Секция „Знание и реалност: модели, методологии и евристики“ на Института за философия и социология при БАН, съвместно с Българското общество по аналитична философия имат удоволствието да ви поканят на двудневен майсторски курс на тема „Тенденции в естетика на науката“, воден от д-р Мариона Миата-Щурм (University of Oxford).
Курсът ще се проведе на 24 и 25 март, от 10:00 до 13:00 ч., в Софийския университет „Св. Климент Охридски“. Допълнителна информация относно конкретното място на провеждане, както и материали за предварително четене, ще бъде изпратена на регистрираните участници.
Моля, изпращайте своите заявки за участие до доц. Марина Бакалова на имейл адрес: , в срок до 1 март. Участието в курса е със свободен достъп за всички, които имат интерес към темата. Единственото условие за участие е предварително запознаване с текстове, които ще бъдат дискутирани и подаване на предварителна заявка за участие, за да можем да осигурим достатъчно голяма и удобна зала.
Trends in the Aesthetics of Science
Masterclass with Dr Mariona Miyata-Sturm
What does aesthetics have to do with science? Why should it matter whether our theories are elegant, unifying, or otherwise beautiful? Can aesthetic feelings and emotions such as delight, awe, or disgust signal (lack of) understanding or anything about the epistemic value of theories or evidence? These are the kinds of questions will discuss in this two-day masterclass.
We begin with a bird’s eye view of aesthetics in science. In the first lecture, I introduce the literature on aesthetics in science and discuss central questions, such as what is the epistemic value of aesthetics, and classic accounts of what aesthetics contributes to – or detracts from – science. In the second lecture, I introduce a recent ‘metacognitive’ account which takes aesthetic evaluations to be of modest epistemic value due to our psychological make-up. We then turn to a discussion session which will be based around your questions from the lectures and assigned readings. All participants are asked to read the assigned texts beforehand.
On the second day, we look more closely at the role of aesthetics in the geosciences (e.g., geology, geophysics, and palaeontology). In the first lecture, I discuss recent trends in work on the aesthetics of geoscience, discussing the role of aesthetic sensibilities in fossil preparation, the role of aesthetics in the development of the theory of plate tectonics, and the use of artistic skills in scientific practices such as experimental design and the making of field sketches. We then discuss whether aesthetic values play the same role in the evaluation of evidence as they do in the evaluation of theories. The masterclass ends with another discussion session based on your questions from the lectures and the pre-read texts.
Tuesday March 24th
Can Aesthetic Values Play an Epistemically Useful Role in Science?
10:00 – 10:50 Aesthetics in science: what is it? Why should we care?
10:50 – 11:00 Break
11:00 – 11:30 (Meta)cognitive accounts of the epistemic value of aesthetics
11:30 – 11:40 Break
11:40 – 12:45 Discussion session
Assigned readings: Engler (1990) “Aesthetics in Science and in Art” (11 pages) and Ivanova (2020) “Beauty, Truth and Understanding” (17 pages)
Wednesday March 25th
Recent Trends in the Philosophy of Geoscience
10:00 – 10:50 Aesthetics in geoscience: the turn towards scientific practice
10:50 – 11:00 Break
11:00 – 11:30 The aesthetic values of theory and evidence
11:30 – 11:40 Break
11:40 – 12:45 Discussion session
Assigned readings: Turner (2019) Paleoaesthetics and the Practice of Paleontology, sections 2 and 4 (24 pages) and Currie (2023) “Epistemic Engagement, Aesthetic Value, and Scientific Practice” (22 pages)
Dr Miyata-Sturm is currently a Stipendiary Lecturer at New College and a Postdoctoral Associate at the Philosophy Faculty at the University of Oxford, and will be a Postdoctoral Fellow on the ERC-funded project Know-How at the University of Glasgow from July 2026. She works on the aesthetics of science, with a special focus on plate tectonics. Miyata-Sturm is the author of “Aesthetic Considerations in the Development of Plate Tectonics” (2024), published in the Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, and “Aesthetic Feelings in Scientific Reasoning” (2024), published in Teorema.