University of Pittsburgh

About Us

The Department of History and Philosophy of Science supports both a graduate and undergraduate program of study of science, its nature and fundamentals, its origins, and its place in modern politics, culture, and society. In the history of science, traditional and non-traditional historical methods are used to develop an understanding of how the sciences originated, how they were practiced, how they developed, and how they related to their intellectual and social contexts. These include archival research, textual analysis, and re-enactment of experiments. In philosophy of science, the sciences themselves are brought under philosophical scrutiny. We investigate the nature of science in general; what distinguishes scientific activity; how theories explain; how they are confirmed; whether they should be read literally; and the moral dilemmas raised by the sciences. We also investigate the fundamental content of individual sciences and how it bears on the ancient philosophical questions: what is the nature of space, time, and matter; what is life; and what is thought? History and philosophy of science is distinctive in integrating these two areas of study, with investigations in each area often closely interwoven.

News & Events

  • The most recent issue of Philosophy of Science contains papers by Marcus Adams, "Modularity, Theory of Mind, and Autism Spectrum Disorder", and Karen Zwier, "Dalton's Chemical Atoms versus Duhem's Chemical Equivalents".
  • The working group on Medicine, Philosophy, and the 'Scientific Revolution' will be hosting a talk on the history of anatomy, supported by the Center for Philosophy of Science: "Temporary and Permanent Anatomy Theaters: the Stakes of Transition", given by Cynthia Klestinec, Asst. Prof. of English, Miami University, Ohio. The talk will be held on Friday, January 20th at 3:00 pm in 208-B Cathedral of Learning. The event is free and open to the public, and more information is available here.
  • Catherine Stinson has been awarded a two year post-doc in the Philosophy of Neuroscience group at the Universität Tübingen. Her project will be on visual embodiment. Many congratulations!
  • HPS congratulates Cory J. Rodgers, who has been named as a 2012 Rhodes scholar. Cory was a joint major in HPS, Biological Science and Africana Studies. The prestigious award funds a scholarship for two to three years of graduate work at the University of Oxford.
  • Heather Douglas, our visiting associate professor for the fall semester, has just published an opinion piece in The Scientist on the responsibility of scientists working in synthetic biology.
  • Edouard Machery has been selected as a Fellow of the Humanities Center at the University of Pittsburgh for the academic year 2012-13. During this appointment Edouard will be working on his new book project, "Evidence and Cognition". You can read more about the Center here.