Workshop on Reduction and Emergence: CfP

Emergence and Reduction in the Sciences (Second Pittsburgh-Paris Workshop)

Friday, December 11- Saturday, December 12, 2009 at the Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh

Center for Philosophy of Science and Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh / Institut d'Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences et des Techniques, Paris. 

The theme of the conference, emergence and reduction in the sciences, reflects the interest that these dual notions continue to attract in philosophy of science, most notably in philosophy of physics, of biology and of cognitive science. The organizers invite papers that address these dual notions in any science. Papers that connect the notions in several sciences are encouraged.

Contributors are asked to send: Paper title, abstract (500 words) and a short CV in a single pdf file to the EasyChair conference page at http://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=pp2 by the submission deadline. (If you are not already a registered user of www.easychair.org, you will need to create a free account as part of the submission process.) Deadline for submission: August 15; Notification of acceptance: September 15. For general inquiries,cweber23@pitt.edu. Supplementary funding may be available to provide partial support for speakers contributing papers. 

Invited speakers:

Jacques Dubucs, Philippe Huneman; IHPST, Paris

Peter Machamer, Sandra Mitchell, Kenneth Schaffner; HPS, Pittsburgh

Michael Silberstein, Philosophy, Elizabethtown College

Jessica Wilson, Philosophy, University of Toronto

Pacific APA 2009 Events

GV-G. Society for the Metaphysics of Science, Session 1

6:00-9:00 p.m.

THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 9

Topic: New Waves in Metaphysics I

Chair: Allan Hazlett (Fordham University)

Speakers:

Thomas Hofweber (University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill)

“Against Esoteric Metaphysics”

Alyssa Ney (University of Rochester)

“Are There Fundamental Intrinsic Properties?”

Rae Langton (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and

Chris Robichaud (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

“Intrinsicality and Ignorance”

Ross Cameron (University of Leeds)

“Quantification, Naturalness, and Ontology”

Douglas N. Kutach (Brown University)

“Real and Ordinary Language Metaphysics”

Carolina Sartorio (University of Wisconsin–Madison)

“The Prince of Wales Problem for Counterfactual Theories of Causation”

GX-J. Society for the Metaphysics of Science, Session 2

SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 11

6:00-9:00 p.m.

Topic: New Waves in Metaphysics II

Chair: Alyssa Ney (University of Rochester)

Speakers:

Joshua Glasgow (Victoria University of Wellington)

“Another Look at the Reality of Race, By Which I Mean Race(F)”

Neal Judisch (University of Oklahoma)

“Bringing Things About”

Uriah Kriegel (University of Arizona)

“Interpretivism: It’s Scope and Limits”

Mari Mikkola (University of Lancaster)

“Is Everything Relative? Anti-realism, Truth, and Feminism”

Allan Hazlett (Fordham University)

“Post-essentialism”

Sara Rachel Chant (University of Missouri)

“The Metaphysics of Collective Action”

Upcoming SMS Events at the Chicago APA

Thursday, February 19, 5:15-7:15 PM

Group Session: Society for the Metaphysics of Science

Topic: Reduction in the Sciences
Chair: Carl Gillett, Northern Illinois University

Title: "Abstraction and the Shape of Reduction"
Speaker: Colin Klein, University of Illinois, Chicago

Title: "Reductionism Meets Complexity"
Speaker: Robert Bishop, Wheaton College

= = = =

Friday, February 20, 5:15-7:15 PM

Group Session: Society for the Metaphysics of Science

Topic: Author Meets Critics: James Ladyman & Don Ross's Every Thing Must Go

Chair: TBA
Critic 1: Andrew Melnyk, University of Missouri, Columbia
Critic 2: D. Gene Witmer, University of Florida

Author: Don Ross, University of Alabama at Birmingham & University of Cape Town)

Check your program for further details.

CFP: "Reduction, Emergence, and Essence"

(ISN Summer Conference 2009)
June 19-20, 2009, Cambridge, MA

Complete information: http://isnature.org/Events/2009/Summer/Conference.htm

Immediately following the four days of study at the Summer Seminar,
the ISN will hold its third annual conference for the benefit of the
Summer Fellows and interested scholars.

What: A one and one-half day academic conference with one or two
keynote addresses, and the presentation of academic papers. This
year’s conference will center on scientific and philosophical
strategies for understanding the natural world. Papers are welcome on
topics ranging from anti-reductionism/holism in science to self-
organization, systems theory, and complexity, to papers in natural
philosophy in the neo-Aristotelian or phenomenological traditions. See
the ISN “articles, essays, and books” page to get a sense of the range
of relevant topics.

Who: Scholars interested in giving papers are welcome to submit their proposals along with a CV by Monday, March 2nd. Those whose papers are selected will have their lodging paid for, Conference fee waived, and travel expenses reimbursed—fully for travel from within the U.S. and half for travel from without. The keynote speaker or speakers will be announced by April 6th. Any interested scholar may attend, but please notify us by May 15th that you plan to come.

Summer Fellows from the immediately preceding Summer Seminar are
expected to remain to participate in this conference, which has been
specially scheduled for them. Please consider nominating your own
students for our Summer Fellowship Program, particularly if they might qualify for one of our competitive Honor Scholarships.

When: The Summer Conference begins on Friday afternoon, June 19th, at 3:30pm, and ends on Saturday evening. A block of hotel rooms will be reserved at a special Conference rate, and those whose papers are accepted will have their lodging paid for. Further scheduling information will be posted on the ISN website: www.isnature.org.

Where: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
Massachusetts. Limited information about travel and other logistics is
available on the conference logistics page. More specific information
will be sent to those who let us know they are coming.

How: Please contact ISN Director John Keck by May 15th if you plan to attend. The $50 fee for the Summer Conference includes a group dinner on Saturday evening. The fee can be reduced or waived on a showing of need. Attendees not presenting are expected to cover their own travel expenses, but exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Paper proposals and accompanying CVs must be received by Monday, March 2nd, 2009; decisions will be announced by Tuesday, March 31st. Electronic submission is strongly encouraged.

Complete information: http://isnature.org/Events/2009/Summer/Conference.htm

Mechanisms and Causality in the Sciences

9-11 September 2009
University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

http://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/philosophy/jw/2009/macits/

Scientific explanation of some phenomenon often proceeds by elucidating the mechanism resposible for the phenomenon. But what is a mechanism, precisely? Does the notion of mechanism vary across the sciences? Causal relationships are also often invoked to explain; how do causal explanations relate to mechanistic explanations? More fundamentally, how do mechanisms relate to causality?

The three-day conference Mechanisms and Causality in the Sciences will explore these and related questions. We welcome submissions from scientists, philosophers, statisticians and others on these themes. If you would like to present a paper at the conference, please submit an abstract by 1st May. If you would like your paper to be published in the accompanying volume, please submit the full paper by 1st July.

Invited speakers include: Carl Craver, Stuart Glennan, Stephen Mumford, Stathis Psillos