Logic List Mailing Archive

"Data-Phenomena-Theories", Heidelberg (Germany), 11-13 Sep 2008

Call for Papers:

Data -- phenomena-- theories:
What's the notion of a scientific phenomenon good for?

http://www.philosophie.uni-hd.de/dbj/phenomena08.html

University of Heidelberg, Germany
09/11 -- 09/13/2008

Topic of the conference

Typically, scientists call subjects they investigate phenomena. While the
notion of a scientific phenomenon is common in science, apart from a few
exceptions, it has not been systematically discussed in philosophy of
science. Even worse, there seem to be two ways the notion is used. On the
one hand, following the ancient astronomical program called ~SSaving the
phenomena~T, scientific phenomena are taken to be observed facts that should
be explained. On the other hand, following Bogen and Woodward (1988),
scientific phenomena are taken to be general non-observable patterns that
can be inferred from the data and should be explained.

The conference aims at discussing these suggestions, and perhaps others.
Should, or can, the notion be restricted to observable facts? If not, if
knowledge about scientific phenomena is typically gained via inference, are
phenomena theory-laden ~V and if so in what sense? Are scientific phenomena
that are inferred from data on a par with theoretical entities? How may the
notion of a scientific phenomenon be explicated such that it illuminates the
way science works?


Confirmed Speakers: 	James Bogen, University of Pittsburgh
Stephan Hartmann, Tilburg University
Andreas Huettemann, University of Muenster
Peter Machamer, University of Pittsburgh
Michela Massimi, UCL
James McAllister, University of Leiden
Sandra Mitchell, University of Pittsburgh


Submissions
We welcome contributed papers on the topic of the conference for 30 min
talks
followed by 15 discussions. The language of the conference is English.
Abstracts of approximately 1000 words should be sent to
phaenomene@uni-heidelberg.de by 31 January 2008.

Registration
There is no registration fee. Further participants are welcome but should
register by sending an email to phaenomene@uni-heidelberg.de by 30 July
2008.

Organization
The conference is organized by the research project ~SCausality, Cognition
and
the Constitution of Scientific Phenomena~T, which was initiated and lead by
the
late Daniela Bailer-Jones. For further information about the project see:
http://www.philosophie.uni-hd.de/dbj/2projektdbj.html
or http://www.philosophie.uni-hd.de/dbj/2english.html.