mission

The Center for Philosophy of Science fosters the emergence of the best, new work in philosophy of science.

 
means

The Center seeks to achieve this end by supporting:

• conferences, lectures, workshops and informal colloquia, in Pittsburgh and internationally;
• scholarly exchanges, nationally and internationally, including its Visiting Fellows and Associates programs and agreements with other universities internationally;
• publication in philosophy of science, including the pre-print server, philsci-archive.pitt.edu.

In so far as the flourishing of philosophy of science internationally will generate more of the best work in philosophy of science, the Center seeks to propagate an understanding of the methods and achievements of this work to a broader academic audience, internationally.

Since the education of the new generation is essential to the future of philosophy of science, the Center hopes that its activities will enhance the teaching of philosophy of science in teaching departments locally, nationally and internationally.

The Center also supports research in related fields insofar as it enhances scholarship in philosophy of science; most notably, it supports philosophically informed history of science, as well as the history of the philosophy of science.

Philosophy of Science

The field of philosophy of science encompasses the philosophical scrutiny of science, both in general and in its particular branches; and the scientific scrutiny of those issues in philosophy to which the content of scientific theories and their methods are relevant.

This perspective reflects a belief in the fundamental unity of intellectual endeavor in philosophy and in science and that each gains from the commerce between them that the Center seeks.