Summary

A long-lasting tradition of investigations on the nature of scientific knowledge took shape in Europe at the beginning of the last century. Such a tradition started within a wide range of different disciplines, and in a number of different European countries.

This scientific movement, involving Central Logical Empiricism in Vienna, Berlin and Prague, was strongly interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary. It produced an extended and stimulating literature and prepared the ground for a wide array of reflections on the structure of science, its aim and limits. Investigating the methods and the foundations of science from a European perspective does neither presuppose nor support or encourage chauvinist claims of superiority, but merely expresses recognition of an undeniable historical fact: European culture entered into the discourse on science from its very beginning.

Even though Europe is no longer alone in setting the parameters for discourse in and about science, during the last few decades a renewed and increasing interest in foundational and methodological issues has again been shown by scholars all over Europe.  

This research networking programme focuses on the philosophy and foundations of the natural and social sciences and aims at enhancing European tradition in the philosophy of science. Its ultimate goal is to promote exchanges between scholars from all over Europe, in order to build up a network of strong and durable relations to broaden and deepen the current debate on the topic.

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Duration

Five years from 1 May 2008 until 30 April 2013