Call for Papers for a Topical Collection in Synthese: New Work on Networks
Daniel Kostic
Call for Papers for a Topical Collection in Synthese: New Work on Networks
Guest Editors: James Woodward, University of Pittsburgh, and Daniel Kostić, University of Leiden.
Topical Collection Description:
The discussions on topological explanations are gaining a significant momentum in the philosophy and in science, as the number of both scientific and philosophical papers on this topic are growing every year. In their recent paper Kostić and Halffman (Kostić and Halffman 2023) have shown that in 2,2 million neuroscience papers between the years 1990-2021, the literature on topological explanations not only grew at unprecedented rates, but also have a much higher rate of growth than the general increase of neuroscience literature since 2006. Earlier work on topological explanations has focused on their unique features and relationship to other dominant explanatory strategies (Kostić 2018a; 2018b; 2019a; 2019b; 2020; 2022; 2023; Kostić and Khalifa 2021; 2023; Kostić, Hilgetag, and Tittgemeyer 2020; Darrason 2018; Rathkopf 2018; Huneman 2010; 2017; Serban 2020; Bechtel 2020; Levy and Bechtel 2013; Green et al. 2018; Craver 2016; Ross 2021). So even though some of the core concepts and analyses of topological explanations have been explored in the literature, many issues remain relatively underdiscussed. For example, it would be desirable to have a clearer understanding of how topological explanations relate to the more general theories of explanation in the philosophical literature and how accounts of the directionality of topological explanations relate to accounts of directionality in other sorts of explanations. It would also be desirable to have a better understanding of the circumstances in which topological explanations and analyses are most likely to the fruitful and how what they tell us differs from the information provided by other sorts of explanations. Yet another issue concerns the fact that network analyses can be used for a variety of purposes that seem prima-facie different from explanation-- for example, to predict whether a patient has a mental disorder from a study of functional connectivity. Studies of such uses-- their structure and when they are warranted --would also be desirable. Another potential use of networks which again may not have to do directly with explanation concerns their role in scientific discovery. Finally, there are a number of interesting issues about how claims about networks and more particularly claims about the role of networks in explaining other phenomena can be tested, given that straightforward interventions on networks are not always possible. Here researchers have increasingly resorted to simulation experiments and these raise interesting methodological questions. Our hope is that this topical collection will result in papers that address such questions. We invite submissions for a Topical Collection of papers on all of these issues as well as related ones.
Appropriate Topics for Submission include, among others:
1) In what sorts of circumstances are appeals to networks most likely to be fruitful?
2) Why do we find appeals to networks in some areas of science but not others?
3) How are network representations discovered and evaluated empirically in different areas of science?
4) The use of networks in particular areas of science-- neurobiology, psychiatry, epidemiology and so on.
5) If network explanations are non-causal, how exactly should we understand the causal/non-causal contrast?
6) Network explanations often seem to have a direction: the fact that a contact network has a small world structure is thought to figure in an explanation of why a disease spreads more rapidly on that network than on a network represented by a random graph. However, the rate of disease spread does not explain network structure. If network explanations are non-causal, this directionality must come from some other source besides the directionality associated with causal explanation. We thus face the issue of how to understand this source.
7) Can network explanations are non-causal can they nonetheless be understood within the framework of some more general theory of explanation such as the idea that explanations trace patterns of counterfactual dependency?
8) Is the common conclusion that network explanations are non-causal correct this is understood in an unqualified way?
For further information, please contact the guest editors: James F. Woodward at j...@pitt.edu; or Daniel Kostić at daniel...@gmail.com.
The deadline for submissions is: November 30, 2024.
Submissions via: https://www.editorialmanager.com/synt/default.aspx
Please make sure to choose the “New Work on Networks” as an article type in the editiral manager.
Best wishes,
James Woodward and Daniel Kostić
Dr Daniel Kostic
Fellow in Humane AI
Institute of Philosophy, University of Leiden
Nonnensteeg 1-3
The Netherlands
Web: daniel-kostic(dot)weebly(dot)com
E-mail: daniel (dot) kostic (at) gmail (dot) com
Kostic, D., Halffman, W. (2023). “Mapping Explanatory Language in Neuroscience”. Synthese 202, 112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-023-04329-6. Find it here.
Daniel Kostic
Dear all,
We have extended the submission deadline for the Synthese topical collection on "New Work on Networks,” which Jim Woodward and I are guest editing, to 01 April 2025.
For more details, please see the email below or visit the CFP link: https://link.springer.com/collections/dhafhdgada.
Best wishes,
James F. Woodward and Daniel Kostic
Daniel Kostic
Dear all,
The submission deadline for the Synthese Topical Collection on "New Work on Networks” is on 01 April 2025.
For more details, please visit the CFP link: https://link.springer.com/collections/dhafhdgada.
Submissions via: https://www.editorialmanager.com/synt/default.aspx
Please make sure to choose the “New Work on Networks” as an article type in the editorial manager.
Best wishes,
Daniel Kostic and James F. Woodward
Dr Daniel Kostic | Visiting Lecturer | Faculty of Philosophy | Theoretical Philosophy | University of Groningen | The Netherlands
Web: daniel-kostic(dot)weebly(dot)com
E-mail: daniel (dot) kostic (at) gmail (dot) com
Tel.: +33 (0) 7 68 89 02 95
+31 (0) 6 25 08 70 01
Recent articles:
Daniel Kostic
The Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFiS-PAN) invites expressions of interest from postdoctoral researchers aiming to apply for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships in 2025.
These prestigious fellowships support researchers in acquiring new skills and establishing themselves as independent scholars through advanced training and international, interdisciplinary, and inter-sectoral mobility. For more information on the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025, please refer to the official call details: marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu
We particularly encourage applications from women and candidates from other underrepresented groups, such as members of the LGBTQ+ community, individuals from underrepresented racial or ethnic backgrounds, persons with disabilities, first-generation college graduates, and applicants from economically disadvantaged or war-affected regions, including Ukraine.
Researchers applying for the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 with a host institution in a Widening Country—such as Poland—are automatically considered for the ERA Fellowships (HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-TALENTS-01) if their MSCA proposal is not funded. This provides an additional opportunity for securing support.
Another valuable option is the Ulam NAWA Programme. Applicants who score 85% or higher in the MSCA assessment are awarded the MSCA Seal of Excellence, which grants them an automatic full score in the merit evaluation for the Ulam NAWA Programme. The financial support offered by Ulam NAWA is comparable to that of the MSCA, with monthly funding at a similar level, ensuring competitive conditions for fellows.
At IFiS-PAN, we have a diverse team of experts who have previously held MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships, served as MSCA supervisors, and acted as evaluators for this and other funding programs. They will actively support and mentor promising candidates in preparing their applications and, if successful, in hosting their projects at IFiS-PAN.
Available supervisors at IFiS-PAN are Associate Professors Daniel Kostić and Marcin Milkowski, who can supervise MSCA projects on the following topics in theoretical philosophy:
· Explanations (especially topological, non-causal, mathematical, computational, mechanistic, narrative, interventionist, and other causal explanations);
· Scientific understanding;
· Explainable AI;
· Models and representation in science;
· Science and Technology Studies (including corpus analysis, bibliometrics, and network analysis);
· Social epistemology of science;
· Complexity;
· General Philosophy of Science (pluralism-perspectivism-pragmatism, explanatory relevance, shape and dynamics of science);
· Philosophy of Mind (including the explanatory gap problem, pain, theories of emotion, attention);
· Philosophy of neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology and psychiatry;
· Metaphysics of science broadly construed (levels, properties, natural kinds, different kinds of dependency relations, counterfactuals, ontic backing).
Professor Danilo Facca can supervise projects in modern and early modern philosophy, especially the following topics:
- History of modern philosophy
- Intellectual history in Renaissance and early modern time
Profs. Jagna Brudzińska, Adam Lipszyc and Mikołaj Ratajczak are available to supervise projects in continental and political philosophy, specifically on the following topics:
- Philosophical Anthropology
- Critical Theory
- Psychoanalysis
- Philosophy of Culture
- Philosophy of Subjectivity
- Philosophy of Embodiment
- Postsecularism
- Philosophy of Literature
- Phenomenology
Besides the available expertise at IFIS-PAN, the fellows will be embedded into a rich local and international network of experts who are collaborating both at the institutional and individual levels, with Profs. Kostić and Milkowski, and other available supervisors.
Application Process:
Interested candidates should submit the following documents by email no later than 16 May 2025:
- A detailed Curriculum Vitae, including a list of publications.
- A concise research proposal (max. 2 pages) outlining the intended project, its objectives, and how it aligns with the relevant IFIS-PAN’s research areas.
Please direct your application to the appropriate contact(s) based on your area of interest:
- Theoretical Philosophy:
Prof. Daniel Kostić – daniel...@gmail.com
Prof. Marcin Milkowski – marcin.m...@gmail.com - Modern and Early Modern Philosophy:
Prof. Danilo Facca – danilo...@ifispan.edu.pl - Continental and Political Philosophy:
Prof. Jagna Brudzińska – jbrud...@ifispan.edu.pl
Prof. Adam Lipszyc – adaml...@gmail.com
Prof. Mikołaj Ratajczak – mikolaj....@gmail.com
Selected candidates will be guided through the next steps of the application process.
Key Dates:
- Call Launch: 9 April 2025
- IFIS-PAN Deadline for Expression of Interest: 16 May 2025
- MSCA Application Deadline: 10 September 2025
- Notification of Results: February 2026 (tentative)
- Fellowship Start Date: April 2026 (tentative)
Key Eligibility Criteria:
Candidates must hold a PhD and have up to eight years of research experience post-PhD. The MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to researchers of any nationality. Applicants should not have resided or carried out their main activity in Poland for more than 12 months in the three years immediately before the call deadline.
We look forward to collaborating with talented researchers who are eager to contribute to and benefit from the vibrant academic environment at IFIS-PAN.
Dr Daniel Kostic
Daniel Kostic
CFA: 8th Scientific Understanding and Representation (SURe) annual workshop
Call for abstracts
We invite authors to submit abstracts of up to 750 words (4500 characters) for the upcoming 8th annual Scientific Understanding and Representation (SURe) workshop.
The workshop will take place May 27-29, 2026, at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, The Polish Academy of Sciences (IFiS PAN) in Warsaw.
Submission link: https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/SURe2026/Track/1/Submission/Create
Submission deadline: 20 January 2026
Deadline for communicating decisions: 20 February 2026
Conference dates: May 27-29, 2026
Keynote speakers
Magdalena Małecka (University of Copenhagen)
Igor Douven (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)
Panelists:
Finnur Dellsén (University of Iceland & Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences)
Alfredo Vernazzani (Ruhr-Universität Bochum)
For updates about the 8th edition, please visit the SURe2026 website: https://sure-workshop.weebly.com/current-workshop.html
Workshop description
Representations play a central role in scientists’ understanding of the world. From mathematical models to diagrams, different representations in highly varied contexts yield diverse insights across the physical, biological, and social sciences. Despite the fact that how a phenomenon is represented has far-reaching ramifications for how it is understood, the literatures on scientific understanding and scientific representation are largely independent of each other. The time is ripe to foster greater synergy between these two areas in the philosophy of science, as they face complementary problems—and hold the promise of complementary solutions. For more information about the workshop series, please visit: https://sure-workshop.weebly.com/about.html
Local Organizing Committee
Daniel Kostić, Anna Martin, and Marcin Miłkowski
Web: daniel-kostic(dot)weebly(dot)com
E-mail: daniel (dot) kostic (at) gmail (dot) com
Tel.: +33 (0) 7 68 89 02 95
+31 (0) 6 25 08 70 01
Recent articles:
Barman, K. G., Caron, S., Sullivan, E., de Regt, H. W., de Austri, R. R., Boon, M., Färber, M., Fröse, S., Golling, T., Lopez, L. G., Hasibi, F., Heinrich, L., Ipp, A., Kapoor, R., Kasieczka, G., Kostic, D., Krämer, M., Marco, J., Otten, S., Pawlowski, P., Vischia, P., Weber, E., Weniger, C. (2025). “Large physics models: towards a collaborative approach with large language models and foundation models”. Forthcoming in European Physical Journal C, 85:1066. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-025-14707-8
Kostic, D. (2024). “On the Role of Erotetic Constraints in Non-causal Explanations”. Philosophy of Science, 91(5), 1078–1088. doi:10.1017/psa.2023.114