Submission deadline: 15 November 2026.
Notification of acceptance: 30 November 2026.
When: 27-29 January 2027.
Where: Online (Zoom and streamed on the YouTube channel of the UNAM's Institute for Philosophical Research).
Submission deadline: 15 November 2026.
Keynote speakers:
- Daniel Sudarsky (Nuclear Sciences Institute, UNAM)
- Jamee Elder (Tufts University)
- TBA
Motivation and central questions:
Cosmology has undoubtedly become an epistemically successful science. Some of its successes include explaining the Cosmic Microwave Background and its features (temperature, anisotropies, polarization, etc.) with high precision; accounting for the abundances of the light chemical elements in the universe with high accuracy; discovering the isotropic accelerated expansion of the universe; establishing a model that synthesizes the results of various observational research projects (SNIFS, BOSS, COBE, etc.) into a relativistic model of an overall flat geometry with predictive power, and much more.
On the one hand, its success makes cosmology a reliable ground on which to test philosophical theses and frameworks motivated by research in other areas of science (Doboszewski & Elder, 2026; Elder, 2025). On the other hand, despite its success, there remain several philosophical concerns regarding the standard model of cosmology and inflation (Jacquart, 2021; Smeenk, 2014), the conceptual character and metaphysics of the phenomena it aims to account for (Martens & Lehmkuhl, 2020; Josset, Pérez & Sudarsky, 2017), the integration of relativistic and quantum theories into a coherent whole (Sudarsky, Urrutia & Vucetich, 2002; Okón & Sudarsky, 2014), the epistemological significance of computational methods (Gueguen, 2020; Meskhidze, 2023), and the challenges involved in developing a science of the universe itself (Ellis, 2001; Smeenk, 2017).
The workshop aims to open a dialogue between physics and philosophy. We welcome contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following questions:
- The role and status of different kinds of evidence in cosmology. What counts as evidence in cosmology? How do models, simulations, and observations contribute to the production of evidence?
- The status of cosmological entities. What is the status of cosmological entities (such as the multiverse, dark matter, or dark energy)? Are we rationally authorized to hold metaphysical commitments to entities whose foundations are inherently theoretical?
- The epistemological issues surrounding computational methods. Does the heavy use of computational methods hinder theory testing? How do different forms of epistemic opacity impact the production of knowledge about the cosmos? What methodological frameworks can guarantee the acquisition of understanding from simulations?
- The theoretical difficulties of pursuing a coherent quantum-relativistic theory. What are the most reliable strategies to pursue a quantum gravity theory? Is there inductive risk when developing effective field theories?
- Formal approaches to reasoning in cosmology. Do alternative logics have any use in cosmology? Are cosmological phenomena fully consistent?
Abstracts should be no longer than 300 words (references not included), and they should be prepared for blind review. Abstracts must be sent in PDF format to [email protected].
Submission deadline: 15 November 2026.
Notification of acceptance: 30 November 2026.