Summer School – Science and Values: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives

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Summer School – Science and Values: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives

25 July, 2022 - 29 July, 2022

€450

What are the values that drive scientific knowledge production? What is the value of science in society? What are the values that give scientific knowledge legitimacy and authority? This summer school focuses on the role of values in and of science and their relevance in past and present scientific investigations and debates.

While epistemic and non-epistemic values often are implicit to our knowledge production practices, they play a fundamental role in defining our understandings of what counts as science, as pseudoscience, or non-science. In addition, they contribute to how we draw disciplinary boundaries, and address complex issues of societal relevance.

By taking a perspective of integrated history and philosophy of science, this summer school will introduce you to the main philosophical debates on epistemic and non-epistemic scientific values in different historical contexts.

You will develop a critical understanding of the various roles that values play in scientists’ knowledge production as well as the analytical skills and historical sensibility that will enable you to analyze past and present value-driven scientific debates.

This summer school is co-organized by members of the Department of Philosophy I at the Ruhr University Bochum, Germany and the Freudenthal Institute at Utrecht University. 

By taking current problems and challenges such as the climate crisis, sustainability issues, and the coronavirus crisis as case studies, the summer school addresses three general topics:

  1. Science, pseudoscience, and non-science

Scientific knowledge, scientific institutions and scientists are often at the center of public critique. These critiques range from genuine concerns coming from various societal actors to anti-intellectualism and ‘alternative facts’. In this situation, science (again) faces the necessity to reflect on its values, in order to understand the epistemic and non-epistemic values according to which it should conduct and communicate research, secure its integrity and distance itself from other kinds of knowledge production and/or public opinion. This includes reflecting on the value (and duties) of science in society in contrast to other knowledge systems.  

  1. Interdisciplinarity

Today, interdisciplinarity is often taken to be a virtue in itself or, in some general way, to allow for better or more complete knowledge about complex issues through scientific pluralism. Philosophers have rarely explored the exact values that make interdisciplinarity desirable and possible. In order to avoid that ‘interdisciplinarity’ turns into an empty label, such reflection is strongly needed. We will discuss criteria of epistemic pluralism as well as differences (and similarities) in explanatory standards across disciplinary boundaries. We will also pay attention to epistemic injustice problems especially in transdisciplinary science and to the authority of different ‘knowers’ involved in epistemic practices. Moreover, we will reflect on whether interdisciplinarity is a value in itself in face of global challenges that are orthogonal to traditional disciplinary boundaries of science.

  1. Complexity and uncertainty

In a world that seemingly gets more complicated by the minute and in which science is addressing more and more complex phenomena, traditional values like simplicity and predictive power of scientific explanations becomes problematic. In face of this challenge, we ask, among others, whether science needs new value systems for Big-Data approaches and for addressing complex global challenges. We discuss how in past and present investigations of complex phenomena, phases of doubt and uncertainty originate, and whether uncertainty should be considered less of a vice and more of an epistemic virtue that can drive scientific enterprises. We will also analyze the consequences of different approaches to uncertainty and complexity in society at large. 


Course director
Abigail Nieves Delgado (Utrecht University), Jan Baedke (Ruhr University Bochum)

Lecturers

International lecturers:


Target audience
  • Advance bachelor students
  • Master students of history and philosophy of science, philosophy of science, history of science and related programs
  • Early PhD students

Costs
Course fee: €250
Included: Course fee
Housing fee: €200
Housing provider: Utrecht Summer School
 
We invite interested students to apply for a partial or a total waiver of the course fee/accommodation by including in the motivation letter an explanation of their financial situation.

Application

For this course you are required to upload the following documents when applying:

  • Motivation Letter
  • C.V.

More information

Abigail Nieves Delgado | Freudenthal Institute, Utrecht University | E: [email protected]

Jan Baedke | Department of Philosophy I, Ruhr University Bochum | E: [email protected]


Registration

Application deadline: 31 March 2022

Details

Start:
25 July, 2022
End:
29 July, 2022
Cost:
€450
Event Category:
Website:
https://utrechtsummerschool.nl/courses/humanities/science-and-values-historical-and-philosophical-perspectives

Organizers

Freudenthal Institute, Utrecht University
Department of Philosophy I, Ruhr University Bochum

Venue

Utrecht University
Domplein 29
Utrecht, 3512 Netherlands
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