University of Pittsburgh · School
of Arts and Sciences
Department of
History and Philosophy of Science
Talks & Conferences Archive
News
News Archive
Talks & Conferences Archive
Photoalbum
Academic Year 2008-2009
March, 2009:
The 11th Annual Pitt-CMU Graduate Student Philosophy Conference took place on Saturday, March 28, at CMU. Christopher Pincock and Hartry Field were the keynote speakers.
January, 2009:
Michael Weisberg gave a talk entitled "Epistemic Landscape Models of Cognitive Labor" at the Center for Philosophy of Science on Tuesday, January 27th.Jim Lennox gave the inaugural lecture of the lecture series "Evidence for Evolution: A Celebration of Charles Darwin's 200th Birthday" (January 16-17).
December, 2008:
On Friday, December 5, Karen Detlefsen gave a talk on "Teleology in Descartes’ Physiology" as part of the Center for Philosophy of Science's Annual Lecture Series.
November, 2008:
On Friday, November 14, as part of the Center for Philosophy of Science's Annual Lecture Series, Jeremy Butterfield gave a talk entitled "The Uses of Infinity: A philosopher looks at emergent phenomena in physics."
Academic Year 2007-2008
June, 2008:
The Institut d’Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences et Techniques, the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, and the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh organized a workshop on Adaptations in Psychology and in Biology the 4th and 5th of June at the IHPST in Paris. More information here.
April, 2008:
Lee Smolin (Physics, University of Waterloo) gave a lecture on "Remarks on the Reality of Time in Physics and Cosmology" in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, April 11, 2008, at 3:30pm 817CL.
March, 2008:
Christopher Smeenk (University of Western Ontario, HPS Alumnus 2003) gave the annual Alumnus lecture on “The cosmological constant problem”, Friday, March 28, 2008, 3.30pm, 817CL (pics here).
The tenth annual Pitt/CMU Graduate Student Philosophy Conference on the topic of “Relativism and Rational Reflection" took place on March 1, 2008. Bas Van Fraassen, Peter Machamer, and Gordon Belot were the keynote speakers. More information here.
February, 2008:
Theodore Porter (UCLA, History) gave a lecture on "Mutation, Chance, and Heredity: Some Historical Roots" in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, February 29, 2008.Edouard Machery (HPS, Pittsburgh) gave a lecture on "How null hypothesis testing obstructs progress in psychology" in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, February 01, 2008, at 3:30pm 817CL.
January, 2008:
Gerald Massey gave a lecture on "Deciphering Duhem" in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, January 18, 2008.
December, 2007:
Helen Longino (Stanford, Philosophy) gave a lecture on "Pluralism about the sciences of behavior" in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, December 7, 2007, 3:30 pm, 817CL.
November, 2007:
Edouard Machery organized the bi-annual meeting of the Moral Psychology Research Group at the Center for Philosophy of Science of the University of Pittsburgh (November 17-18, 2007). The program can be found here. For some pics, go here.
Elizabeth Spelke (Harvard Psychology) gave a lecture on "Core knowledge of number and geometry" in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, November 9, 2007, 3:30 pm, 817CL.
October, 2007:
The &HPS Conference (Integrated History and Philosophy of Science) took place at the Center for Philosophy of Science from Thursday, 11 October to Sunday, 14 October.
Marcel Weber (Science Studies Program & Philosophy, University of Basel) gave a lecture "Reference, truth, and biological kinds" in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, October 5, 2007, 3:30 pm, 817CL.
Academic Year 2006-2007
April, 2007:
Victor Caston (Michigan, Philosophy) will give a lecture "Aristotle on Intentionality" in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, April 13, 2007, 3:30 pm
March, 2007:
The Center for Philosophy of Science will organize a workshop on Elliott Sober's book manuscript, Evidence and Evolution, March 17-18, 2007 (Registration required).
March, 2007:
Elizabeth Lloyd (Indiana, History and Philosophy of Science) will give a lecture “The case of the female orgasm: Bias in evolutionary science” in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, March 30, 2007, 3:30 pm.
February, 2007:
The Center for Philosophy of Science organizes a workshop on Causality, Mechanisms, and Psychology Saturday, 24 February 2007 817 Cathedral of Learning.
January, 2007:
Thomas Ricketts (Pittsburgh, Philosophy) will give a lecture “From tolerance to reciprocal containment” in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, January 12, 2007, 3:30 pm, 817R Cathedral of Learning.
November, 2006:
Stephen Stich (Rutgers, Philosophy) will give a lecture on “Can evolutionary biology resolve the debate between egoism and altruism?” in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, November 10, 2006, 3:30 pm, G-8 Cathedral of Learning.
October, 2006:
James Joyce (University of Michigan, Philosophy) will give a lecture on “Rational Belief and Reasonable Belief, A Ramseyian Distinction” in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, October 13, 2006, 3:30 pm, 817R Cathedral of Learning (Abstract). The Center for Philosophy of Science is also hosting a conference “Bayesianism, Fundamentally”, Saturday, October 14, 817RCL.
September, 2006:
Solomon Feferman (Stanford, Mathematics/Philosophy) will give a lecture on “Truth Unbound” in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, September 29, 2006, 3:30 pm, 817R Cathedral of Learning.
September, 2006:
Allan Gotthelf (HPS, Pitt) and Tara Smith (Philos, UT-Austin), with Jim Lennox (HPS, Pitt) consulting, have organized a conference on "Concepts and Objectivity: Knowledge, Science, and Values", to be held here at Pitt on Sept. 22-24. The program participants (including chairs) are: Harry Binswanger, James Bogen, Daniel Bonevac, Bill Brewer, Ingo Brigandt, Richard M. Burian, Onkar Ghate, Allan Gotthelf, James G. Lennox, Alan C. Love, A.P. Martinich, James Pryor, Peter Railton, Nicholas Rescher, Gregory Salmieri, Geoffrey Sayre-McCord, Kenneth F. Schaffner, George Sher, Tara Smith, David Sosa, Darryl Wright. More information here.
Academic Year 2005-2006:
June, 2006:
Paolo Palmieri's experimental history. To better understand Galileo's work,
Paolo replicates Galileo's pendulum experiments. Pics here. More information
on Paolo's website.
April, 2006:
Paolo Mancosu (Berkeley, Philosophy, website) will give a lecture on “Unification and explanation: A case study from real algebraic geometry” in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, April 21, 2006, 3:30 pm, 2500 Posvar Hall.
April, 2006:
The 8th Carnegie Mellon University - University of Pittsburgh Annual Graduate Philosophy Conference will take place at the University of Pittsburgh, April 15, 2006 (David Lawrence Hall, room 104). Allan Gibbard (University of Michigan, webpage) is the keynote speaker: More information here.
March, 2006:
Nancy Cartwright (London School of Economics & U. California, San Diego, website) will give a lecture on “Hunting Causes and Using Them” in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, March 24, 2006, 3:30 pm, 2500 Posvar Hall.
February, 2006:
Thomas Hales (University of Pittsburgh, Mathematics, website) will give a lecture on “Computers and the Future of Mathematical Proofs” in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, February 24, 2500 Posvar, 3.30 pm.
February, 2006:
Robert Pennock (Michigan State U, philosophy, website), who was an expert witness in the Kitzmiller et al. vs. Dover Area School Board case, gave the HPS Alumni.
January, 2006:
Bernard Goldstein (University Professor Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh, Religious Studies & HPS) gave a lecture, entitled “The philosophy of Ptolemaic astronomy”, Friday, 20 January 2006.
December, 2005:
Michael Dietrich (Dartmouth College, Biological Sciences, website) will give a lecture, entitled “The Rise and Fall of Panselectionism”, Friday, 9 December 2005, 3.30 pm, 2500 Posvar Hall.
November, 2005:
George Smith (Dibner Institute, MIT) will give a lecture on “Testing Newton, Then and Now,” Friday, November 11, 2500 Posvar Hall, 3.30 pm.
October, 2005:
Jonathan Beere will give a lecture on “Faking wisdom: Plato on sophists as appearance-makers”, Friday, October 21, 244B CL, 3.30 pm.
September, 2005:
John Beatty (University of British Columbia, website) will give a lecture on “Darwin on Orchids: Teleology with a Twist” in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, September 30, 2500 Posvar, 3.30 pm.
September, 2005:
Bill Brewer (University of Warwick, website) will give a lecture on Perceptions and its Objects in the Annual Lecture Series, Friday, September 16, 2500 Posvar, 3.30 pm.
Academic Year 2004-2005:
9-10 April, 2005:
The Seventh Annual Pitt/CMU Graduate Student Conference
February 11-12, 2005:
Einstein 1905: A Centennial Celebration!
We celebrate the centenary of of Einstein's annus mirabilis, 1905. In that year, he established the size and reality of atoms; enunciated the special theory of relativity and E=mc2; and proposed the light quantum. See program. See Pictures.
October 1-3, 2005:
Being, Nature and Life: A Conference Celebrating Allan Gotthelf's Contributions to the study of Classical Philosophy and Science. See Pics.
Academic Year 2003-2004:
Graduate Student Conference
March 20-21, 2004The fifth annual Pitt/CMU graduate student philosophy conference is co-sponsored by the CMU Philosophy Department , the Pitt Philosophy Department , the Pitt History and Philosophy of Science Department , and Pitt's Center for Philosophy of Science.
Academic Year 2002-2003:
Summer Institute on Science and Values
June 23 - July 25, 2003Prof. Peter K. Machamer and Prof. Sandra D. Mitchell are organising a Summer Institute on Science and Values, with the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities, from June 23rd to July 25th 2003. Other events on the same theme included 'Science, Values and Objectivity', the Sixth Pittsburgh-Konstanz Colloquium in the Philosophy of Science in October 2002.
Representing Genes Project
Prof. Paul E. Griffiths and Dr Karola C. Stotz are conducting a two year project entitled “Representing Genes: Testing Competing Philosophical Analyses of the Gene Concept in Contemporary Molecular Biology", with support from the National Science Foundation and the University of Pittsburgh. The project will bring historians, philosophers and biologists known for their work in this area to Pittsburgh for two workshops, the first of which will be held in January 2003.