Pacific APA Mini-Conference: 
Making Philosophy of Science More Socially Relevant
March 19 – 20, 2008

Organized by: Nancy Cartwright, Sophia Efstathiou, Carla Fehr, Helen Longino and
Katie Plaisance

The format of this two day mini-conference emphasizes discussion.  Papers are
presented in the first half of each session and discussed in the second half. 
We invite you to join us for all or part of the conference, including the
reception following the last session on Wednesday.  (Please note that the actual
order of presentations is listed below and is not the one reflected in the APA
program.)  


Wednesday, March 19th 

9:00 – 9:15	Welcome talk 

9:15 – 10:45	Session I: Environmental Science and Policy
Nancy Tuana, “Bridging Philosophy of Science and Science Policy”		
Kevin Elliott, “Philosophy of Science, Public Policy, and Pollution Research”
Carl Cranor, “The Role of On-the-ground Scientific Judgments in the Philosophy of 
Environmental Health Protections” 

11:00 – 12:30	Session II: Feminist Perspectives on Science
Sarah Richardson, “Beyond Bias: Modeling Gender in Science”
Lynn Hankinson Nelson, “Upholding Epistemic Standards and Engaging in Socially 
Responsible Science: There Is No Tension Here”
Carla Fehr, “ISU ADVANCE: Promoting the Retention and Advancement of Women in 
Science and Engineering Careers”

12:30 – 2:00	Lunch Break
		 
2:00 – 3:30	Session III: The Use of Racial Categories in the Natural Sciences
Michael Root, “Stratifying By Race”
Sophia Efstathiou, “Validating Race/Ethnicity Constructs as Categories for Genetics 
Research”
Lisa Gannett, “Questions Asked and Unasked: How Philosophers of Science Might Better 
Contribute to Current Debates about Genetics and Race”

3:30 – 4:00	Coffee Break

4:00 – 5:30	Session IV: Values in Biomedical Research
Susan Hawthorne, “Models of Mental Illness: Analysis of Hybrid Constructs”
Eric Martin, “Evidence, Objectivity, and Public Policy: Methodological
Perspectives on the 
Vaccine Controversy
Julian Reiss, “Neglected Diseases and Well-Ordered Science”

5:30 – 6:30	Session V: Teaching curricula for philosophy of science
that facilitate engagement 
with social issues (panel discussion)

6:30 – 8:00	Reception 


Thursday, March 20th 

9:00 – 11:00	Session VI: Socially Relevant Roles for Philosophers of Science 
Heather Douglas, “Going Both Ways: Applied Philosophy of Science in Context”
Katie Plaisance, “Philosophers of Science as Liaisons Between Science and Society” 
Anita Silvers, “Sheltering the Public from Illusions of a Perfect Genomic Storm”
Janet Kourany, “Philosophers of Science as Public Intellectuals”

11:00 – 1:30	Lunch Break

1:30 – 3:00	Session VII: Building Trust Between Science and Society 
Robert Crease, “Trust”
Naomi Scheman, “If You Believe in Truth, Fight for Justice: Ethical
Responsibilities of 
Scientists for the Institutions in Which They Work”
Heidi Grasswick, “Scientific Communities and the Responsibilities of
Knowledge-Sharing: 
What We Can Learn from Whistleblowers” 

3:15 – 5:00	Session VIII: Roundtable: What is the best way to make
philosophy of science more socially relevant? What are the requirements for and
limitations of such work?

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