Wittgenstein on Scientism

July 3, 2012
Department of Philosophy, Durham University

The Bailey Room, St John’s College
3 South Bailey
Durham
United Kingdom

Sponsor(s):

  • The British Society for the History of Philosophy
  • British Society for the Philosophy of Science
  • Mind Association

Organisers:

Ian James Kidd
Durham University

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Details

Time: 09.15 –- 16.30

Speakers:
Jonathan Beale (Reading and Harvard) – ‘Scientism and Language-Games’
Bill Child (Oxford) – ‘Scientism and Anti-scientism in the Philosophy of Mind’
Professor David E. Cooper (Durham) – ‘Naturalism and Superstition’
Dr Andy Hamilton (Durham) – ‘Is There a Logical Space for a Non-scientistic Naturalism? The Case of Wittgenstein’
Dr Ian James Kidd (Durham) – ‘Wittgenstein, Feyerabend, and Scientism’
Dr John Preston (Reading) – ‘Wittgenstein: Mystery, Wonder, and Scientism’
Dr Genia Schönbaumsfeld (Southampton) – Title TBC
Dr Benedict Smith (Durham) – ‘Wittgenstein, Naturalism, and Scientism’

Aims and description
A striking feature of Wittgenstein’s later writings is his criticisms of various aspects of prevailing cultural attitudes towards the sciences – of how our ‘disgusting, soapy-water science’ is ‘putting man to sleep’, of the role of science in the atrophy of our sense of ‘wonder’, and the remarkable warning that our ‘age of science and technology’ may be the ‘beginning of the end’ for humanity. Although such remarks are clearly central to the later Wittgenstein’s thoughts about science and its relationship to philosophy, it is less clear just what they amount to and how they can be articulated in relation to his wider body of thought. The aim of this workshop is to try to explore and articulate Wittgenstein’s anti-scientism and locate it within the context of his thought and the wider history of twentieth century philosophy.

Registration
The registration fee is ten pounds which includes teas and coffees and lunch. Discounted rates are available for postgraduate students. Those requiring accommodation should contact Sue Hobson of St John’s College ([email protected]) directly. Please email Ian Kidd ([email protected]) for a registration form.

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July 3, 2012, 10:00am BST

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