VISU 2001 - Unity and Pluarlity in Science
The First Vienna Summer University was held on 16-28 July 2001.
Main lecturers were:
Don Howard (University of Notre Dame) and
Elliott Sober (University of Wisconsin)
A unified scientific understanding of nature was once a widely-accepted aim of
science and remains so in more than a few areas of contemporary science. In
recent years, however, both the possibility and the advisability of
unification have been questioned, with some arguing that themeism should be
prized in the sciences, perhaps for political as well as philosophical
reasons.
The course considered questions about unity and themeity in
science from a variety of philosophical, historical, and institutional
perspectives.
Specific topics were covered include:
- Theoretical unification in physical science
- Vitalism, materialism, and reductionism in biology
- Relativity, complementarity, and underdetermination: Metaphors of
multiplicity in twentieth-century science and philosophy
- The Unity of Science movement and the Vienna Circle
- The organization of scientific research
- Realism, reduction, simplicity, and explanation: Methodological
perspectives on unification
Pictures of VISU 2001 [prof. stadler | prof. sober | prof. howard | prof. hitchcock | group with ernst mach ]
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