CfP: Models and Decisions (LMU Munich, 10-12 April 2013)
The conference announced below
explicitly welcomes contributions dealing with the history of models in science
and policy. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is Dec. 15, 2012.
Apologies for crossposting.
Best,
Christian Joas
*********************************************************************
6th Munich-Sydney-Tilburg conference
on
MODELS AND DECISIONS
Munich Center for Mathematical
Philosophy
10-12 April 2013
*********************************************************************
* * * CALL FOR PAPERS * * *
*
Mathematical and computational
models are central to decision-making in a wide-variety of contexts in science
and policy: They are used to assess the risk of large investments, to evaluate
the merits of alternative medical therapies, and are often key in decisions on
international policies – climate policy being one of the most prominent
examples. In many of these cases, they assist in drawing conclusions from
complex assumptions. While the value of these models is undisputed, their
increasingly widespread use raises several philosophical questions: What makes
scientific models so important? In which way do they describe, or even explain
their target systems? What makes models so reliable? And: What are the imports,
and the limits, of using models in policy making?
This conference will bring together
philosophers of science, economists, statisticians and policy makers to discuss
these and related questions. Experts from a variety of fields will exchange
first-hand experience and insights in order to identify the assets and the
pitfalls of model-based decision-making. The conference will also address and
evaluate the increasing role of model-based research in scientific practice,
both from a practical and from a philosophical point of view.
Papers are welcomed from researchers
across philosophy and science, including papers emphasizing the development of
models (or the use of models for decision-making) through the history of their
respective disciplines.
We invite submissions of extended abstracts
of 1000 words by 15 December 2012. Decisions will be made by 15 January 2013.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: Luc Bovens (LSE),
Itzhak Gilboa (Paris and Tel Aviv), Ulrike Hahn (Birkbeck), Michael Strevens
(NYU), and Claudia Tebaldi (UBC)
ORGANIZERS: Mark Colyvan, Paul
Griffiths, Stephan Hartmann, Kaerin Nickelsen, Roland Poellinger, Olivier Roy,
and Jan Sprenger
PUBLICATION: We plan to publish
selected papers presented at the conference in a special issue of a journal or
with a major a book publisher (subject to the usual refereeing process).
The submission deadline is 1 July 2013. The maximal paper length is 7000 words.
GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS: A few travel
bursaries for graduate students are available (up to 500 Euro). See website for
details:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Christian Joas
Abt. Wissenschaftsgeschichte
Historisches Seminar der LMU München
Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1
80539 München
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Christian Joas
Abt. Wissenschaftsgeschichte
Historisches Seminar der LMU München
Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1
80539 München
-----------------------------------------------------------------