In 1959, Norwood Hanson famously claimed that the history of science without the philosophy of science is blind, whereas philosophy of science without a history of science is empty. Ever since, there have been both institutional and intellectual attempts to integrate the historical and philosophical inquiries/studies of science. These attempts have generated different, sometimes conflicting methodological approaches to conceptualize episodes from the history of science and their philosophical significance.
One important methodological conflict in this tradition of contact between history and philosophy of science pertains to the status of historical cases: should they be understood as evidence for general accounts of scientific inquiry, as tests for normative ideals for science, or as avenues to explore the diversity and complexity of specific scientific practices? In this course, we provide an in-depth introduction to both historical and contemporary methodologies in HPS, discussing the work of Norwood Hanson, Larry Laudan, Ian Hacking, Jutta Schickore, Hasok Chang and Lorraine Daston.
Special guest speakers are Jutta Schickore (on the 4th of April) and Hasok Chang (on the 9th of May).
The course aims to introduce students to a diversity of methodological approaches that use the history of science as an avenue to advance our understanding of what science is. At the end of the course students will have the ability to:
Please note: The format of the course will be hybrid. Nonetheless, in order to encourage in-person attendance, lectures and seminars (Part I and Part II) take place on the same day. When applicable, we will have a lecture in the morning and a seminar in the afternoon, with the opportunity to share lunch together.
Primary target group | PhD researchers and ReMA students working in history and/or philosophy of science |
If places available also open to | Postdocs |
Type of activity | Seminar |
Certificate credit points | 4 EC |
Organizer | |
Location | |
Date | March 7, 2025 @ 10:30 |
Venue | Tilburg University, Room TBC |
This is a tentative program. Some dates may still change – the final program will be determined in late November.
The course is articulated in 2 parts:
Friday March 7
Friday March 21
Friday April 4
Friday April 11
Friday April 25
Friday May 9
Costs:
How to register:
Registration will open in November.
The registration deadline is January 30, 2025. If registration has been closed because the maximum amount of participants has been reached, you can submit your name to the waiting list by sending an email to . Please also indicate whether you are a ReMA student or PhD candidate and whether you are a member of the OZSW or not.
The OZSW registration and cancellation policy applies to this activity (to be found here).
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