17th CLMPST: Science and Values in an Uncertain World
Welcome to CLMPST-2023, the 17th edition of the International Congress on Logic, Methodology and
Philosophy of Science and Technology.
CLMPST is the premier forum on Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science and Technology.
Its aim is to bring together active researchers in this broad field.
The International Congress of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science and Technology (CLMPST) is organized under
the auspices of the Division of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science and Technology
of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (DLMPST/IUHPST).
CLMPST has a long history — it started in 1960, and is held every four years since then in capital cities and/or by famous university centres.
Recent previous CLMPST Congresses were held in Prague (2019),
Helsinki (2015), Nancy (2011), and Beijing (2007).
The 2023 edition will take place in Buenos Aires.
In this edition of the congress the theme is Science and Values in an Uncertain World.
CLMPST 2023 takes place in a world that, in many ways, is quite different from the one we knew just a
few years ago. The 2020 pandemic questioned our sense of security reminding us we live in a fragile
environment with an uncertain future. The challenges of our time, from the pandemics to climate
change, make it particularly appropriate to ponder on the role of values in science and technology,
from the ethics of empirical research and scientific communication, to the design of public policies
that need the weighing of scientific evidence; from discussions on biases in the design of algorithms,
to reflections on the responsible development of Artificial Intelligence.
We invite papers and symposia on all topics pertaining to our fields, presented by researchers from
all regions and cultures of our academic world.
Words of welcome from the DLMPST/IUHPST
Dear logicians and philosophers of science and technology,
The XVIIth Congress on Logic, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science and Technology (CLMPST)
will be the first congress of its kind in the southern hemisphere, held in July 2023 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
These congresses have been organised since its first installment, held at Stanford University in 1960, by the
Division of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science and Technology of the
International Union for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (DLMPST/IUHPST),
the global voice for logic and philosophy of science and technology.
The members of the DLMPST represent the national research communities of 38 countries from all continents and twelve international research organisations. For many decades, our congresses were mostly organised in Europe and North America, not reflecting the truly global nature of the logic and philosophy of science community. We are very happy to see that CLMPST 2023 will break this pattern by highlighting the important role of the southern hemisphere for our field.
In the 1960s, the congresses served as the global meeting of the entire community: the one event every four years that everyone had to attend. In the last decades, the ever growing number of more and more specialised events resulted in a fragmentation of the field into many subcommunities. However, in recent years, in the light of growing environmental concerns and the availability of video conferencing, many of us have reduced our academic travel and have become more selective about which events to attend. This change of attitude may have a major effect on the world of academic travel and may counter academic fragmentation. Thus, if you have become more reserved about academic travel plans and only intend to travel to one conference this year, then make sure that it is CLMPST XVII in Buenos Aires.
The academic world in 2023 is a very different place than it was when we last met in Prague in 2019.
Some of the themes that were central in 2019 remain as acute as ever such as the rising danger of science
denialism and disinformation; but the global Covid pandemic that hit the world in 2020, leading to an
extensive public debate about the way scientific knowledge is created, the role of values in scientific
research, the interface between science and policy decisions, the robustness of scientific knowledge,
the role of scientific models for predictions, and in general, decision-making under uncertainty.
Logic and philosophy of science and technology are central for all of these topics.
Therefore, it is most fitting that the congress in Buenos Aires will be held under the theme
Science and Values in an Uncertain World.
The large number of submissions of presentations and symposia to CLMPST XVII should guarantee that the
whole community is represented at the congress and that it covers this complex theme from a variety of
different viewpoints. In addition to submitted presentations and symposia, DLMPST will continue to highlight
the links of our fields to the wider global communities in science and the humanities by special symposia.
Continuing a tradition going back to the congresses in Helsinki (2015) and Prague (2019), we aim to have
jointly organised special symposia with our mother organisations, the
International Science Council (ISC) and the
Conseil International de Philosophie et des Science Humaines (CIPSH)
on topics where the input of logicians and philosophers of science and technology can impact global
science and humanities policy. We cordially invite all participants of the congress to actively engage
with these special symposia.
See you all in Buenos Aires,
Nancy Cartwright (President)
Benedikt Löwe (Secretary-General)
