Starting Thurs at 3.30....some philosophy!
Best, Jeremy B

------
Jeremy Butterfield:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Butterfield
Homepage: http://trin-hosts.trin.cam.ac.uk/fellows/butterfield/
Trinity College, Cambridge CB2 1TQ
Tel: 01223 761524 (office); 07557-668413 (mobile)
Visit the journal, Studies in the History and Philosophy of Modern Physics
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13552198





---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 07:51:34 +0000
From: Richard Staley <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: HPS departmental seminar,
    3:30 pm 29 Jan: Sherrilyn Roush on The rationality of science in    relation
     its history

Sherrilyn Roush (Kings College London)

will speak at the History and Philosophy of Science Departmental Seminar

this Thursday, 29 January at 3:30pm (note our new starting time!)

on The Rationality of Science in Relation to its History

Many philosophers have thought that Kuhn’s claim that there have been paradigm 
shifts introduced a problem for the rationality of science, because it appears 
that in such a change nothing can count as a neutral arbiter; even what you 
observe depends on which theory you already subscribe to. The history of 
science challenges its rationality in a different way in the pessimistic 
induction, where failures of our predecessors to come up with true theories 
about unobservable entities is taken by many to threaten the rationality of 
confidence in our own theories. The first problem arises from a perception of 
uncomfortably much discontinuity, the second from an unfortunate kind of 
continuity, in the track record of science. I argue that both problems are only 
apparent, and due to under-description of the history. The continuing appeal of 
the pessimistic induction in particular is encouraged by narrow focus on a 
notion of method that Kuhn was particularly eager to resist.

Tea and biscuits will be available from 3pm in Seminar Room 1

Seminar Location:
Seminar Room 2
Department of the History and Philosophy of Science
Free School Lane
Cambridge
CB2 3RH

Following the talk we will go to the pub, and on to dinner. All are welcome!

--



Dr Richard Staley
Department of History and Philosophy of Science
University of Cambridge
Free School Lane
Cambridge
CB2 3RH
United Kingdom

Tel: + 44 (0)1223 334555
Fax: + 44 (0)1223 334554

http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/



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