Call for Abstracts: Physics at the Interface, University of Durham, 7-8 September 2023
The 21st century has seen the flourishing of interdisciplinary fields at the interface of physics and other disciplines, such as biophysics, econophysics and social physics. The gap between physics and chemistry has also become increasingly blurred. The transfer of concepts, models and methods from physics to other domains raises a host of pressing questions. How does the interpretation, justification and explanatory status of physics approaches change when they are applied to biological and social systems? Do methodological conflicts arise at the physics interface, and if so how might historians and philosophers of science address them? Questions about the relationships between different areas of contemporary philosophy of science naturally arise here too. Can ideas developed in the philosophy of physics shed light on problems in the philosophy of biology, chemistry and social science, and vice versa?
This workshop will be amongst the first to bring together researchers interested in the interface of the physical, life and social sciences. Possible topics include:
- Philosophical issues raised by biophysics, econophysics, social physics, and other interdisciplinary fields.
- Conceptual analogies and differences between the physical, life and social sciences.
- Relationships between ideas and projects in the philosophy of physics, philosophy of biology and philosophy of social science.
For more information about the event see: https://www.durham.ac.uk/
Please send your name, affiliation and an abstract of up to 500 words by 23 June 2023.