SPT
Newsletter
Volume
28, Number 3 – Fall 2004
Contents
1.
From the President: 2006 SPT Meeting
2.
SPT 2005 Conference: Final Call for Papers
3.
News from the Divisions
4.
Calls for Papers
5.
Forthcoming Events
6.
Fellowships and Grants
7.
Membership and Dues
8.
SPT Officers
From the President: 2006 SPT
Meeting
Institutions interested in hosting the next
meeting of the Society for Philosophy and Technology are encouraged to send
invitations to SPT President, Paul B. Thompson at thomp649@msu.edu.
The next meeting is scheduled for calendar year 2006 and will be held in
North America. Meetings are normally scheduled in late spring to early summer,
and have been held in mid July for the last several biannual cycles.
Institutional hosts are normally responsible for local arrangements, including
scheduling meeting rooms, the preparation of a printed program, assembly of a
registration packet and staffing of on-site registration.
Invitation letters should include information on availability and cost of
local hotel facilities as well as on arrangements for transportation (if
necessary) between hotels and the actual meeting location. A description of
facilities for meals and breaks should also be included. Please estimate
rooming costs for attendees, and indicate the distance and means of
transportation to the nearest airport. Also, please make an estimate of all
costs to be included in conference registration. For example, if meals or
coffee breaks must be catered, or if your institution will make charges for
staff time, printing or registration materials, please estimate the basis on
which costs will be incurred. Similarly, if subventions for any meeting
expenses are available, including costs listed above or speakers’ fees, please
indicate that as well. The Executive Committee will discuss bids at the Eastern
Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, Dec. 27-30, 2004.
Please be sure that all information has been received by Paul B. Thompson
by Dec. 20, 2004. Printed information may be sent to: Department of Philosophy,
503 South Kedzie Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1032.
SPT 2005 Conference: Final
Call for Papers
14th meeting
of the Society for Philosophy and Technology, July 20-22 2005, Delft University
of Technology, The Netherlands
Conference Theme: "Technology and
Designing"
The Society for Philosophy and Technology has sponsored conferences on
philosophical aspects of technology since the late 1970s. Current conferences
are held every other year, rotating between North America and Europe. The
Society welcomes a broad range of papers from various philosophical
perspectives and schools. This year, the programme committee especially invites
submissions on the conference theme of technology and designing, but
submissions on all aspects of philosophy and technology are welcome, including
work on biotechnology, genetics and philosophy, information technology, a
philosophy of the technical sciences, and logical aspects of technology. The
conference theme may be interpreted broadly, inclusive of:
"Philosophy and engineering design"
"Philosophy and architectural design"
"Methodological and epistemic issues in designing"
"Ethical, anthropological or political issues in designing"
Plenary speakers:
Paul Thompson, Michigan State University, USA.
Alfred Nordmann,
Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany.
Plenary debate:
Carl Mitcham, Colorado School of Mines, USA.
Arie Rip,
Universiteit Twente, The Netherlands.
Submissions:
Submissions to the conference may be made with an abstract of between 200
and 400 words. Proposals for full sessions are also welcome; please include abstracts
for all papers to be included in sessions. Electronic submissions are
preferred. They may be forwarded as a Word (.doc), Rich Text Format (.rtf) or
Portable Document Format (.pdf) attachment to: sptdelft2005@tbm.tudelft.nl
Final
papers:
Most accepted papers will be assigned a commentator, for which a final
paper of not more that 12 pages, double-spaced, is required. A period of 20
minutes is planned for the presentation of a paper.
Commentators:
If you would like to serve as a commentator, please contact the
organisers at sptdelft2005@tbm.tudelft.nl
Time
schedule:
The final deadline for submissions of abstracts and sessions is November
30, 2004. Notification of acceptance will be made by February 15, 2005. Final
papers should be submitted by May 1, 2005, in order to provide commentators
with ample time for preparing remarks.
Publication:
Techné, the peer reviewed journal of the Society for Philosophy and
Technology, welcomes accepted papers to be submitted for publication. Also a
volume with a selection of accepted papers on the conference theme of
technology and designing is envisaged.
Other information:
The city of Delft has a population of some 100.000 and is located in the
West of the Netherlands, in between Rotterdam and The Hague. It has a nice
historic city centre with its canals, pubs and restaurants. The vault of the
Dutch Royal Family is in Delft. And Delft is of course well-known for its blue
earthenware and for the 17th century painter Johannes Vermeer.
The conference site for the 2005 SPT meeting will be at the Faculty of
Technology, Policy and Management building located at the campus of Delft
University of Technology. The building is within walking distance (15 minutes)
of the city centre of Delft and of the Delft railway station. Delft can be
reached by train (40 minutes; one change of trains) from Amsterdam Airport
Schiphol, which offers many direct European and intercontinental connections.
For further information and conference updates, please check the
conference website (http://www.sptdelft2005.tbm.tudelft.nl/). Further inquiries may be made at sptdelft2005@tbm.tudelft.nl
The 2005 SPT meeting will take place in conjunction with the Sixth
International Conference of Computer Ethics: Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE 2005),
which will be held at July 17-19, 2005, at the University of Twente, Enschede,
The Netherlands.
Programme committee:
Peter Kroes (chair and SPT vice president),
Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands
Paul Thompson (SPT president), Michigan State
University, USA
Wiebe
Bijker, Universiteit Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Klaus Kornwachs, Brandenburg University of
Technology, Cottbus, Germany
Andrew Light (SPT immediate past president), New
York University, USA
José Antonio López Cerezo, Universidad de
Oviedo, Spain.
Steven Moore, University of Texas, USA.
Michela Nacci, University of L'Aquila, Italy
Pieter Vermaas (conference coordinator), Delft
University of Technology, The Netherlands
This conference is sponsored by the Faculty of Technology, Policy and
Management of Delft University of Technology.
News from the APA Divisions
EASTERN DIVISION
APA
Eastern Division Program information
Tuesday
Afternoon, December 28, GIV-6
Society for
Philosophy and Technology
2:00-5:00
p.m., Boston University (Third Floor)
Topic: Author Meets Critics: Davis Baird's Thing
Knowledge: A Philosophy of Scientific Instruments
Chair: Andrew Light (New York University)
Critics: Joseph Pitt (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University); Otávio Bueno (University of South Carolina); Ann Johnson
(University of South Carolina)
Author: Davis Baird (University of South Carolina)
Tuedsay Morning, December 28, GIII-10
Society
for Philosophy and Technology
11:15
a.m.-1:15 p.m., MIT (Third Floor)
Topic: Philosophical Implications of Nanotechnology
Chair: Davis Baird (University of South Carolina)
Speakers: James Moor (Dartmouth College), "The Need
for Nanoethics"; Vivian Weil
(Illinois Institute of Technology), "Innovation in the Nano Area:
Philosophers in the Trenches?"
Commentator: Davis Baird (University of South Carolina)
CENTRAL DIVISION
Paper
Proposals being accepted for Central Division APA
The
Central Division of the American Philosophical Association will meet in Chicago
between April 27-30. Those interested in reading papers or chairing SPT
sessions are encouraged to contact Paul B. Thompson at thomp649@msu.edu immediately.
Program details must be submitted by Nov. 30, 2004.
Calls for papers
WORKSHOP "IMAGING NANOSPACE – BILDWELTEN
DER NANOFORSCHUNG" –
Zentrum
für interdisziplinäre Forschung, Universität Bielefeld May 11 – 14, 2005
Images and
the power of image-making are defining the field of nanoscience and
nanotechnology. This is reflected in the founding myths of the field (which is
said to have begun with STM and AFM microscope) and its popular representations
that feature dramatic molecular landscapes, visionary devices, or the
manipulation of molecules. Much of nanoscale research practice revolves around
the creation and interpretation of images. The workshop will focus on the
specific characteristics of images as visual representations. It considers the
whole range of images, from microscopy and simulation to popular culture.
Scientists from the fields of STS, art theory and history, cultural studies,
communication studies, and history and philosophy of science are invited to
contribute. The full call for papers takes the form of an internet-exhibition
at the following website: http://www.ifs.tu-darmstadt.de/phil/NanoSpace.
This
virtual gallery features 14 families of images. These are supposed to serve as
a starting point and common referent for the talks and workshop discussions.
While contributors are therefore asked to relate their proposals to one or more
of these 14 families, they are not restricted to the images in the web gallery
but invited to expand the pool. Please send a 200 to 500-word abstract in the
form of a word-document by December 1, 2004 to:
jochen.hennig@staff.hu-berlin.de (Jochen Hennig, Helmholtz Zentrum für
Kulturtechnik, Humboldt University, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany).
Please indicate the families of images from the web gallery that your proposal
is relating to.
The
conference language is English, a publication is planned. The workshop
organizers are Prof. Horst Bredekamp (History of Art, HU Berlin), Jochen Hennig
(History of Science, HU Berlin), and Prof. Alfred Nordmann (Philosophy, TU
Darmstadt). The programming committee also includes Andreas Lösch and Joachim
Schummer (Sociology, History and Philosophy of Chemistry, TU Darmstadt), Chris
Robinson and Davis Baird (Art, Philosophy, University of South Carolina).
For
further information please contact: jochen.hennig@staff.hu-berlin.de or
nordmann@phil.tu-darmstadt.de
REFRESH! – FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
THE HISTORIES OF MEDIA ART, SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY –
Banff New Media Institute, Canada September 28
- October 2, 2005
"The
technology of the modern media has produced new possibilities of
interaction...What is needed is a wider view encompassing the coming rewards in
the context of the treasures left us by the past experiences, possessions, and
insights." (Rudolf Arnheim, Summer 2000)
Recognizing
the increasing significance of media art for our culture, this Conference on
the Histories of Media Art will discuss for the first time the history of media
art within the interdisciplinary and intercultural contexts of the histories of
art. Leonardo/ISAST, the Database for Virtual Art, Banff New Media Institute,
and UNESCO DigiArts are collaborating to produce the first international art
history conference covering art and new media, art and technology, art-science
interaction, and the history of media as pertinent to contemporary art.
media art
histories
After
photography, film, video, and the little known media art history of the 1960s-80s,
today media artists are active in a wide range of digital areas (including
interactive, genetic, and telematic art). Even in robotics and nanotechnology,
artists design and conduct experiments. This dynamic process has triggered
intense discussion about images in the disciplines of art history, media
studies, and neighboring cultural disciplines. The Media Art History Project
offers a basis for attempting an evolutionary history of the audiovisual media,
from the laterna magica to the panorama, phantasmagoria, film, and the virtual
art of recent decades. It is an evolution with breaks and detours; however, all
its stages are distinguished by a close relationship between art, science, and
technology.
Refresh! will
discuss questions of historiography, methodology and the role of institutions
of media art. The Conference will contain key debates about the function of
inventions, artistic practice in collaborative networks, the prominent role of
sound during the last decades and will emphasize the importance of
intercultural and pop culture themes in the Histories of Media Art. Readings of
new media art histories vary richly depending on cultural contexts. This event
calls upon scholarship from a strongly international perspective.
Therefore
Refresh! will represent and address the wide array of disciplines involved in
the emerging field of Media Art. Beside Art History these include the Histories
of Sciences and Technologies , Film-, Sound-, Media-, Visual and Theatre
Studies, Architecture, Visual Psychology, just to name a few.
documentation
- curating - collection
Although
the popularity of media art exhibited at exhibitions and art festivals is
growing among the public and increasingly influences theory debates, with few
exceptions museums and galleries have neglected to systematically collect this
present-day art, to preserve it and to demand appropriate conservatory
measures. Thus, several decades of international media art is in danger of
being lost to the history of collecting and to academic disciplines such as art
history. This gap will have far-reaching consequences; therefore, the
conference will also discuss the documentation, collection, archiving and
preservation of media art. What kind of international networks must be created
to advance appropriate policies for collection and conservation? What kind of
new technologies do we need to optimize research efforts and information
exchange?
conference
Held at
The Banff Centre, featuring lectures by invited speakers as well as others
selected by a jury from a call for papers, the main event will be followed by a
two-day summit meeting (October 1-2, 2005) for in-depth dialogues and
international project initiation. The first call for papers will be in late Summer
2004. In particular, young postgraduates in the research areas of: art history
and new media, art and technology, the interaction of art and science, and
media history, are encouraged to submit for the following panels:
media art
histories
Times and
Landscapes
Methodologies
Invention
Collaborative
Practice
Pop Mass
Society
Cross-Culture,
Global Art
art
history as image science
Film,
Sound, Media Art & Performance
History of
Sciences & Media Art
Media
& Visual Studies
documentation
- curating - collection - rights
New
Scientific Tools
History of
Institutions
conference
director & organisation
Oliver
GRAU, Director Immersive Art & Database of Virtual Art
Humboldt
University Berlin
http://virtualart.hu-berlin.de
2005 MEPHISTOS CONFERENCE IN THE HISTORY,
PHILOSOPHY,
AND SOCIOLOGY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND
MEDICINE –
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
March 5-6, 2005
Mephistos
is an international graduate student conference in the History, Philosophy, and
Sociology of Science, Technology and Medicine. The purpose of the
conference is to stimulate open discussion among graduate students. The
graduate community at Brown University, in association with the Committee on
Science & Technology Studies, is proud to host the twenty-third annual
edition of the event, which will be held on March 5-6, 2005.
The 2005
Mephistos Organizing Committee welcomes proposals for individual papers from
graduate students interested in the topics named above and/or the
interdisciplinary field of Science & Technology Studies (STS). Please
submit all the following by email to Tanya Sheehan, Chair of the Organizing
Committee, at mephistos@brown.edu:
- Cover letter
including your name, institutional affiliation (department and
college/university), title of proposed paper, complete mailing address, and
telephone number(s)
- One-page
abstract of the proposed paper (200-300 words—MS Word attachment preferred)
-
Curriculum vitae (no more than 3 pages—MS Word attachment preferred)
Only
complete submissions received by December 1, 2004 will be considered. Letters
of acceptance will be emailed to applicants no later than January 1, 2005.
Please keep in mind that Mephistos conference papers are expected to be formal
presentations of 20 minutes in length. The 2005 Organizing Committee plans to
continue the conference’s long tradition of providing modest travel grants to
each of the conference speakers.
More
information: http://www.brown.edu/Students/Mephistos/
NANOTECHNOLOGY: ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES –
Columbia, South Carolina, 2 – 6 March 2005,
Organized by Nanoscience and Technology Studies
at the University of South Carolina
Developments
in nanotechnology provide the basis for a convergence of the physical and life
sciences, including biomedicine, information technology, and cognitive science.
Emerging technologies include highly functional molecular systems, alternative
manufacturing processes, molecular computing, brain/machine interfaces, tissue
engineering, and recombinant genetic alterations of viral, plant, and animal
systems. Virtually all areas of human
life may be transformed, and these transformations will likely involve both
great benefit and great risk.
In this
conference we explore the ethical and legal issues raised by nanotechnology and
the larger convergence of technologies, including reflections on: toxicity of
nanoparticles; environmental sustainability & remediation; human/machine
interfaces; human enhancements;
convergence of NBIC; privacy and security; legal and ethical theories for
nano; government regulation; scientific integrity and liberty; tech transfer,
patenting and insurance liability; military use of nanotechnology; nanomedicine; the nano-divide; international
and developing world needs
Confirmed
speakers include Mihail Roco, Senior Advisor of the National Science
Foundation; Vicki Colvin, Director of CBEN at Rice University.
We expect
an international audience, and invite papers and posters from speakers in all
areas of research related to the conference topic. Please submit an abstract of 200-500 words. Deadline is 1 December 2004; we would
appreciate earlier emails from those interested in submitting abstracts so we
can plan the size of the conference. Email an attachment in Word, Rich Text
Format, or pdf to:
George
Khushf, Ph.D.,
Department
of Philosophy,
University
of South Carolina,
Columbia SC 29208, USA
Email: khushfg@gwm.sc.edu
More
information: http://nsts.nano.sc.edu
Forthcoming events
CEPE 2005: ETHICS OF NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
–
Sixth International Conference of Computer
Ethics: Philosophical Enquiry,
University of Twente, Enschede, The
Netherlands, July 17-19, 2005
The CEPE
conference series is recognized as one of the premier international events on
computer and information ethics attended by delegates from all over the world.
Conferences are held about every 24 months, alternating between Europe and the
United States. CEPE 2005 is the sixth conference in the series.
Information
technology is currently moving well beyond the familiar mainframe, PC and
laptop computer paradigms. We are witnessing the mobile revolution, the
ubiquitous computing revolution, as well as revolutionary new uses of IT in
biomedicine, education, the fight against crime and terrorism, entertainment
and other areas. We are anticipating a nanotechnology revolution, as well as a
convergence between information technology, biotechnology and nanotechnology.
These new developments require ethical reflection, possibly even before their
consequences become visible.
The
special theme of CEPE2005 is ethics of new information technology. Papers of an
ethical or philosophical nature within the following areas are particularly
welcomed:
- Virtual
and augmented reality and shared virtual environments
-
Nanotechnology and nanocomputing
-
Ubiquitous computing and ambient intelligence
-
Converging technologies (the convergence of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information
technology and cognitive science)
- New
surveillance technologies and new technologies for security and privacy
- New uses
of information technology in biomedicine and bioengineering
- New
military applications of IT
- New uses
of information technology in education
- New IT
solutions to environmental problems
- New
communication technologies and mobile computing devices
- New
developments in artificial intelligence, artificial agents, embedded systems
and artificial life
- Models
for the ethical assessment of new and future information technologies
CEPE 2005
will take place in conjunction with the 14th Biennial International Conference
of the Society for Philosophy and Technology (SPT), which will be held from
July 20-22 at Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands. Further
information can be found on the conference website: cepe2005.utwente.nl.
Conference
director: Philip Brey, University of Twente, The Netherlands
Conference
co-directors: Luciano Floridi, Oxford University, United Kingdom; Frances
Grodzinsky, Sacred Heart University, United States; Lucas Introna, Lancaster
University, United Kingdom
SOCIETY FOR PHILOSOPHY AND GEOGRAPHY –
APA Eastern Divion Session,
Thursday Morning, December 30, GXII-2.
11:15 a.m.-1:15
p.m., Tufts (Third Floor)
Topic:
Philosophy of Place Lecture
Chair:
Andrew Light (New York University)
Speaker:
Andrew Brennan (University of Western Australia), "Balancing the
Flavors: Traditional Medicines and Ethics of Place"
Commentator:
Norva Y.S. Lo (La Trobe University)
THE BIOTECH AGE –
Lisbon Workshop 28-29 January 2005
The ESA
Sociology of Science and Technology Network (SSTNET) is organizing a workshop
focused on the general topic of Biotech Age. This event will occur in Lisbon,
on 28-29 January 2005 (see also
http://www.mpi-fg-koeln.mpg.de/sstnet/news.html).
The
interest and development in biotechnology and its applications is rapid and
awesome. By means of this development we are now able to influence our own
evolution and the development of other organisms, which raises a number of
ethical, legal, political and social concerns. Generally, biotechnology affects
human life in a number of ways where currently the optimistic views are
counterbalanced by public concern of the risks involved. These are some of the
issues we would wish to be elucidated in the Lisbon workshop:
New
perceptions of health, disease, normality and functional impairment are
potential breakthroughs for the human kind and concurrently frightening if
issues concerning privacy and the use of such information in biobanks are not
handled properly. A great interest have been attached to stem cell research,
therapeutic cloning, xenotransplantation and pharmacogenetics
Controversies
surrounding genetically modified organisms concern positive effects on
agricultural productivity and its potential promises in the fight against
malnutrition and starvation as well as a lessen dependence on pesticides versus
negative effects such as threats to human health, food safety and adverse
effects on biological diversity
R&D in
biotechnology is often financed by private capital due to its potential
commercial possibilities. This raises concerns about global and state
regulations, governance and other economical, ethical and legal actions.
Discussions entail issues such as intellectual property rights, patenting of
genes, monopolization of discoveries, public attitudes and protection against
risks.
There is a growing need to analyze and carry out empiri