SPSP 2020 Call for Papers

Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice (SPSP) Eighth Biennial Conference
7–10 July 2020
Michigan State University (MSU), East Lansing, Michigan, USA

  • Keynote speakers:
    • Karen Barad, University of California at Santa Cruz
    • Till Grüne-Yanoff, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) Stockholm
  • Keynote MSU panel on “Epistemologies of Science”:
    • Kristie Dotson (Philosophy and African American and African Studies)
    • Sean A. Valles (Lyman Briggs College and Philosophy)
    • Kyle Whyte (Philosophy and Community Sustainability)
  • In collaboration with the biennial meeting of the Consortium for Socially Relevant Philosophy of/in Science and Engineering (SRPoiSE)  — details below

Conference website: https://www.spsp2020.org/

For the most up-to-date info, check with the conference website.

Submissions and timeline

On-line submission site for paper or session proposals: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=spsp2020

Abstract submission deadline: 10 January 2020
Notification of acceptance: 2 March 2020

Main Contact: Alan C. Love, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About SPSP2020 at MSU

For info about the organising committee, the venue, travel arrangements, and the surroundings please see the main SPSP2020 page.

About SPSP

SPSP is an interdisciplinary community of scholars who approach the p250hilosophy of science with a focus on scientific practice and the practical uses of scientific knowledge. For further details on our objectives, see our mission statement.

The SPSP conferences provide a broad forum for scholars committed to making detailed and systematic studies of scientific practices — neither dismissing concerns about truth and rationality, nor ignoring contextual and pragmatic factors. The conferences aim at cutting through traditional disciplinary barriers and developing novel approaches. We welcome contributions from not only philosophers of science, but also philosophers working in epistemology and ethics, as well as the philosophy of engineering, technology, medicine, agriculture, and other practical fields. Additionally, we welcome contributions from historians and sociologists of science, pure and applied scientists, and any others with an interest in philosophical questions regarding scientific practice.

About SRPoiSE

SRPoiSE will hold its biennial meeting on July 6-8, 2020, also at Michigan State University (MSU). The “Epistemologies of Science” panel will be presented as a joint plenary for the two conferences, and both societies encourage members to engage with both conferences. For more information, including the CFP for the 2020 SRPoiSE meeting, please visit the SRPoiSE webpage.

Presentation formats

SPSP welcomes both proposals for individual papers, and also strongly encourage proposals for whole, thematic sessions with coordinated papers, particularly those which include multiple disciplinary perspectives and/or input from scientific practitioners. You may wish to involve other members of SPSP (a listing is available on our website) or post a notice to the SPSP mailing list describing your area of interest and seeking other possible participants for a session proposal. (To post to this list or to receive updates on the conference, please subscribe first).

  • Individual paper proposals must include a title and an abstract of 500 words, and full affiliation details and contact information for the author(s)/speaker(s).
  • Session/symposia proposals: The symposium organizer must submit a 250–500 words abstract for the session as a whole, with a session title and an abbreviated title in brackets, and a list of the expected participants with full affiliation details and contact information for each at the end of the abstract.
    Each author contributing to a proposed symposium must also submit their own paper abstract separately. The individual papers for a session or symposium should preface their titles with the abbreviated symposium title in brackets (e.g., for a symposium on “Data Practices in Biology and Biomedicine”, the title for the symposium proposal should have the format “Symposium: Data Practices in Biology and Biomedicine [Data Practices],” and the individual paper titles should be listed as, e.g., “[Data Practices]: Data, Models, and Data Models”).
  • We also welcome less traditional formats, including panel discussions and author-meet-critics sessions, as long as they explicitly target a broad issue or specific idea as the core of the discussion (rather than ad hominem arguments), are firmly committed to collegial and non-adversarial exchange, and explain why that issue or idea is relevant to SPSP interests.

Individuals should only appear on the program once as presenters, and at most one additional time as commentator or co-author. If in doubt, please contact the organizers in advance about your anticipated submissions.