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Mauricio Suar ez, Mauro Dorato, and Miklos Redei These two volumescontaina selection of the papersdeliveredat the rst conference of the European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA) which took place in Madrid,at ComplutenseUniversity,from14to 17November2007. The rst volume is entitled Epistemology and Methodology, and includes papers mainly concerned with general philosophy of science, rationality, and method. The second volume, devoted to Philosophical Issues in the Sciences, includes papers concerned with the philosophy of the sciences, particularly physics, economics, chemistry and - ology. Overall the selection has been very severe and took place in two stages. The 30-strong conference programme committee chaired by Mauro Dorato and Miklos R edei rst selected 160 papers forpresentationout of 410 abstracts submitted. After the conference the three of us went on to further select 60 papers among those - livered. The selection was made on the recommendation of the members of the programme committee and the chairs of the conference sessions, who were invited to nominatetheirfavouritepapersandprovidereasonsfortheir choices. Everypaper included in these volumes has been independently nominated by at least two ref- ees. There are thus good grounds to the claim that these essays constitute some of most signi cant and important research presently carried out in the philosophy of science throughoutEurope. The two volumes also represent the rst tangible outcome of the newly born EPSA. Together with the conference they in effect constitute the launching of the Association.
List of contents
Contingency and Inherency in Evolutionary Developmental Biology.- Dualities and Intertheoretic Relations.- Are 'Identical Quantum Particles' Weakly Discernible Objects?.- Wave-Particle Duality in Quantum Optics.- Remarks on a Structural Account of Scientific Explanation.- Mathematical Knowledge and the Interplay of Practices.- Einstein, Kant, and the A Priori.- Causal Models and the Asymmetry of State Preparation.- Bell-Type Inequalities from Separate Common Causes.- Entanglement, Upper Probabilities and Decoherence in Quantum Mechanics.- Gauge Symmetry and the Theta-Vacuum.- The Chemical Bond: Structure, Energy and Explanation.- Randomness, Financial Markets and the Brownian Motion: A Reflection on the Role of Mathematics in Their Interaction with Financial Theory After 1973.- Causation Across Levels, Constitution, and Constraint.- Epistemic Consequences of Two Different Strategies for Decomposing Biological Networks.- Matter(s) in Relativity Theory.- Individual Particles, Properties and Quantum Statistics.- Evolution and Directionality: Lessons from Fisher's Fundamental Theorem.- Substantive General Covariance: Another Decade of Dispute.- Relativity, Locality and Tense.- A Weylian Approach Towards Theories of Matter: Dynamic Agents and Geometrisation.- Mirroring and Understanding Action.- Absolute Objects and General Relativity: Dynamical Considerations.- Empirical Foundation of Space and Time.- Making Contact with Observations.- The Formulation and Justification of Mathematical Definitions Illustrated By Deterministic Chaos.- Do We Need Some Large, Simple Randomized Trials in Medicine?.- Incontinence, Honouring Sunk Costs and Rationality.- Causal Fundamentalism in Physics.
Summary
This volume collects papers presented at the Founding Conference of the European Philosophy of Science Association meeting, held November 2007. It provides an excellent overview of the state of the art in philosophy of science in different European countries.
