Computational Scientific Discovery
Conference on Scientific Discovery in the Social Sciences
Conference on Scientific Discovery in the Social Sciences, London School of Economics, 30th-31st January, 2015
This interdisciplinary conference explores issues arising from scientific discovery in the social sciences. Keynote talks will be given by speakers from philosophy, psychology and computer science. Submissions are invited from a range of disciplines including the behavioural and social sciences, computer science, philosophy and statistics. Papers and posters covering all relevant techniques and approaches within this broad area are welcome. It is hoped that selected papers will appear in extended form as an edited volume.
There is no fee for attending the conference. Coffee, tea and sandwiches will be provided. A conference dinner is planned for Friday 30th January, for which there will be a charge.
The conference is supported by the ESRC
How to Register
Registration is free. Please note that, due to limited space, interested attendees must contact M.Absar@lse.ac.uk to register. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Registration will not be accepted after 22 January.
Invited Speakers
- Prof. Margaret Boden, 'Could computers do social research?'
- Maria Dimarogkona and Dr. Petros Stefaneas, 'Concerning the Formalisation of Social Science Theories'
- Prof. Kevin Dunbar, 'Big data, big theory and the end of the hypothetico-deductive method as we know it'
Programme
Thursday 29th January
18.30-20.00 CNPSS Public Lecture: Prof. Margaret Boden, 'Materiality and computer art'. In the Old Theatre, Old Building, LSE. podcast video
Friday 30th January
Location: Room 2.06, Lakatos Building, London School of Economics and Political Science
- 9.30-10.00 Coffee and registration
- 10.00-11.00 Keynote: Professor Margaret Boden (University of Sussex) Could Computers Do Social Research?
- 11:00-11.20 Tea break
- 11.20-11.50 Professor Piotr Giza (University of Lublin) Automated Discovery Systems and the Inductivist Controversy (slides)
- 11.50-12.20 Professor Fernand Gobet (University of Liverpool), Professor Mark Addis (Birmingham City University), Dr. Peter Lane (University of Hertfordshire) and Dr. Peter Sozou (University of Liverpool and LSE) Automatic Generation of Scientific Theories (slides)
- 12:20-13.00 Lunch and registration
- 13:00-14.00 Keynote: Maria Dimarogkona and Dr. Petros Stefaneas (National Technical University of Athens) Syntax, Semantics and the Formalisation of Social Science Theories (slides)
- 14.00-14.10 Break
- 14.10-14.40 Catherine Greene (London School of Economics) Scientific Discovery in Finance (slides)
- 14.40-15.10 Dr. Michiru Nagatsu and Dr. Miles Macleod (University of Helsinki) Managing Discovery in Interdisciplinary Contexts
- 15.10-15.40 Dr. Robert Northcott (Birkbeck College) Armchair Science (slides)
- 15.40-16.00 Tea break
- 16.00-16.30 Nicolas Wüthrich (London School of Economics) and Professor Wulf Gaertner (University of Osnarbrück) Evaluating Competing Theories- Kuhn vs Arrow (slides)
- 16.30-17.00 Remco Heesen, Liam Kofi Bright, and Andrew Zucker (Carnegie Mellon University University) Vindicating Methodological Triangulation (slides)
- 17.00-17.30 Abigail Klassen (York University) Fodor and Papineau on Physicalism and the Social Sciences
- 17.30-18.30 Reception
- 19.00 Conference dinner at Cooper's Restaurant, Lincoln's Inn Fields
Saturday 31st January
Location: Room 2.06, Lakatos Building, London School of Economics and Political Science
- 9.30 Coffee
- 10.00-11.00 Keynote: Professor Kevin Dunbar (University of Maryland College Park) Big Data, Big Theory, and the End of the Hypothethico-Deductive Method as We Know It (slides)
- 11:00-11.20 Tea break
- 11.20-11.50 Mollie Gerver (London School of Economics) Real World Examples (slides)
- 11.50-12.20 Dr. Christoph Schickhardt (University of Heidelberg) Discovering Moral Reasons with Social Sciences (slides)
- 12.20 Lunch
- 13.00-13.30 Professor Mark Thomas (University College London) The Origins of Modern Human Behaviour (slides)
- 13.30-14.00 Dr. Clayton Peterson (Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy) Constructing Scientific Discovery
- 14.00-14.30 Jakub Motrenko (University of Warsaw) The Discovery That-What
- 14.30-15.00 Tea break
- 15.00-15.30 Dr. Ben Trubody (independent scholar) Scientific Misconduct (slides)
- 15.30-16.00 Michael Stuart (University of Toronto) Imagination in Scientific Discovery (slides)
- 16.00-16.10 Break
- 16.10-16.40 Professor Amos Witztum (London School of Economics) Are Scientific Rediscoveries New Discoveries?
- 16.40-17.10 Professor Peter Abell (London School of Economics) Case Method, Causality and Bayesian Narratives
- 17.10 Close
(All slides provided are copyright their author(s).)
Venue
The conference will be held at the London School of Economics, London, UK. See location on map.
Contact
All questions, queries and paper submissions to: sdss@generating-theories.peterlane.info or mark.addis@bcu.ac.uk.
Dates
1st October 2014: Submission of papers (by 23:59 GMT)1st November 2014: Notification of acceptance30th-31st January 2015: Conference
Programme Committee
- Prof. Mark Addis, Birmingham City University and LSE
- Prof. Fernand Gobet, University of Liverpool and LSE
- Dr. Peter Lane, University of Hertfordshire
- Dr. Peter Sozou, University of Liverpool and LSE