29th IVC Lecture
Prof. Alisa Bokulich
Department of Philosophy
Center for Philosophy & History of Science
Boston University
and
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Harvard University
Date: December 10th, 2021
Time:16h00-18h00
Online access via ZOOM
https://univienna.zoom.us/j/95738643015?pwd=UFFsKzFxaHJVUEtWc1dPWEFrWmxyUT09
You can also log into the meeting through the Zoom application (rather than by clicking the link above), by using the following credentials:
Meeting-ID: 957 3864 3015
Password: 559398
Abstract
Although Charles Sanders Peirce is widely recognized as a founder of American Pragmatism, what is lesser known is that his primary career was with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, working as a geodesist to improve the precision and accuracy of gravity measurements (gravimetry). My aim in this talk is threefold: First, I examine Peirce's contributions to gravimetry and metrology and argue that this is a critical but surprisingly unappreciated source for his pragmatic philosophy, in particular his views on truth and inquiry. Second, I trace two possible routes of influence from this work of Peirce’s: one to the “first” Vienna Circle and another to more recent work in the philosophy of metrology related to the periodic adjustment of fundamental physical constants. Finally, I show the continuing relevance of Peirce's program of model-corrected gravity measurements to the recent redefinition of the kilogram.
CV
Alisa Bokulich is Professor of Philosophy at Boston University and Director of the Center for Philosophy & History of Science. She is an Associate Member of the History of Science Department at Harvard University, series editor for Boston Studies in History & Philosophy of Science, and an elected member of the Governing Board of the Philosophy of Science Association. She is author of the book Reexamining the Quantum-Classical Relation: Beyond Reductionism and Pluralism (CUP 2008) and is currently writing a new book on the Philosophy of the Geosciences, focusing on data, models, & uncertainty, which is supported by a fellowship for the 2021-22 academic year at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.