Wimsatt Fest to feature discussion on philosophy and history of biology

Bill Wimsatt has never shied away from big problems.

Wimsatt, Professor Emeritus in Philosophy and a member of the Committee on Evolutionary Biology and the Committee on Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science, has done pioneering work in the philosophy and history of science, as well as the study of complex systems.

An upcoming conference will bring together experts on the philosophy of the natural and human sciences to discuss Wimsatt's work. Dubbed "Wimsatt Fest," the event will take place Friday, April 9 and Saturday, April 10.

"Bill Wimsatt is one of the most significant philosophers of biology writing today," said Robert Richards, the Morris Fishbein Professor of the History of Science. "The conference brings together several of his former students and current colleagues to discuss the various areas of the philosophy and history of biology in which Bill has made an impact."

In particular, Richards cited the ongoing importance of Wimsatt's work on "robustness"-the idea that things are more reliable when they can be accessed through many independent means. "His conceptions have entered into the fundamental discourse of philosophers of biology, and his students continue the influence he has had on the discipline," Richards said.

Wimsatt studied engineering, physics, and philosophy at Cornell University, and received his PhD from the University of Pittsburgh in 1971. He founded the University's innovative "Big Problems" program for undergraduates in 1999. In 2007, he published the landmark Re-engineering Philosophy for Limited Beings: Piecewise Approximations to Reality, a collection of essays written between 1971 and 2002.

"I am deeply moved by the talented array of people (all of whom I've taught, learned from, or both) who have come to attend and to speak," Wimsatt said of the conference. "But even more, I look forward to a cross section of the best historically informed philosophy of science practiced today. History and philosophy of biology interacts more with a wide variety of disciplines than any other area of philosophy. I am proud to be a member of such a group and expect to be richly enlightened."

In addition to Wimsatt and Richards, the conference will feature Chicago scholars Susan Goldin-Meadow, the Bearsdley Ruml Distinguished Service Professor in Psychology; Martha McClintock, the David Lee Shillinglaw Distinguished Service Professor in Psychology; Salikoko Mufwene, the Frank J. McLoraine Distinguished Service Professor in the Humanities; and Robert Perlman, Professor in Neurobiology, as well as 14 speakers from other universities.

The conference, which will be held in Room 224 of the Social Sciences Building, is free and open to the public. It is jointly sponsored by the Committee on Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science, the Fishbein Center for the History of Science, the College, the Division of the Humanities, the Franke Institute for the Humanities, and the Philosophy Department.