The International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB) is an international academic organization founded in 1989.
It is the largest and most important meeting for the fields of
philosophy of biology
The philosophy of biology is a subfield of philosophy of science, which deals with epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical issues in the biological and biomedical sciences. Although philosophers of science and philosophers generally have lon ...
,
history of biology
The history of biology traces the study of the living world from ancient to modern times. Although the concept of ''biology'' as a single coherent field arose in the 19th century, the biological sciences emerged from traditions of medicine a ...
, and the
social studies/science studies/sociological studies of biology.
The society hosts a biennial meeting, supports off-year workshops, runs a monthly newsletter, and offers various types of academic prizes.
Pronunciation
The acronym of the society —''ISHPSSB''— is "utterly unpronounceable as written."
In 1994,
David Hull suggested the pronunciation ″ishkabibble″ as a homage to comedian
Merwyn Bogue.
History of the society
The idea of an ISHPSSB started with
Marjorie Grene
Marjorie Glicksman Grene (December 13, 1910 – March 16, 2009) was an American philosopher. She wrote on existentialism and the philosophy of science, especially the philosophy of biology. She taught at the University of California at Davis from ...
.
Recruiting Richard Burian to co-organize, Grene received funding in 1981 from the Council of Philosophical Studies to run a seminal meeting in 1982 at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
. In the same year, Burian organized an interest group meeting with attendees of a four-society meeting-- History of Science, History of Technology, Philosophy of Science, and Social Studies of Science. The interest group decided to organize an informal summer meeting in 1983. This became the beginning of the odd-numbered two-year conference cycle.
Accounts here differ on where the 1983 meeting was held. In an article on Marjorie Grene's legacy, it was stated that the meeting occurred at
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is se ...
.
According to the first ISHPSSB newsletter in 1989, however, it was held in 1983 at
Denison University
Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...
. A much larger group gathered in 1985 at St. Mary's College in Indiana and then in 1987 at
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...
.
In a footnote of a paper analyzing the history of philosophy of biology, the first 1983 meeting was stated as occurring at Virginia Tech.
Regardless, it was decided thereafter that a society should be founded to officially organize regular conferences that can bring together current research on the history, philosophy, and social studies of biology. ISHPSSB was officially named at the
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...
meeting in 1989 and its bylaws and governance were formalized in 1990. In 1991, ISHPSSB passed its first official resolution: they will never meet in a place that has
sodomy laws. This "political" resolution proposed by
David Hull was passed with no dissents or questions.
According to
Jane Maienschein, the first president of ISHPSSB after the 1989 meeting, there were multiple "presidents" at the beginning of the society.
The title of "Honorary Past President" was given to Richard Burian and
Marjorie Grene
Marjorie Glicksman Grene (December 13, 1910 – March 16, 2009) was an American philosopher. She wrote on existentialism and the philosophy of science, especially the philosophy of biology. She taught at the University of California at Davis from ...
and
Ernst Mayr
Ernst Walter Mayr (; 5 July 1904 – 3 February 2005) was one of the 20th century's leading evolutionary biologists. He was also a renowned Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist, tropical explorer, ornithologist, Philosophy of biology, philosopher o ...
were both Honorary Presidents. The first elected vice president was
David Hull, who was then elected president from 1991 to 1993. They were all deeply involved in the founding of the society. Other individuals and events that were formative for the society included
William C. Wimsatt
William C. Wimsatt (born May 27, 1941) is professor emeritus in the Department of Philosophy, the Committee on Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science (previously Conceptual Foundations of Science), and the Committee on Evolutionary Biology at ...
and the 1977 Council for Philosophical Studies Summer Institute on "Biological and Social Perspectives on Human Nature" in Colorado.
The history of the society still awaits proper documentation. As noted by Maienschein, "it is amusing that a society that includes History in its title hasn't done such a great job of recording and writing its own history."
Records of the society were kept by archivist Pam Henson. Richard Burian has offered to write up a history of the society, but the link is currently inactive.
Significance of the society
ISHPSSB is noted as one of the few prominent interdisciplinary societies that strive to put scientists and philosophers in the same room. The spirit of the conference, as envisioned by founder
Marjorie Grene
Marjorie Glicksman Grene (December 13, 1910 – March 16, 2009) was an American philosopher. She wrote on existentialism and the philosophy of science, especially the philosophy of biology. She taught at the University of California at Davis from ...
, was that the teaching of philosophy biology necessarily requires "intimate contact with biology, history of biology, and the social, institutional, and technological settings in which biological work was done."
This was achieved by establishing intimate contact with professionals in each discipline. The first few meetings of the society were thus informal and involved a changing mix of biologists, historians, philosophers, and social scientists organized around thematic sessions to break through barriers that block collaboration and mutual understanding. As Maienschein recounted,
David Hull stated his vision in 1991 that ISHPSSB "is a place where everybody can come and feel included. It is a place for all of us from all those alphabet soup of disciplines or those working between and across disciplines. A place for established scholars
migrating from other fields, well-known leaders in their fields, and new graduate students. A place for people to try out new ideas as well a to present more polished works."
The interdisciplinarity scope of the society was the subject of several studies.
Celebrated for its informality, inclusivity, and interdisciplinarity, the society has experienced "uncontrollable growth," thus presenting difficult logistic challenges for meeting organizers.
Meetings
The society runs a biennial conference that gathers on odd-numbered years. On even-numbered "off" years, it sponsors several workshops that bear the ISHPSSB name. In 2017, the main conference was hosted in a South American country for the first time in the society's history, at University of São Paulo, Brazil.
Information about past meetings up to 1997 can be found on the conference website.
Prizes
The society offers three types of prizes, each recognizing a different type of achievement. The prizes are named after "pivotal and dearly missed" members of the community.
The Werner Callebaut Prize
The Werner Callebaut Prize, in memory of
Werner Callebaut, is offered as an interdisciplinary early career prize to graduate students "working at the intersection of the fields represented by the ISHPSSB." The award is given on the basis of a manuscript that came out of a presentation at one of the last two annual meetings. The paper has to take an interdisciplinary approach and the recipient must be a graduate student at the time of the presentation. The prize was first awarded in 2015.
The Marjorie Grene Prize
The Marjorie Grene Prize is named after
Marjorie Grene
Marjorie Glicksman Grene (December 13, 1910 – March 16, 2009) was an American philosopher. She wrote on existentialism and the philosophy of science, especially the philosophy of biology. She taught at the University of California at Davis from ...
. The criteria are the same as that for the Werner Callebaut Prize, minus the interdisciplinarity requirement.
The prize was first awarded in 1997.
The David L Hull Prize
The David L. Hull Prize in memory of
David Hull, is awarded to individuals at any stage of their career. The intention is to recognize extraordinary scholarship and to promote awareness of the significant efforts made to combine scholarship with service. The prize was first awarded in 2011.
Presidents
The current president of the society is Greg Radick and the current president-elect is
Rachel Ankeny.
An incomplete list of past presidents is as follows:
[Information about past presidents can be found in the newsletter archives.]
* 2021—2023
Rachel Ankeny
* 2019—2021 Gregory Radick
* 2017—2019 Marsha Richmond
* 2015—2017 Michel Morange
* 2013—2014
Werner Callebaut
* 2011—2013
Paul E. Griffiths
* 2009—2011 Ana Barahona
* 2007—2009
James R. Griesemer
* 2003—2005
Michael R. Dietrich
Michael R. Dietrich (born November 7, 1963, Alabama, United States) is a professor of the history and philosophy of science at the University of Pittsburgh. His research concerns developments in twentieth century genetics, evolutionary biology, an ...
* 2001—2003
Lindley Darden
Lindley Darden (born 1945) is a contemporary philosopher of science, with a research focus on the philosophy of biology.
Biography
She received her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1974 and B.A. in 1968 from Rhodes College, and is current ...
* 1999—2001 Richard Burian
* 1997—1999
Elisabeth Lloyd
Elisabeth Anne Lloyd (born September 3, 1956) is an American philosopher of science specialising in the philosophy of biology. She is currently Distinguished Professor of History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine - as well as Adjunct Professo ...
* 1995—1997 Peter Taylor
* 1991—1993
David Hull
* 1989—1991
Jane Maienschein
References
External links
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* {{twitter, ISHPSSB
Philosophy organizations
Philosophy of science
Philosophy of biology
History of biology
Science and technology studies associations