Conference Report: The Fifth Conference of the East European Network for Philosophy of Science, 9-10 September, Kraków

The East European Network for Philosophy of Science (EENPS), in co-operation with the Interdisciplinary Centre for Ethics (INCET), held its fifth biennial conference on September 9-10, 2024, at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków.

The idea for establishing EENPS originated in discussions at the European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA) in Düsseldorf prompted by scholars working in Eastern Europe, when the first EPSA fellowships for scholars from the region were introduced. However, the definition of ‘Eastern Europe’ within EENPS is flexible, and the network welcomes participants regardless of their place of residence or origin. Following its establishment, the EENPS has organized four conferences: in 2016 at New Bulgarian University in Sofia, in 2018 at Comenius University in Bratislava, in 2021 at the University of Belgrade, and in 2022 at the University of Tartu.

This year’s conference in Kraków covered a wide range of topics in the philosophy of science, spanning from the philosophy of physical, biological, and medical sciences, through the philosophical aspects of social and cognitive sciences, to the philosophy of formal sciences and economics. The conference included a total of 64 presentations, consisting of 57 contributed talks across 4 parallel sessions, 4 symposia (with 4–6 presenters each), 1 plenary session, and 2 keynote talks – one of which was delivered via Zoom. Apart from this one online talk, the entire conference was held in person. The talks were given by scholars at different career stages, including graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and tenure-track or tenured faculty from different countries in Europe as well as North America and Asia. The presentations were selected from a total of 147 submissions, including 8 submissions for symposia. Compared to the 84 submissions for the EENPS 2022 conference, this marks an increase of 75 %. The acceptance rate has also changed, dropping from 79 % in EENPS 2022 to around 50 % for EENPS 2024.

The conference opened with Federica Russo’s (Utrecht University) online keynote talk titled “Causal Mosaic: A Philosophical Theory and a Transdisciplinary Collaborative Approach”. Russo began by outlining the history and current state of the debate surrounding causality, particularly in the context of discussions held within the network and conference series “Causality in the Sciences” (CitS), which was originally set up at University of Kent. Russo emphasized the pluralistic, transdisciplinary, inclusive, and collaborative approach to causality developed by this community, especially the concept of the Causal Mosaic, proposed by Illari and Russo in Causality: Philosophical theory meets scientific practice. She argued that the values of diversity, inclusion, and dialogue are not only ethical principles but also fundamental epistemic values. Russo suggests that we might rethink the philosophy of causality, as well as philosophy of science and philosophy in general, as a process of co-creation in which collegiality and mutual respect are promotors of better exchanges as well as of higher quality of academic outputs.

The second day began with Kristina Rolin’s (Tampere University) keynote talk “Epistemic Trustworthiness and the Value-Free Ideal of Science”. In her lecture, Rolin explored the role of scientific experts in communicating with the public and advising policymakers by providing research-based knowledge and guidance. Her starting point was the concept of the value-free ideal of science – the idea that scientific experts are epistemically trustworthy and credible when they remain as neutral as possible concerning moral and social values. Rolin critically examined different versions of this thesis and the arguments supporting them, offering numerous counterarguments in response. She went on to present and analyze an alternative understanding of the role of scientific experts, suggesting that, within this debate, we should rethink the key concept of epistemic trust. Rather than focusing solely on expertise, Rolin argued that epistemic trust should also encompass good will, sincerity, and honesty – making it, at its core, a moral concept.

The conference ended with a plenary session titled “(Dis)Trust in Public Health”, which included presentations by Faik Kurtulmus, Silvia Caprioglio Panizza, and Jay Zameska, along with an introduction and moderation by Elena Popa. The session brought together contributions from the philosophy of science, the philosophy of medicine, and ethics to analyze the question of whether trust in public health can be a purely epistemic notion or whether it should also involve value aspects. Kurtulmus suggested that the ethical aspect of trust in science should be explored through the lens of informing as an act that generates entitlements and obligations. He emphasized the role of a good informant, who possesses knowledge of the background, needs, and competencies of the audience, and makes value-laden choices in selecting relevant facts, offering necessary context, and taking precautions against misunderstandings and errors.

Caprioglio Panizza addressed the topic of specific communities, where distrust is particularly justified, for example, due to past harmful and discriminatory practices. She analyzed the ethical aspect of trust in medicine and public health by focusing on the opposition between trust, understood as vulnerability, and distrust, which can be seen as power. Caprioglio Panizza suggested applying a recent ethical reflection on the role of attention in this new context of distrust in public health. She argued that attention is not only ethically and epistemically beneficial but can also serve as a filter that allows for the partial restoration of trust, especially in cases where it has been compromised due to power relations.

Finally, Zameska addressed the debate over the definition of disease from an ethical lens, feeding into trust in medicine and public health. He argued that, under conditions of uncertainty, the ongoing dispute between harm-inclusive and harm-exclusive definitions of disease should be pragmatically settled by choosing the harm-inclusive definition. Although harm may not be the only valid criterion of disease, Zameska believes that favoring harm-inclusive definitions is the rational approach, as it helps manage epistemic risk, minimizes the expected cost of neglecting harmful conditions, aligns with patient-centered care, and promotes trust.

Some of the participants extended their stay in Kraków to attend the satellite workshop “Socially Engaged Science: Perspectives from Political Economy, History and Philosophy of Science, and Science and Technology Studies”, which took place on September 11th, 2024. Both the EENPS 2024 conference and the workshop were collectively organized locally by the PhD students and undergraduates of the Philosophy Department at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, along with staff and faculty members from the Interdisciplinary Centre for Ethics (INCET) and the Institute of Philosophy, under the direction of Elena Popa, the chair of the local organizing committee. The EENPS organizing committee played a key role, including Joanna Karolina Malinowska, Magdalena Małecka, Anna Alexandrova, Maria Panagiotatou, and Jaana Eigi-Watkin. I would like to express my appreciation for all their efforts on behalf of the conference participants.

Additionally, I would like to express our gratitude to the generous funders of the event, specifically the projects “Values, Trust, and Decision Making in Public Health”, co-funded by the European Commission and the Polish National Science Centre under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, and “BIOUNCERTAINTY,” funded by the European Research Council, as well as funding from INCET. The workshop was supported by the Young Scholars Initiative of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, as well as the aforementioned project and INCET. For more information about the conference, including all abstracts and the program, please visit https://eenps2024.sciencesconf.org/.