Modeling, Idealization, and Truth: A Dialogue between Contemporary Philosophy of Science and the Aristotelian Tradition

Modeling, Idealization, and Truth: A Dialogue between Contemporary Philosophy of Science and the Aristotelian Tradition

24-25 February 2023
Aula Minor, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Rome

Language: English

Click here to download the program

Theme of the Conference: Philosophy of Science & Aristotelian Tradition

A central theme within the philosophy of science is the importance of idealization, metaphor and modeling for both how we know, and what we know, through the natural sciences. This improved understanding of how the sciences work has led (at least within the philosophy of science community) to the realization that physical theories should not be interpreted literally, and that the mathematical structure of a theory is not a straightforward guide to the metaphysics of the entities described by that theory. On the other hand, the philosophical discussion of modeling, metaphor and idealization — and the relationship of these notions to truth — is not new and has a long pedigree within the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition. This conference brings together philosophers of science and those working within Aristotelian Thomism to discuss how the resources of this tradition can be brought to bear on contemporary philosophy of science.

Speakers Include:

Nicholas Teh (University of Notre Dame)
John O’Callaghan (University of Notre Dame)
Kevin Flannery, S.J. (Pontifical Gregorian University)
Jonathan Buttaci (Catholic University of America)
Santiago Schnell (University of Notre Dame)
Dave O’Connor (University of Notre Dame)
James Nguyen (Stockholm University)
Mariusz Tabaczek, O.P. (Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas)
Thomas Davenport, O.P. (Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas)

 

Schedule

Friday, 24 February 2023

9:30 | John O’Callaghan | (University of Notre Dame) | Truth, Metaphor, and Representation: Thomistic Reflections

10:30 |Coffee Break

10:45 | Kevin Flannery, SJ | (Pontifical Gregorian University) | Aristotle’s Manifold Models

11:45 | Lunch Break

13:45 | James Nguyen | (Stockholm University) | Universality Explanations

14:45 | Coffee Break

15:00 | Thomas Davenport, OP | (Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas) | Thomistic Scientific Realism and the Modelling of Elementary Particles

16:00 | Coffee Break

16:15 | Afternoon Breakout Sessions

 

Saturday, 25 February 2023

09:30 | Dave O’Connor | (University of Notre Dame) | Bigger than Life: Aristotle’s Ideal Hero

1030| Coffee Break

10:45| Nicholas Teh | (University of Notre Dame) | Essential Idealizations and the Interpretation of Science

11:45 | Lunch Break

13:45 | Jonathan Buttaci | (Catholic University of America) | Fitting Concepts to Experience’: Aristotle, Aquinas, and Geach on Phantasmata as Tools for Thinking

14:45 | Coffee Break

15:00 | Santiago Schnell | (University of Notre Dame) | Uses and Abuses of Models in the Life Sciences: How can life scientists Develop Better Models and Theories?

16:00 | Coffee Break

16:15 | Mariusz Tabaczek, OP | (Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas) | Aristotelian Causal Modeling of Life in the Context of Contemporary Reflection on the Roles of Models in Biology

Registration is now closed, to register please go to the ATI registration desk on the day of the conference.