[spsp-members] [corrected date] International Postdoc Forum for the Philosophy of Science: 8 November (Wednesday)

[Alan Love]

*8 November 2023, 12:15 pm CST (UTC-6*)
*Ethnographic philosophy – articulating embodied ideas in science*
Helene Scott-Fordsmand, History and Philosophy of Science, University of
Cambridge

*Abstract*: Recent philosophy of science has seen an upsurge in the use of
qualitative methods to anchor philosophical debates in actual scientific
practice. This paper argues that ethnographic methods – using a contextual,
immersive and embodied approach – allow us to gain understanding not only
of the meaning of certain practices, but also of their significance, that
is, how they affect systems around them. It then explores how such insight
may contribute to philosophical enquiry. Adopting Chang’s suggestion from
integrated history and philosophy of science, that we may see concrete case
studies as occasions for abstract concept-articulation, the paper asks what
it takes to articulate a concept and how ethnographic fieldwork may help in
doing so. It answers this question by drawing notions of articulation from
Latour and Rouse and by providing an example from the author’s own work on
abject object relations in clinical medicine.

*Commentator*: Karen-Sue Taussig, Anthropology, University of Minnesota

The International Postdoc Forum for the Philosophy of Science
<https://cla.umn.edu/mcps/research-programs/colloquia/international-postdoc-forum>
is organized by the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science
<https://cla.umn.edu/mcps> (MCPS). It showcases virtual research
presentations from international scholars with commentaries from local MCPS
community members. Presentations are by Zoom webinar. Please join our mailing
list <http://eepurl.com/dj3RlD>, email mcps at umn.edu, or go here
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for a link to attend.
--
Alan C. Love
Winton Chair in the Liberal Arts
<https://cla.umn.edu/news-events/news/alan-love-places-evo-devo-front-and-center>
Distinguished McKnight University Professor
<https://scholarswalk.umn.edu/faculty-awards/mcknight-awards/distinguished>
Department of Philosophy & Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science
University of Minnesota
http://umn.edu/~aclove

*Current Project:* Agency, Directionality, and Function: Foundations for a
Science of Purpose <https://www.biologicalpurpose.org>
*New Publications:* (i) Reflections on the study of biological agency and
its evolution <https://www.spontaneousgenerations.com/love> (open access);
(ii) Stress, harshness, and evolutionary history
<https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2023.05.013>; (iii) Telling stories about
unseen ancestors <http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.06.006>
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