{"id":4011,"date":"2025-03-11T11:16:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T11:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/mancept\/?page_id=4011"},"modified":"2025-08-23T16:05:29","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T15:05:29","slug":"integrating-politics-and-philosophy-of-science-from-below","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/mancept\/mancept-workshops\/list-of-panels-a-z-2025\/integrating-politics-and-philosophy-of-science-from-below\/","title":{"rendered":"Integrating Politics and Philosophy of Science from Below"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ next_background_color=”#000000″ global_module=”322″][et_pb_fullwidth_menu global_parent=”322″ menu_id=”8″ submenu_direction=”downwards” fullwidth_menu=”off” module_class=”main-navigation” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ background_layout=”dark” \/][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ module_class=”header-image-section” _builder_version=”3.0.74″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|” custom_css_main_element=”padding-top:0px” transparent_background=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″ next_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”||0px|” custom_margin=”||0px|” parallax_method_1=”off” module_class=”header-image” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/mancept\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/257\/2022\/02\/Oxford-Roadcrop.jpg” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ border_color_all=”#ffffff” custom_margin=”0px|||” animation_direction=”left” use_border_color=”off” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.74″ custom_padding=”||0px|” transparent_background=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″ next_background_color=”#1d1d1d”][et_pb_row custom_padding=”||0px|” custom_margin=”||0px|” parallax_method_1=”off” module_class=”breadcrumbs-row” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Breadcrumbs (do not remove)” module_class=”breadcrumbs” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” module_alignment=”left” custom_css_main_element=”border-bottom: 1px solid #ececed;” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\nMANCEPT<\/a><\/span><\/span>\n

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Integrating Politics and Philosophy of Science from Below<\/h1>\n

Room – Roscoe 2.9<\/em><\/p>\n

Alejo Stark (University of Utah); Pedro <\/span>Monque (<\/span>University of North Carolina at Charlotte)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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The relationship between science and politics has long been a subject of philosophical debate. Today, ideas about what science is<\/em> and its epistemic value for society matter deeply for the world. We face a situation where scientific denialism can trigger an equally problematic scientific authoritarianism. More than ever, there is a need to integrate political philosophy and philosophy of science to put forward a compelling vision of how science can help us navigate our present ecological and political crises. The task ahead entails critiquing the colonial and capitalist values that guide scientific practice without losing science\u2019s contributions to human flourishing.<\/p>\n

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The goal of this workshop is to consider what a compelling vision of science that tackles today\u2019s crises might be. To this end, we will bring together political philosophers and philosophers of science. These two groups, we believe, do not dialogue enough. Yet, debates about \u201cnatural limits\u201d and \u201cplanetary boundaries\u201d that divide green and red thinkers (e.g. Kohei Saito, Matt Huber, Kate Raworth, Giorgos Kallis), or how a poor understanding of the philosophy of science keeps economics trapped in a dismal formalism (e.g. Clive Spash), and the way in which social movements and indigenous peoples have worked to reconceptualize science and propose better practices in light of colonial histories (Robin Kimmerer and Sandra Harding), these all show the relevance of philosophy of science for political philosophy and vice versa. Many of the pressing questions of today (be they about ecological limits, reproductive rights, or democratizing knowledge) require an integrated<\/em> understanding of both political philosophy and philosophy of science. A na\u00efve understanding of science can be just as dangerous to political proposals as a na\u00efve understanding of politics is to those concerned with defending science\u2019s epistemological status today.<\/p>\n

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Both of us (Alejo Stark and Pedro Monque) work at the intersection of political philosophy and philosophy of science. Stark has worked with Zapatista communities in Chiapas, Mexico, to show that they do not reject scientific knowledge or see it as inevitably dominating. Monque works with environmental activists in Venezuela and asks how novel concepts from Latin American social movements (e.g. extractivism) enable a different diagnosis of the environmental crisis. We recently collaborated on a panel for the History of Science Society<\/em> that confirmed to us the fruitfulness of discussing \u201cpolitical philosophy of science from below,\u201d especially from a Latin American perspective. We want to continue this conversation but expand our focus to anyone interested in envisioning a compelling vision for science given today\u2019s challenges.<\/p>\n

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Some questions: (1) What is the role of the sciences in struggles for emancipation and in addressing our current political and ecological crises? (2) How have activists, social movements, and indigenous peoples theorized the role played by the sciences in their domination? (3) Which debates today suffer the most from a lack of awareness about the history and philosophy of science? And (4) How might an integrated understanding of political philosophy and philosophy of science help us to articulate a non-dominating vision of science and its epistemological status?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Wednesday 3rd<\/sup> September<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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11:00-12:30<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Registration<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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12:30-13:30<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Lunch<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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13:30-14:00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Welcome Speech<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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14:00-16:00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Session 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daniel West – \u201cWhy Political Theory Needs Ecology: The Case for Ecological Realism\u201d<\/p>\n

Ela Tokay – \u201cDevouring the Other: Scientific Rationality and the Domination of Nature in an Age of Climate Control\u201d<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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16:00-16:30<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Tea and Coffee Break (optional)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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16:30-17:30<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Session 1 (continued)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Karoliina Pulkkinen – \u201cLegitimacy Through Outputs: How Science and Technology Can Contribute to Nondemocratic Legitimization\u201d<\/p>\n

Rory Kent – \u201cScientism, Ideology, and the Division of Cognitive Labour\u201d<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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17:45-19:00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Wine Reception<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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19:30<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Conference Dinner<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Thursday 4th<\/sup> September<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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9:30-11:30<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Session 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

Obed Frausto Gatica – \u201cPolitical Philosophy of Science and Standpoint Theory. Differences and Similarities\u201d<\/p>\n

Ambrosio Velasco G\u00f3mez (and Cesar de Rosas) – \u201cCritique of Epistemocratic Colonialism and New Republican Intercultural Paradigms\u201d<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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11:30-12:00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Tea and Coffee Break (optional)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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12:00-13:00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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EARLY GROUP LUNCH (or emergency reschedule slot)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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13:00-14:00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Lunch<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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14:00-16:00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Session 3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Christian Castro-Martinez – \u201cFrom the Salt Flats to Scientific Sovereignty: Lithium and the Making of a National Project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alejo Stark – “Political Movements and Scientific Communities: Zapatista Lessons for Political Philosophy of Science.”<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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16:00-16:30<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Tea and Coffee Break (optional)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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16:30-17:30<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Session 3 (continued)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jamie Shaw – \u201cStakeholder Theory and the Limits of Democracy: Lessons from Extension Programs in Agriculture\u201d<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Friday 5th<\/sup> September<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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9:30-11:30<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Session 4<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nicole Whalen and Pedro Monque – \u201cAgrarianism, Degrowth and Ecological Limits\u201d<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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11:30-12:00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Tea and Coffee Break (optional)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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12:00-13:00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Session 4 (continued)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kyle Ferguson – \u201cScope, Hope and the Social Cost of Carbon\u201d<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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13:00-14:00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Lunch<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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14:00-16:00<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Session 5<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whole Group Roundtable on Integrating Politics and Philosophy of Science from Below<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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16:00-16:30<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Tea and Coffee Break (optional)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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16:30-17:30<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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Session 5 (continued)<\/strong><\/p>\n

FREE TIME (or emergency reschedule slot)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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17:30<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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End of Conference<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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+44 (0) 161 306 6000<\/p>\n

mancept-workshops@manchester.ac.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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