From ereshefs at ucalgary.ca Thu Jan 12 09:07:42 2012 From: ereshefs at ucalgary.ca (ereshefs@ucalgary.ca) Date: Thu Jan 12 09:07:55 2012 Subject: HPS Talk Jan. 17: Bengt Autzen Message-ID: Bengt Autzen, Philosophy, University of Calgary ?Inductive Inference and Non-hereditary Trees? January 17, Tuesday 3:30 ? 5:00 pm, in SS1253 Abstract: Many biologists believe that the tree structure of inferred phylogenetic trees should be insensitive to adding or removing taxa from the data set. I discuss whether this view can be substantiated from a confirmation theoretic perspective. I suggest that a qualified version of this kind of reasoning can be justified by invoking the idea that the rules of inductive inference are to be brought into reflective equilibrium. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > History and Philosophy of Science Research Group > Winter 2012 Schedule > > January 17, Tuesday > 3:30 ? 5:00 pm, in SS1253 > Bengt Autzen, Philosophy, University of Calgary > ?Inductive Inference and Non-hereditary Trees? > > February 7, Tuesday > 3:30 ? 5:00 pm, in SS1253 > Noa Latham, Philosophy, University of Calgary > "The Direction of Time" > > March 20, Tuesday > 3:30 ? 5:00 pm, in SS1253 > Marc Ereshefsky, Philosophy, University of Calgary > ?Evolution and the Triumph of Homology, or Why History Matters? > April 3, Tuesday > 3:30 ? 5:00 pm, in SS1253 > Megan Delehanty, Philosophy, University of Calgary > "Seeing and Watching" From ereshefs at ucalgary.ca Fri Jan 13 10:36:06 2012 From: ereshefs at ucalgary.ca (ereshefs@ucalgary.ca) Date: Fri Jan 13 10:37:25 2012 Subject: Philosophy of Technology Talk: Why Technologies Are Inherently Normative Message-ID: <4cef5a538812210ef77865ffbdccea22.squirrel@webmail.ucalgary.ca> "Why Technologies Are Inherently Normative" Hans Radder, VU University Amsterdam Wed Jan 18 from noon to 1 pm in SS 217 The title of this paper implies that technologies are inherently normative. Explaining and defending this claim requires, first of all, a plausible account of the notions of ?technology? and ?normativity?. For this purpose, I characterize a (type of) technology as a ?(type of) artifactual, functional system with a certain degree of stability and reproducibility?, and address the crucial question of how we may successfully realize such technologies. Next, I examine the notion of a norm as ?a socially embedded directive about what people should, or should not, say or do?, and examine several important aspects of how norms function in actual practices. From rzach at ucalgary.ca Tue Jan 17 11:42:07 2012 From: rzach at ucalgary.ca (Richard Zach) Date: Tue Jan 17 11:42:48 2012 Subject: Alan Turing Centenary Lecture Series: Alan Turing an the Decision Problem (Jan 24) Message-ID: <1326825727.7034.53.camel@delia> 2012 marks the centenary of Alan Turing, mathematical genius, WWII codebreaker, pioneer of computing, and gay icon. The Departments of Computer Science and Philosophy with support from the Faculties of Arts and Science as well as the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences are holding a series of lectures on Turing's life and work throughout 2012. ucalgary.ca/turing facebook.com/TuringYYC Alan Turing and the Decision Problem Richard Zach, Department of Philosophy Tuesday, January 24, 4-5:30 pm, ICT 122 http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/6 Many scientific questions are considered solved to the best possible degree when we have a method for computing a solution. This is especially true in mathematics and those areas of science in which phenomena can be described mathematically: one only has to think of the methods of symbolic algebra in order to solve equations, or laws of physics which allow one to calculate unknown quantities from known measurements. The crowning achievement of mathematics would thus be a systematic way to compute the solution to any mathematical problem. The hope that this was possible was perhaps first articulated by the 18th century mathematician-philosopher G. W. Leibniz. Advances in the foundations of mathematics in the early 20th century made it possible in the 1920s to precisely formulate the question of whether there is such a systematic way to find a solution to every mathematical problem. This became known as the "decision problem", and it was considered a major open problem in the 1920s and 1930s. Alan Turing solved it in his first, groundbreaking paper "On computable numbers" (1936), by showing that no such procedure can exist. In order to do this, Turing had to provide a convincing analysis of what a computational procedure is. His abstract, mathematical model of computability is now known as the Turing Machine model of computation. From ereshefs at ucalgary.ca Wed Feb 1 09:16:52 2012 From: ereshefs at ucalgary.ca (ereshefs@ucalgary.ca) Date: Wed Feb 1 09:18:15 2012 Subject: HPS Talk Feb 7: Noa Latham "The Passing of Time" Message-ID: <1ae8adeca0e807d5ba0093742af170d0.squirrel@webmail.ucalgary.ca> Noa Latham, Dept of Philosophy, University of Calgary February 7, Tuesday 3:30 ? 5:00 pm SS1253 "The Passing of Time" Abstract: A number of recent authors have argued that our sense that time passes can be explained without invoking an objective passage of time as a fundamental feature of the universe. Further reason for rejecting an objective passage of time, some claim, is that it could not even be guaranteed to have the same direction as that in which we subjectively sense time to be passing. I respond that an objective passage of time makes better overall sense of the universe, and examine whether empirical circumstances can address the worry about divergent directions of time. From rzach at ucalgary.ca Tue Feb 14 21:14:30 2012 From: rzach at ucalgary.ca (Richard Zach) Date: Thu Feb 16 09:28:47 2012 Subject: Alan Turing Centenary: Turing's Real Machines (Feb 28) Message-ID: <1329279270.17420.45.camel@delia> *** Please distribute! *** 2012 marks the centenary of Alan Turing, mathematical genius, WWII codebreaker, pioneer of computing, and gay icon. The Departments of Computer Science and Philosophy with support from the Faculties of Arts and Science as well as the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences are hosting a series of lectures on Turing's life and work throughout 2012. http://ucalgary.ca/turing http://facebook.com/TuringYYC Next event: *** Turing's Real Machines *** Michael R. Williams, Department of Computer Science Tuesday, February 28, 4-5:30 pm, Engineering A 201 http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/4 While Turing is best known for his abstract concept of a "Turing Machine," he did design (but not build) several other machines - particularly ones involved with code breaking and early computers. While Turing was a fine mathematician, he could not be trusted to actually try and construct the machines he designed - he would almost always break some delicate piece of equipment if he tried to do anything practical. The early code-breaking machines (known as "bombes" - the Polish word for bomb, because of their loud ticking noise) were not designed by Turing but he had a hand in several later machines known as "Robinsons" and eventually the Colossus machines. After the War he worked on an electronic computer design for the National Physical Laboratory - an innovative design unlike the other computing machines being considered at the time. He left the NPL before the machine was operational but made other contributions to early computers such as those being constructed at Manchester University. This talk will describe some of his ideas behind these machines. Poster: http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/22 From rzach at ucalgary.ca Tue Feb 28 10:10:37 2012 From: rzach at ucalgary.ca (Richard Zach) Date: Tue Feb 28 10:16:00 2012 Subject: TODAY! Alan Turing Centenary: Turing's Real Machines Message-ID: <1330449037.1906.34.camel@keiko> *** Turing's Real Machines *** Michael R. Williams, Department of Computer Science Tuesday, February 28, 4-5:30 pm, Engineering A 201 http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/4 While Turing is best known for his abstract concept of a "Turing Machine," he did design (but not build) several other machines - particularly ones involved with code breaking and early computers. While Turing was a fine mathematician, he could not be trusted to actually try and construct the machines he designed - he would almost always break some delicate piece of equipment if he tried to do anything practical. The early code-breaking machines (known as "bombes" - the Polish word for bomb, because of their loud ticking noise) were not designed by Turing but he had a hand in several later machines known as "Robinsons" and eventually the Colossus machines. After the War he worked on an electronic computer design for the National Physical Laboratory - an innovative design unlike the other computing machines being considered at the time. He left the NPL before the machine was operational but made other contributions to early computers such as those being constructed at Manchester University. This talk will describe some of his ideas behind these machines. Poster: http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/22 From rzach at ucalgary.ca Mon Mar 5 10:44:09 2012 From: rzach at ucalgary.ca (Richard Zach) Date: Mon Mar 5 11:36:40 2012 Subject: Alan Turing Centenary: Screening of "Breaking the Code" (March 14) Message-ID: <1330969449.2837.4.camel@delia> *** Please distribute! *** 2012 marks the centenary of Alan Turing, mathematical genius, WWII codebreaker, pioneer of computing, and gay icon. The Departments of Computer Science and Philosophy with support from the Faculties of Arts and Science as well as the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences are hosting a series of events honoring Turing's life and work throughout 2012. http://ucalgary.ca/turing http://facebook.com/TuringYYC Next event: *** Breaking the Code *** Written by Hugh Whitemore Directed by Herbert Wise Wednesday, March 14, 5:30-7 pm, Craigie Hall C 119 http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/24 Sir Derek Jacobi stars in this 1996 BBC production of Hugh Whitemore's 1986 biographical play. Alan Turing broke the German Enigma code and ultimately helped win WWII, and his theoretical work on computing machines now underpins computer science. His private life was complicated by his truthfulness and openness about his homosexuality at a time when it was illegal. The film paints a moving portrait of Turing's genius and momentous contributions,as well as his struggles with a repressive British society complicated by his involvement with national security. Open to University of Calgary faculty and students only Poster: http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/25 From ereshefs at ucalgary.ca Wed Mar 14 15:38:15 2012 From: ereshefs at ucalgary.ca (ereshefs@ucalgary.ca) Date: Wed Mar 14 15:38:26 2012 Subject: March 20 HPS Talk Cancelled In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Marc's March 20th HPS talk is cancelled and will be rescheduled next year. From rzach at ucalgary.ca Thu Mar 22 11:41:12 2012 From: rzach at ucalgary.ca (Richard Zach) Date: Thu Mar 22 11:52:32 2012 Subject: Alan Turing Centenary: Alan Turing and Enigma (John Ferris, March 27) Message-ID: <1332438072.6794.4.camel@delia> *** Please distribute! *** 2012 marks the centenary of Alan Turing, mathematical genius, WWII codebreaker, pioneer of computing, and gay icon. The Departments of Computer Science and Philosophy with support from the Faculties of Arts and Science as well as the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences are hosting a series of events honoring Turing's life and work throughout 2012. http://ucalgary.ca/turing http://facebook.com/TuringYYC Listen to part one of CJSW Presents on Alan Turing: http://cjsw.com/program/cjsw-presents/alan-turing-episode-1/ Next event: *** Alan Turing and Enigma *** John R. Ferris, Professor of History Tuesday, March 27, 4-5:30 pm, Engineering A 201 http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/15 Central to Alan Turing's posthumous reputation is his work with British codebreaking during the Second World War. This relationship is not well understood, largely because it stands on the intersection of two technical fields, mathematics and cryptology, the second of which also has been shrouded by secrecy. This lecture will assess this relationship from an historical cryptological perspective. It treats the mathematization and mechanization of cryptology between 1920-50 as international phenomena. It assesses Turing's role in one important phase of this process, British work at Bletchley Park in developing cryptanalytical machines for use against Enigma in 1940-41. It focuses on also his interest in and work with cryptographic machines between 1942-46, and concludes that work with them served as a seed bed for the development of his thinking about computers. Poster: http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/27 From ereshefs at ucalgary.ca Thu Mar 29 14:52:52 2012 From: ereshefs at ucalgary.ca (ereshefs@ucalgary.ca) Date: Thu Mar 29 14:53:06 2012 Subject: April 3 HPS meeting Cancelled Message-ID: We were scheduled to meet on April 3, but I writing to cancel that meeting. Next fall should be an active one for the HPS group because the Philosophy Department will be interviewing candidates for a Tier I CRC in Philosophy of Science and Logic. Have a wonderful spring and summer, and may the end of term go smoothly. From ereshefs at ucalgary.ca Mon Sep 24 18:36:18 2012 From: ereshefs at ucalgary.ca (ereshefs@ucalgary.ca) Date: Mon Sep 24 18:36:44 2012 Subject: HPS and Science and Technology Studies Reception this Thursday at 3 PM Message-ID: <5c20ed179df66c37c1828a17c36aebe0.squirrel@webmail.ucalgary.ca> Please RSVP to Patrick Feng at pfeng@ucalgary.ca if you can make. See you there -Marc ---------------------------- Original Message ---------------------------- Subject: [STS-l] Reception this Thursday at 3 PM From: "Patrick Feng" Date: Mon, September 24, 2012 6:00 pm To: sts-l@mailman.ucalgary.ca -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear colleagues, Welcome to Fall 2012! Along with Frank Stahnisch (History of Medicine and Health Care program) and Marc Ereshefsky (History and Philosophy of Science program), I'd like to invite you to a reception this Thursday afternoon. The reception marks the beginning of another year of talks and public events relating to science, technology, and society. As many of you know, this is the third year of our Science, Technology, Environment, and Medicine Studies (STEMS) network. Launched in 2010, this cross-faculty initiative brings together faculty, grad students, and other scholars who work on social and humanistic dimensions of science and technology, broadly defined. Our goal is to encourage discussion, networking, and collaboration across the university on STEMS-related research. We have much to celebrate this year and hope you will join us for our opening reception. Date: Thursday September 27 Time: 3:00 - 4:30 PM Location: Social Sciences building, room 217 Get to know your colleagues and and find out what we have in store for 2012-2013! Refreshments will be served. Please RSVP if you plan on attending so that we can prepare food and beverages. Hope to see you there! Patrick -- Dr. Patrick Feng Science, Technology, and Society Program Coordinator Department of Communication and Culture University of Calgary _______________________________________________ This message was sent to all subscribers of sts-L To unsubscribe, see instructions at: http://www.ucalgary.ca/it/email/mailman E-mail: sts-L@mailman.ucalgary.ca Homepage: http://mailman.ucalgary.ca/mailman/listinfo/sts-l -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.ucalgary.ca/pipermail/hps-l/attachments/20120924/20a3eca5/untitled-1.html From rzach at ucalgary.ca Wed Sep 26 18:47:32 2012 From: rzach at ucalgary.ca (Richard Zach) Date: Wed Sep 26 19:08:32 2012 Subject: Alan Turing Centenary: Alan Turing and the Patterns of Life (Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz, October 9) Message-ID: <5063A224.1030506@ucalgary.ca> *** Please distribute! *** 2012 marks the centenary of Alan Turing, mathematical genius, WWII codebreaker, pioneer of computing, and gay icon. The Departments of Computer Science and Philosophy with support from the Faculties of Arts and Science as well as the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences are hosting a series of events honouring Turing's life and work throughout 2012. http://ucalgary.ca/turing http://facebook.com/TuringYYC Watch previous lectures in this series on Mathtube: http://mathtube.org/conference/lecture_video/Alan%20Turing%20Year Listen to part one of CJSW Presents on Alan Turing: http://cjsw.com/program/cjsw-presents/alan-turing-episode-1/ Next event: *** Alan Turing and the Patterns of Life *** Przemys?aw Prusinkiewicz Professor of Computer Science University of Calgary Tuesday, October 9, 4-5:30 pm, ICT 121 http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/28 In 1952, Turing published his only paper spanning chemistry and biology: "The chemical basis of morphogenesis". In it, he proposed a hypothetical mechanism for the emergence of complex patterns in chemical reactions, called reaction-diffusion. He also predicted the use of computational models as a tool for understanding patterning. Sixty years later, reaction-diffusion is a key concept in the study of patterns and forms in nature. In particular, it provides a link between molecular genetics and developmental biology. The presentation will review the concept of reaction-diffusion, the tumultuous path towards its acceptance, and its current place in biology. Poster: http://ucalgary.ca/turing/files/turing/aty2012prusinkiewicz%20.pdf *** Mark your calendars *** November 6: Alan Turing, the Politics of Sexual Science, and the Making of a Gay Icon (Chris Waters, Williams College) http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/31 December 4: Turing and Intelligent Machines (Nicole Wyatt, University of Calgary) http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/32 From ereshefs at ucalgary.ca Thu Oct 11 13:13:40 2012 From: ereshefs at ucalgary.ca (ereshefs@ucalgary.ca) Date: Thu Oct 11 13:14:16 2012 Subject: Oct 26 HPS talk : "What Does It Mean to Say that History Matters (Causally Speaking)?" Message-ID: <622b90dcbb735988a934407b16c7a28f.squirrel@webmail.ucalgary.ca> JOHN BEATTY (UBC) What Does It Mean to Say that History Matters (Causally Speaking)? 2012-10-26 16:00 - 18:00 Location: Social Sciences Building, Room 1256 About the Talk: Many scholars from a wide range of disciplines--including many of the social and natural sciences--have recently emphasized that "history matters" when it comes to explaining the present. Which often prompts the response, "Of course (or even 'duh') history matters. It always matters. That's because the causes of the present lie in the past." Well, okay. But is that really all there is to it? If not, then what more does it mean to say that history matters, causally speaking? This turns out to be an even thornier issue when we specify what we mean by "causally". The proposal I will pursue is this: to say that history matters is to say that the present state of things was caused in part by "historical accident". It involves causation and indeterminism. About the Speaker: John Beatty is Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, teaching in the history and philosophy of science, and social and political philosophy. His research focuses on the theoretical foundations, methodology, and socio-political dimensions of genetics and evolutionary biology. He is the co-author of The Empire of Chance: How Probability Changed Science and Everyday Life (Cambridge University Press From ereshefs at ucalgary.ca Thu Oct 25 12:00:17 2012 From: ereshefs at ucalgary.ca (ereshefs@ucalgary.ca) Date: Thu Oct 25 12:00:31 2012 Subject: Oct 26 HPS talk : "What Does It Mean to Say that History Matters?" Message-ID: <7b7680445ac6ef95c8e74bf9c148ce4d.squirrel@webmail.ucalgary.ca> The Philosophy Speakers Program at the University of Calgary presents John Beatty University of British Columbia What Does It Mean to Say that History Matters (Casually Speaking)? Friday, October 26th, 4:00 pm in Social Sciences Building, Room 1253 About the Talk: Many scholars from a wide range of disciplines--including many of the social and natural sciences--have recently emphasized that "history matters" when it comes to explaining the present. Which often prompts the response, "Of course (or even 'duh') history matters. It always matters. That's because the causes of the present lie in the past." Well, okay. But is that really all there is to it? If not, then what more does it mean to say that history matters, causally speaking? This turns out to be an even thornier issue when we specify what we mean by "causally". The proposal I will pursue is this: to say that history matters is to say that the present state of things was caused in part by "historical accident". It involves causation and indeterminism. About the Speaker: John Beatty is Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, teaching in the history and philosophy of science, and social and political philosophy. His research focuses on the theoretical foundations, methodology, and socio-political dimensions of genetics and evolutionary biology. He is the co-author of The Empire of Chance: How Probability Changed Science and Everyday Life (Cambridge University Press From rzach at ucalgary.ca Mon Oct 29 12:53:49 2012 From: rzach at ucalgary.ca (Richard Zach) Date: Mon Oct 29 12:54:01 2012 Subject: Alan Turing, the Politics of Sexual Science, and the Making of a Gay Icon (Chris Waters, November 6) Message-ID: <508ED0BD.8050404@ucalgary.ca> *** Please distribute! *** 2012 marks the centenary of Alan Turing, mathematical genius, WWII codebreaker, pioneer of computing, and gay icon. The Departments of Computer Science and Philosophy with support from the Faculties of Arts and Science as well as the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences are hosting a series of events honouring Turing's life and work throughout 2012. http://ucalgary.ca/turing http://facebook.com/TuringYYC Next event: *** Alan Turing, the Politics of Sexual Science, and the Making of a Gay Icon *** Chris Waters Hans W. Gatzke '38 Professor of Modern European History Williams College Tuesday, November 6, 4-5:30 pm, ICT 121 http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/31 In the 1940s Alan Turing?s homosexuality was an open secret amongst his co-workers at Bletchley Park. In 1952 the secret became widely known when Turing was arrested on charges of ?gross indecency? under the same 1885 law that had led to the imprisonment of Oscar Wilde over half a century earlier. Opting for chemical ?treatment? of his ?condition? rather than imprisonment, Turing was one of many well-known casualties of a heightened drive against homosexuality in a postwar Britain that drew the line between the normal and the deviant more sharply than ever before. In his talk, Chris Waters will discuss Turing?s sexual proclivities and their meanings in the context of his times, focusing in particular on his arrest and subsequent fate in the context of the sexual politics of the first half of the 1950s. In addition, he will discuss the shaping of Turing?s posthumous reputation, beginning with the attempts made by the Gay Liberation Front in the 1970s to render Turing the gay icon he has become today. Poster: http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/34 http://ucalgary.ca/turing/files/turing/aty2012waters.pdf *** Watch previous lectures in this series on Mathtube *** http://mathtube.org/conference/lecture_video/Alan%20Turing%20Year Listen to the CJSW Presents feature on Alan Turing: http://cjsw.com/program/cjsw-presents/alan-turing-episode-1/ http://cjsw.com/program/cjsw-presents/turing-episode-2/ *** Mark your calendars *** December 4: Turing and Intelligent Machines (Nicole Wyatt, University of Calgary) http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/32 From rzach at ucalgary.ca Wed Nov 28 11:38:30 2012 From: rzach at ucalgary.ca (Richard Zach) Date: Wed Nov 28 11:38:46 2012 Subject: Turing and Intelligent Machines (Nicole Wyatt, December 4) Message-ID: <50B65A26.9050003@ucalgary.ca> *** Please distribute! *** 2012 marks the centenary of Alan Turing, mathematical genius, WWII codebreaker, pioneer of computing, and gay icon. The Departments of Computer Science and Philosophy with support from the Faculties of Arts and Science as well as the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences are hosting a series of events honouring Turing's life and work throughout 2012. http://ucalgary.ca/turing http://facebook.com/TuringYYC Next and Final Event: *** Turing and Intelligent Machines *** Nicole Wyatt Assistant Professor of Philosophy University of Calgary Tuesday, December 4, 4-5:30 pm, ICT 121 http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/32 Turing's interest in the possibility of machine intelligence is probably most familiar in the form of the 'Turing Test', a version of which has been instantiated since 1991 as the Loebner Prize in Artificial Intelligence. To this date the Loebner Gold Medal has not been won. But should any future winner of the prize count themselves as having created a computer that thinks? Turing's 1950 Mind paper 'Computing Machinery and Intelligence', gives a sustained defence of the claim that a machine able to pass the test, which Turing called the Imitation Game, would indeed qualify as thinking. This lecture will explain the Turing Test as well as Turing's more general views concerning the prospects for artificial intelligence and examine both the criticisms of the test and Turing's rebuttals. Poster: http://ucalgary.ca/turing/node/35 http://ucalgary.ca/turing/files/turing/aty2012wyatt.pdf *** Watch previous lectures in this series on Mathtube *** http://mathtube.org/conference/lecture_video/Alan%20Turing%20Year Listen to the CJSW Presents feature on Alan Turing: http://cjsw.com/program/cjsw-presents/alan-turing-episode-1/ http://cjsw.com/program/cjsw-presents/turing-episode-2/