The first meeting of the History of Science reading group of 2020 will be on
Tuesday 14 January 2020
5pm - 6pm
Room B30, 25 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0AG
We will be reading and discussing a selection of essays from the Focus: Explanation in the History of Science section of the June 2019 issue of Isis, a journal of the History of Science Society.
For the reading group, I suggest we discuss one of the essays and the two reflective responses of Volume 110, Number 2 (June 2019), namely:
Laura Stark, "Emergence,", pages 332-336. An "invitation to think about “emergence theory” as a mode of historical explanation" and to consider whether causal explanations are still relevant in the history of science. https://doi.org/10.1086/703336
Jo Guldi, "The Modern Paradigms of Explanation: Significance, Agency, and Writing History in the Era of Climate Change", pages 346-353. Drawing on the essays in the focus issue (but not assuming or requiring the reader to have read them), Jo Guidi discusses how to consider the significance of the event being considered in our research, necessary, she argues, for a "complete" explanation. https://doi.org/10.1086/703680
Theodore Arabatzis, "Explaining Science Historically", pages 354-359. Again drawing on the other essays (but not requiring the reader to have read them), Theodore Arabatzis discusses how we explain, considering issues with causal explanation and context. He's gently critical of the concept of emergence as a form of explanation. https://doi.org/10.1086/703513
I'd encourage you to read at least one of the above before the meeting, if you don't have the opportunity to read all three.
After that, the next History of Science reading group will be on (date updated!) Tuesday 11 February 2020. Check out the History of Science reading group website for information on past papers, how the reading group works, and lists of journals in the history of science. Follow us on Twitter and do in touch if you have any suggestions for this or future reading groups.
We alternate the Tuesday evening slot with two reading groups on Philosophy of Science and Technology and Science and Belief. The STS departmental website lists all the reading groups run by students in the department.
References
Laura Stark, "Emergence," Isis 110, no. 2 (June 2019): 332-336. https://doi.org/10.1086/703336
Jo Guldi, "The Modern Paradigms of Explanation: Significance, Agency, and Writing History in the Era of Climate Change," Isis 110, no. 2 (June 2019): 346-353. https://doi.org/10.1086/703680
Theodore Arabatzis, "Explaining Science Historically," Isis 110, no. 2 (June 2019): 354-359. https://doi.org/10.1086/703513