In addition to the keynote lectures, the workshop will include 10 additional presentations (30 minutes (20 minutes + 10 Q&A) and a roundtable discussion. If you are interested in being a speaker, please submit an abstract of between 500-800 words (including references), by November 26, 2024, midnight anywhere, to [log in to unmask].
Decisions will be returned by December 20, 2024.
(3) Accepting Applications for the Pittsburgh Summer Program 9 - Deadline March 15, 2025
We invite applications from undergraduate students at institutions located in North America who are highly motivated and show strong academic promise and interest in the philosophy of science, including but not limited to: women, LGBTQIA+, underrepresented racial/ethnic backgrounds, students with disabilities, first-generation undergraduates, and undergraduates from groups underrepresented in philosophy of science.
While one of the main aims of this program is to attract students traditionally underrepresented in philosophy of science, all qualified undergraduate applicants will be considered. Past coursework in philosophy of science is not a prerequisite for application to the Summer Program. The University of Pittsburgh, as an educational institution and as an employer, does not discriminate on basis of disability, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, genetic information, marital status, familial status, sex, age, sexual orientation, veteran status or gender identity and expression in its programs and activities.
The Summer Program will feature two daily graduate seminars about core issues and cutting-edge topics in general philosophy of science and philosophy of the special sciences (e.g., physics, biology, cognitive science and neuroscience, social sciences). The seminars and lectures will be given by internationally recognized faculty in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science and the Department of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh as well as in the Department of Philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University. Housing, meals, and transportation (US travel only—the University will not provide transportation costs for travel into or outside of the US) costs will be covered, and all course materials provided. Applications are due March 15, 2025 and participants will be notified by mid April.
- Cover letter describing your plans after graduation, and your interests in philosophy of science (including the philosophy of physics, biology, cognitive science, neuroscience, social sciences, etc.). Please briefly indicate relevant demographic information (racial/ethnic heritage, gender, etc.).
- CV (including College/University affiliation, major, GPA, high school, awards & recognition, any philosophy courses taken).
- Brief writing sample (2,000 words maximum) that will help the selection committee assess your academic and philosophical skills. Typically, but not necessarily, this will be a paper that was written for a college course. Philosophy of science papers are preferable, but a paper on a topic from any discipline will work if no suitable philosophy paper is available. The most effective paper to submit will be the one which best exhibits your academic and philosophical skills. The writing sample can be a selection from a larger paper.
- One letter of recommendation from a faculty member who is familiar with your work and can speak to your philosophical skills and suitability for this program.
A faculty member should separately send the letter of recommendation on behalf of the applicant to Samuel Wessell at: [log in to unmask]. (4) December Programs at The Center for Philosophy of Science
The upcoming talks are presented by The Center for Philosophy of Science's Visiting Fellows, Hein Van den Berg and Eric Hochstein. If you would like information about these positions for the 2025-2026 academic year, please see the bottom of this notice.
Lunch Time Talk - Hein Van den Berg
Tuesday, December 3rd @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EDT
In person at 1117 Cathedral of Learning (11th Floor) or join online at
Title: Wundt and Kraepelin: An Attempt to Ground Psychiatry as a Proper Science
Abstract: In the early stages of his career, Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926), one of the founders of modern psychiatry, attempted to synthesize work done in the newly established science of experimental psychology and psychiatry. This work was influenced by the pioneering research of Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920), with whom Kraepelin studied. Kraepelin’s experimental research remains a relatively little studied field and is mostly interpreted in the context of a debate on whether his experimental work influenced his later nosological research. In this work, I adopt a novel perspective on Kraepelin’s programme, and look into the extent into which Wundt’s writings on logic can shed light on the methodological foundations of Kraepelin’s research. By adopting this perspective, I demonstrate firstly that both Wundt and Kraepelin saw experiments as a means to apply the method of analysis, analyzing complex mental phenomena, including mental disorders, into their elementary parts. Secondly, I show that Kraepelin did not reject patho-anatomic studies of the brain in psychiatry, as is sometimes suggested, but that he applied Wundt’s method of experimental analysis to correlate elementary cerebropathic processes with elementary psychopathological processes. Thirdly, I show that the method of correlating cerebropathic processes with psychopathological processes was also due to Wundt, who in his physiological psychology attempted to correlate outer physiological processes with inner mental phenomena. Finally, I give a novel analysis of Kraepelin’s envisioned experiments.John D. Norton’s The Large-Scale Structure of Inductive Inference – Online WorkshopWednesday, December 4th @ 11:00am - 12:30pm EDTONLINE ONLYJoin us for the launch of John D. Norton’s The Large-Scale Structure of Inductive Inference, the second volume in BSPS Open, the diamond open access collection of the BSPS and Calgary University Press. You can download the pdf here or buy your printed copy anywhere. The meeting will take place on Zoom on December 4, 11.00 Pittsburgh, 17h CET, with a brief discussion between John Norton and Job De Grefte (Groningen) about the book, chaired by Helen Beebee (Leeds) and David Teira (UNED)
Lunch Time Talk - Eric Hochstein
Friday, December 6th @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EDTIn person at 1117 Cathedral of Learning (11th Floor) or join online at
Title: Mechanistic Mayhem
Abstract: Mechanistic theories of explanation are widely held in the philosophy of science, especially in philosophy of biology, neuroscience and cognitive science. While such theories remain dominant in the field, there have been an increasing number of challenges raised against them over the past decade. These challenges include arguments that mechanistic explanations can lead to incoherence, triviality, or deviate too far from how scientists in the life sciences genuinely employ the term “mechanism”. In this talk, I argue that these disputes are fueled, in part, by the running together of distinct questions and concerns regarding mechanisms, representations of mechanisms, and mechanistic explanation. More care and attention to how these are distinct from one another, but also the various ways they might relate, can help to defuse some of these disputes.
Information about 2025 - 2026 Fellowships
If you would like information about our Fellowships please visit our websites. Applications are due by December 8th, 2024