Deadline extension CfP: Practical Realist Philosophy of Science. Reflecting on Rein Vihalemm’s Ideas
ISHPSS
From: Ave Mets <ave...@hotmail.com>
Practical Realist Philosophy of Science. Reflecting on Rein Vihalemm’s Ideas.
Description
Rein Vihalemm (1938-2015) was an Estonian philosopher of science working in the philosophical tradition that emphasises scientific practice and its relevance for philosophical understanding. The development of this tradition can be traced through Karl Marx’s “Theses on Feuerbach”, most importantly Thomas Kuhn’s “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” and its reception, and also the Finnish school of scientific realism (Ilkka Niiniluoto, Sami Pihlström), Ronald Giere’s cognitive approach to science, and Joseph Rouse’s account of science as practice. Vihalemm’s concept of phi-science was inspired by chemistry, Vihalemm’s first specialisation. He saw in chemistry a medley of different types of sciences—exact, or phi-scientific approach similar to physics (the ‘phi’ in phi-science), with mathematics as its core, and the approach characteristic to natural history, where nature’s dictate comes first in cognition and theorising (non-phi-science). Later Vihalemm came to formulate the five tenets of practical realism, which holds that scientific theories have their basis in material practices, especially experiments and observations (quasi-experiments), and practice is the only means by which the reality “shows” itself to humans.
Editorial team of the book: Ave Mets, Endla Lõhkivi, Jaana Eigi-Watkin, and Peeter Müürsepp.
Call for papers
We invite submissions to this collection by May 31, 2023.
Requirements for submissions:
Must include reference to Rein Vihalemm’s work in a substantive manner (see below for bibliography).
Topic must be relevant to the collection; examples include scientific practice, practical realism, metaphysics of science, methodology of science, special sciences, and neighbouring themes.
Length: up to around 10 000 words.
Format: doc or docx, anonymised for peer review.
Please send the manuscripts to Ave Mets (ave...@ut.ee).
Kind regards,
Ave Mets, on behalf of the editorial team
University of Tartu, Department of Philosophy
Rein Vihalemm’s bibliography can be found on his page in the Estonian Research Information System:
https://www.etis.ee/CV/Rein_Vihalemm/eng/#Publications
Additionally, English translations of some of his earlier works can be found in the journal Acta Baltica Historiae et Philosophiae Scientiarum:
https://www.bahps.org/acta-baltica/
2019 No. 7.2 – the book “A Story of a Science: On the Evolution of Chemistry”
Articles:
2020 No. 8.1 – “On the Transition to Quantitative Inquiry in Chemistry”
2021 No. 9.1 – “On the "Two-Layeredness" of Structure and the Relation of Quantum Mechanics and Chemistry”
2021 No. 9.2 – “On the Character of Knowledge in Ancient Chemistry”
2022 No. 10.1 – “On Stages of Cognition”