News - Page 28 of 43 - The Rotman Institute of Philosophy

New Video Posted: James Fleming – Dynamic Climatology: Historical Perspectives on Shape-Shifting Nouns

New Video Posted: James Fleming – Dynamic Climatology: Historical Perspectives on Shape-Shifting Nouns

Here is the first video from the Knowledge and Models in Climate Science: Philosophical, Historical & Scientific Perspectives Conference at the Rotman Institute of Philosophy, Western University, October 24-26, 2014.James Fleming (Colby College, Science, Technology and Society)Abstract: I present case studies of “shape-shifting nouns” in the history of dynamic climatology and identify some overarching trends [...]

robread2014-12-12T11:24:18-05:00December 12th, 2014|2014 Conference|

New Video: Peter Achinstein – Who Needs Proof? James Clerk Maxwell on Scientific Method

The second lecture Peter Achinstein gave in November, 2014 is now available on our YouTube channel, and below: Abstract: Isaac Newton famously claimed that hypotheses, i.e., unproved propositions, have no place in “experimental philosophy.” Maxwell disagreed and proposed three methods that can legitmately be employed when a scientist lacks proof for a theory, or even a [...]

robread2016-01-29T11:54:52-05:00December 10th, 2014|Events, Philosophy of Science|

New Video: Peter Achinstein – What is a theory of everything, and why should we want one?

New Video: Peter Achinstein – What is a theory of everything, and why should we want one?

Abstract: Scientists and philosophers who seek, or advocate seeking, a “theory of everything” (e.g., string theory, Thomas Nagel’s panpsychic theory, David Chalmers’ “construction of the world”) want to produce a grand, unifying theory that can explain everything on the basis of fundamental laws and constituents of the universe. Advocates of this idea offer very general [...]

robread2016-01-29T11:55:19-05:00December 5th, 2014|Events, Philosophy of Science|

Postdoctoral Fellows Positions – Now Accepting Applications

Postdoctoral Fellows Positions – Now Accepting Applications

Three Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Rotman Institute have now opened, and will be accepting applications until January 15, 2015. These positions provide new scholars with a unique opportunity to pursue his or her chosen areas of scholarly research in collaboration with Rotman Institute Members.The Rotman Institute of Philosophy is situated in one of Canada’s leading [...]

robread2016-01-29T11:55:56-05:00December 1st, 2014|Rotman News|

New Video Posted: Roman Frigg – Climate Change and Intergenerational Justice

New Video Posted: Roman Frigg – Climate Change and Intergenerational Justice

Should we take drastic measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions now, or should we continue our current practices and leave it to future generations to adapt to the effects of climate change? Opinions on this issue are divided. In this lecture Roman Frigg explains the terms of the debate in plain English (no knowledge of [...]

robread2016-01-29T11:56:25-05:00November 19th, 2014|2014 Conference, Climate Change|

New Video Posted: Climate Change: What is to be done?

New Video Posted: Climate Change: What is to be done?

You can now view the public panel Climate Change: What is to be done? with panelists Gary Brown (Community Activist), Heather Douglas (University of Waterloo), Radoslav Dimitrov (Western University), and Jeffrey Simpson (The Globe and Mail). Climate Change: What is to be done? A public panel discussion - Tonight - October 23

robread2016-01-29T11:58:11-05:00November 12th, 2014|2014 Conference, Climate Change, Philosophy of Science|

Nov 14: Peter Achinstein – What is a Theory of Everything and why should we want one?

Nov 14: Peter Achinstein – What is a Theory of Everything and why should we want one?

Peter Achinstein of Johns Hopkins University is visiting the Rotman Institute next week, and will give two talks. His talk on Thursday, November 13 will engage with the history and philosophy of science, and his public talk on November 14 will be aimed at a more public audience (but also of interest to philosophers). What is [...]

robread2015-08-07T14:50:00-04:00November 7th, 2014|Philosophy of Physics, Philosophy of Science, Science and Society|

New Video Added: Gillian Barker – Ecological Thinking About Climate Change: A New Paradigm?

New Video Added: Gillian Barker – Ecological Thinking About Climate Change: A New Paradigm?

Gillian Barker gave this talk as part of the series co-sponsored by the Department of Philosophy, and the London Public Library.

robread2014-11-03T12:13:45-05:00November 3rd, 2014|2014 Conference, Climate Change, Events, Philosophy of Biology, Science and Society|

Inductive Risk and Values in Climate Science

Cross-posted from Je fais, donc je suisI’ve spent this weekend at the Rotman Institute’s big annual conference, this year on climate science. In this post, I want to follow up on an exchange Saturday morning, between Gavin Schmidt and Eric Winsberg.Some quick context: In a 2012 paper, Winsberg applied Heather Douglas’ inductive risk argument to [...]

rotmanadmin2014-10-30T13:03:13-04:00October 30th, 2014|2014 Conference, Climate Change, PostDoctoral Fellows, Science and Society|

This Wednesday: Doing Science in the Dark: the challenges of Climate-like science

This Wednesday: Doing Science in the Dark: the challenges of Climate-like science

Public Speaker: Leonard Smith, London School of EconomicsOctober 29, 2014 Location: London Public Library (Central Branch) 251 Dundas St., Stevenson & Hunt Room, 1st floorStart Time: 7:00 pmEnd Time: 9:00 pmClimate prediction and weather prediction are very different: due to constant refinements and new techniques, the life time of a climate model is much less than [...]

robread2016-01-29T11:58:39-05:00October 28th, 2014|2014 Conference, Climate Change, Philosophy of Science|