Prof. Dr. James R. Brown

Profil

Derzeitige StellungProfessor W-3 und Äquivalente
FachgebietTheoretische Philosophie
KeywordsThought-experiments, epistemology, mathematics, physics, social relations of science

Aktuelle Kontaktadresse

LandKanada
OrtToronto
Universität/InstitutionUniversity of Toronto
Institut/AbteilungDepartment of Philosophy

Gastgeber*innen während der Förderung

Prof. Dr. Martin CarrierAbteilung Philosophie, Universität Bielefeld, Bielefeld
Beginn der ersten Förderung01.10.2004

Programm(e)

2004Humboldt-Forschungspreis-Programm für Geisteswissenschaftler*innen

Projektbeschreibung der*des Nominierenden

James Robert Brown is one of the most creative philosophers of science on the North American Continent. His most important contributions concern, first, the philosophical reconstruction of the nature and the probative force of thought experiments and, second, the analysis of the impact of the commercialization of science on scientific method. Brown points out that and how "constructive" thought experiments manage to support scientific research programs, and explores the detrimental effects of application pressure on the reliability of research outcome. As he argues, maintaining the trustworthiness of science requires to keep economic and epistemic interests separate. Both items will form part of a joint research project undertaken with Martin Carrier (Bielefeld University).