CFP: Conference on History and Philosophy of Science: Methods, Metaphysics, and the Social-Historical Foundations of Scientific Knowledge

Major Themes

1. Scientific Methodology, Evidence, and Rationality

• Evidence, confirmation, and scientific inference
• Induction and Bayesian approaches
• Explanation, prediction, and theory choice
• Underdetermination and theory-ladenness
• Rationality, objectivity, and scientific progress

2. Metaphysics and Foundations of Science

• Scientific realism and anti-realism
• Causation and laws of nature
• Probability and determinism
• Locality, space, and time
• Reduction and emergence
• Foundational questions in physics, biology, and other sciences

3. History of Science: Knowledge, Practices, and Scientific Change

·         Historical development and transformation of scientific knowledge

·         Scientific revolutions and conceptual change

·         Experiments, instruments, and scientific practices

·         Formation and transformation of scientific disciplines and institutions

·         Circulation and exchange of scientific knowledge

·         Historical perspectives on scientific rationality and objectivity

4. History of Indian Science, Methodology, and Epistemology

• History of astronomy, mathematics, medicine, and other sciences in India
• Indian conceptions of method and rational inquiry
• Pramāṇa and theories of knowledge
• Perception, inference (anumāna), and testimony (śabda)
• Nyāya, Buddhist, and other traditions of reasoning and epistemology
• Indian epistemological traditions and contemporary philosophy of science

5. Science, Values, Technology, and Society

• Science and values
• Gender, caste, and knowledge production
• Science, democracy, and public reason
• Expertise, technology, and public trust
• Ethics and responsibility in science
• Contemporary relations between science, technology, and society

Submission of Abstracts

Faculty members, PhD and other research scholars, independent researchers, and others working in these or closely related areas are invited to submit abstracts for consideration.

Abstracts should be approximately 300–500 words and include the title of the proposed paper, the author's name, institutional affiliation (if applicable), and contact details.

Abstract Submission: Please send your abstract to [email protected], with a CC to [email protected].

Email subject line: Abstract Submission – HPS Conference

Abstract submission deadline: 25 November 2026

Kindly note that all applicants, whether selected or not, will be notified of the outcome by the second week of December 2026. If you have not received any communication by then, kindly feel free to follow up with us. Selected participants will subsequently be requested to submit their full papers before the conference.