__________________________________________________
Call for Papers Theme: Incommensurability 50 Type: International Conference Institution: Department of Philosophy, National Taiwan University Location: Taipei (Taiwan) Date: 1.–3.6.2012 Deadline: 31.1.2012 __________________________________________________ In 1962 Thomas Kuhn and Paul Feyerabend independently suggested the provocative idea that under certain conditions theories (paradigms, world-views) are incommensurable – they have no common measure. Kuhn introduced the idea in his exceedingly influential "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" (1962), dramatically claiming that the history of science reveals that proponents of competing paradigms fail to make complete contact with each other’s views and are always talking at least slightly at cross-purposes. According to Kuhn, competing paradigms lack a common measure because they use different concepts and methods to address different problems according to different standards. This effectively limits communication between conceptual frameworks across the revolutionary conceptual divide, and requires bilingualism, relearning on the basis of a conceptually incompatible perspective. Kuhn called the collective reasons for these limits to communication the incommensurability of pre- and post-revolutionary scientific traditions. The idea of incommensurability was also central to Feyerabend’s philosophical pluralism from its early stages in post-War Vienna in the late 1940s, through to his post-modern approach in the early 1990s, as the idea began to be applied to languages and cultures more generally. Ever since, claims about incommensurability have been central to controversies across an array of disciplines, and the idea of incommensurability has played key roles in a wide range of discussions within and beyond the philosophy of science. This conference will focus on a number of interrelated themes: from the nature of the notion of incommensurability, to incommensurability in logic, mathematics and the natural sciences, in the social sciences and the arts, in comparative philosophy, in intercultural communication, and as a challenge for global politics. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the introduction of this stimulating idea, the Department of Philosophy of the National Taiwan University is pleased to announce the conference “Incommensurbility 50”, to be held in Taipei, 1-3 June 2012 under the auspices of the National Science Council. Keynote Speakers Joseph Agassi (Tel Aviv University and York University) Fred D’Agostino (University of Queensland) Randy Harris (University of Waterloo) Roger Hart (University of Texas) Paul Hoyningen-Huene (Leibniz Universität Hannover) Eric Oberheim (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) Howard Sankey (University of Melbourne) Xinli Wang (Juniata College) Xianlong Zhang (Peking University) Abstract Submission We call for contributed papers and invite submissions of both a short abstract (max. 100 words) and an extended abstract (max. 1000 words) through the automatic submission system EasyChair: https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=inc50 Papers are welcome in any of the six different sections of the conference: A. The Nature of the Notion of Incommensurability B. Incommensurability in Logic, Mathematics and the Natural Sciences C. Incommensurability in the Social Sciences and the Arts D. Incommensurability and Comparative Philosophy E. Incommensurability and Intercultural Communication F. Incommensurability and the Challenge of Global Politics Extended abstracts (max. 1000 words) shall start with the letter and title of the relevant section of the conference, the title of the proposed paper, the country of the author's institutional affiliation - the whole header being centered in the middle - and shall be prepared for blind review; extended abstracts shall be submitted as PDF files. Accepted contributed papers will be allocated 45 minutes (including discussion). The conference language is English. The deadline for submission is 31 January 2012. Decisions will be made by 29 February 2012. Conference fees There is no registration fee for the conference. The Local Organizing Committee is pleased to offer free accommodation and meals for the three days of the conference to all the contributing speakers. A few travel bursaries for graduate students are available (up to 400 USD). Organizing Committee Chair: Jeu-Jenq Yuann (National Taiwan University) Paul Hoyningen-Huene (Leibniz Universität Hannover) Members: Nimrod Bar-Am (Sapir College) Eric Oberheim (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) Matteo Collodel (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) Men-Yao Peng (National Taiwan University) Helmut Heit (Technische Universität Berlin) Chin-Mu Yang (National Taiwan University) Caleb Liang (National Taiwan University) Ron-Lin Wang (National Taiwan University) For further information, please refer to the conference website: http://www.philo.ntu.edu.tw/lmm/inc50/index.htm __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org __________________________________________________
