Conversations at the Center

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The mission of the Center for Philosophy of Science is to foster the development of the best, new work in philosophy of science. In so far as the flourishing of philosophy of science internationally will generate more of the best work in philosophy of science, The Center seeks to propagate an understanding of the methods and achievements of this work to a broader academic audience. This podcast is to promote our work, as well as the work of our visiting fellows and guests of the Center. All music has been obtained through a paid license on motionarray.com

  1. 2d ago

    Conversations at the Center: Social Epistemology and Group Deliberation

    In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Stephan Hartmann of LMU Munich to discuss social epistemology and group deliberation. Stephan Hartmann is Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, Philosophy of Science and the Study of Religion at LMU Munich, Alexander von Humboldt Professor, and Co-Director of the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy. His work spans philosophy of science, philosophy of physics, formal and social epistemology, and Bayesian cognitive science. He is co-author of Bayesian Epistemology with Luc Bovens and Bayesian Philosophy of Science with Jan Sprenger. In his current research, he investigates reasoning and argumentation, open quantum systems, and formal models of social epistemology, with a particular focus on how groups deliberate, exchange reasons, and arrive at collective judgments. http://www.stephanhartmann.org/ Read the work discussed in the podcast: Voting, Deliberation and Truth (2018) Anchoring in Deliberations (2020) The Wisdom of the Small Crowd (2023) Bayesian Epistemology (with Luc Bovens, OUP 2003) Bayesian Philosophy of Science (with Jan Sprenger, OUP 2019) Stephan delivered this year's Adolf Grünbaum Memorial Lecture. Watch his talk here: https://youtube.com/live/P5nwdG_MrAw?feature=share Listen to Kevin Zollman's discussion of social epistemology and pluralistic ignorance on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

  2. Sep 21

    Conversations at the Center: Perception and Understanding

    Welcome to season 3 of Conversations at the Center! In this episode, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Visiting Fellow Alfredo Vernazzani to discuss his work on perception and understanding. Alfredo is a researcher at TU Dortmund University. He completed his PhD at Ruhr-Universität Bochum in 2018, where he subsequently served as Managing Director of the MSc in Cognitive Science with Prof. Albert Newen. He has held visiting positions at the Universities of Cambridge, Harvard, Rutgers, and at the Center for Philosophical Psychology at the University of Antwerp. His research investigates the structure of experience across human and non-human forms of life, as well as the diverse ways in which the world, others, and the self become intelligible. He combines empirical findings with conceptual analysis within a broadly Kantian framework, treating experience as structured by conditions of intelligibility grounded in both biological and historico-cultural factors. More specifically, his work develops this framework across three interrelated areas: (i) philosophy of perception; (ii) the epistemology of understanding; and (iii) everyday aesthetics, cultural interventions, and practices of world-building. Read the work discussed in the podcast: Animating Scientific Understanding: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11098-026-02508-y Language Comprehension and the Rhythm of Perception: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mila.70003 (forthcoming) Scaffolding Agency in Cultural Policy: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-026-08440-0

  3. May 15

    Conversations at the Center: Science and Values

    In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Visiting Fellow Mark Risjord to discuss Science and Values. Dr. Risjord used his time at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Philosophy of Science to work on a book project, tentatively titled Impartial Inquiry: A Defense of Scientific Value-Freedom. Using 20th century sociology of racial residential segregation as a running case study, the book argues for impartiality as a norm of inquiry.  It argues that while political values may properly motivate scientific questions, but they ought never influence the acceptability of the answers.   The book aims to show that arguments against the value-free ideal generally highlight useful kinds of criticism of scientific practice, but such criticism is consistent with—and sometimes strengthened by—the norm of impartiality. Previous publications that are relevant to this project include “Thick Concepts and Impartiality” (with Kareem Khalifa and Jared Millson) and “Scientific Change as Political Action” .

  4. May 1

    Conversations at the Center: Social Epistemology and Pluralistic Ignorance

    In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Associate Fellow Kevin Zollman. Kevin Zollman is the Herbert A. Simon Professor of Philosophy and the director of CMU’s Institute for Complex Social Dynamics. His research and teaching focuses on modeling social behavior in humans and other animals. Kevin grew up in Kansas before attending the University of California, Irvine for graduate school and moving to Pittsburgh in 2009. In addition to many academic articles, Kevin is the author of The Game Theorist’s Guide To Parenting: How the Science of Strategic Thinking Can Help You Deal with the Toughest Negotiators You Know--Your Kids. To read the work discussed in the podcast, visit www.kevinzollman.com

  5. Apr 17

    Conversations at the Center: Edouard Machery and Chris ChoGlueck

    In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Visiting Fellow Chris ChoGlueck. Chris ChoGlueck is a philosophy professor and advocate of reproductive equity. He has a PhD from Indiana University Bloomington. Chris is now an Associate Professor of Ethics at New Mexico Tech, where he teaches philosophy and gender studies to STEM students and runs ethics workshops for scientists. Chris has served as an expert panelist for the Society of Family Planning and the American Society of Emergency Contraception to pressure the FDA to correct the label of Plan B (the “morning after” pill). His research and advocacy have been featured in Scientific American, CNN, NPR, and PBS NewsHour. In the Spring Term of 2026, he has been selected for University of Pittsburgh’s Visiting Fellowship in the Center for Philosophy of Science.Christopher ChoGlueck, "Still no pill for men? Double standards & demarcating values in biomedical research," Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Volume 91, 2022, Pages 66-76, ISSN 0039-3681, [open access] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0039368121001874

  6. Apr 3

    Conversations at the Center: Edouard Machery and Laurenz Casser

    In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Visiting Fellow Laurenz Casser to discuss his work on the study of pain. Laurenz is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Sheffield. Starting January 2027, he will be a lecturer (assistant professor) in philosophy at University College London. His research lies at the intersection of the philosophy of science, the philosophy of medicine, and the philosophy of mind. He is particularly interested in foundational questions in the scientific study of pain. Read the articles discussed in the episode: Casser, L. C. (2021). The function of pain. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 99(2), 364-378. (https://philarchive.org/rec/CASTFO-12) Casser, L. (2025). Pain without inference. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 110(3), 789-810. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/phpr.13134)

  7. Mar 20

    Conversations at the Center: Edouard Machery and David Thorstad

    In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Visiting Fellow David Thorstad. David is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and Research Affiliate at the Machine Intelligence and Normative Theory Lab, ANU. ​​Thorstad received a PhD in philosophy from Harvard University and completed his postdoctoral training at Oxford University. Thorstad is the author of Inquiry under bounds (https://academic.oup.com/book/57345) and co-editor of Essays on longtermism (https://academic.oup.com/book/60794).

  8. Mar 6

    Conversations at the Center: Edouard Machery and Kareem Khalifa

    In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with senior fellow Kareem Khalifa. Kareem Khalifa is a professor of philosophy at UCLA (2022-present). Prior to that, he was at Middlebury College in Vermont (2006-2022). Starting in 2027, he will be a professor of history and philosophy of science at the University of Pittsburgh. His research interests include the general philosophy of science, philosophy of social science, and epistemology, with a special focus on the topics of understanding, explanation, modeling, inquiry, and values in science. He is currently extending his previous work in these areas to social-scientific conceptions of race, among other projects. In this podcast, Machery and Khalifa discussed the following works:Galbraith, Kenneth, and Kareem Khalifa. 2026. "Understanding: It’s All Interrogative." Philosophical Studies.Khalifa, Kareem. 2017. Understanding, Explanation, and Scientific Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.--2023. "Should Friends and Frenemies of Understanding Be Friends? Discussing De Regt." In Scientific Understanding and Representation: Modeling in the Physical Sciences, edited by Insa Lawler, Kareem Khalifa and Elay Shech, 33-50. London: Routledge.Rice, Collin, and Kareem Khalifa. 2025a. "Thank You for Misunderstanding!" Philosophical Studies.--2025b. "Valuable Misunderstandings." Aeon.

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The mission of the Center for Philosophy of Science is to foster the development of the best, new work in philosophy of science. In so far as the flourishing of philosophy of science internationally will generate more of the best work in philosophy of science, The Center seeks to propagate an understanding of the methods and achievements of this work to a broader academic audience. This podcast is to promote our work, as well as the work of our visiting fellows and guests of the Center. All music has been obtained through a paid license on motionarray.com

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