Et videnskabssociologisk blik på syntetiske samarbejder

Organizing collaborations:

Synthetic biology, social science, art and design

Dr. Jane Calvert gives a seminar on ‘Organizing collaborations: Synthetic biology, social science, art and design’, September 22, 3PM – 5PM in room K4.41, Kilen, Kilevej 14A., CBS
For registration, please send an e-mail to cf.ioa@cbs.dk before 19 September.

Something that makes the emerging field of synthetic biology particularly interesting is that diverse groups including social scientists, ethicists, lawyers, policy makers, artists, designers and publics are becoming involved in the field from the outset. In this presentation, Jane Calvert explore the opportunities and challenges provided by these new forms of collaboration, drawing both on her own experiences as a social scientist studying synthetic biology, and on the Synthetic Aesthetics project, which brings synthetic biologists together with artists and designers.

Event information: September 22, 2011, 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Hugin og Munin nr. 265

Hugin og Munin nr. 265, den 31. august, 2011.

Kære ravne-læsere,

der dukkede hurtigt ekstra arrangementer op i tillæg til forrige nummers meddelelser, så hermed et delvist nyt nummer, sendt direkte til Jeres hjerners Odincenter:

• 2. sept.: Engineering Life Philosophical and Societal Perspectives on Synthetic Biology
• 13. sept.: Umulighed i Matematik: Fra meta-udsagn til matematiske sætninger
• 21. sept.: Konference om om behovet for proaktivisme i uddannelsessystemet
• 23. sept.: Cybersemiotics and other Transdisciplinary Studies of Distributed Cognition and Communication - i anledning af Søren Briers 60 års dag
• 11. okt.: David Bloor om Philipp Frank's relativism.
• 13.-14. dec.: Science and Politics at War: New Relations in the Post War Era (cfp)
• Nyt om nordiske STS-møder
• Oplæg om syntesebiologi fra Etisk Råd
• Kollokvier ved Inst. f. Videnskabsstudier på ÅU
• Nyt fra ISSP - videnskab og politik

Redaktionen modtager også gerne bog- og artikelomtaler.

Nyhedsbrevet læses på nettet på odinsravne.blogspot.com

Med venlig hilsen Red.

Saml dig et liv - møde om syntesebiologi

Engineering Life

Philosophical and Societal Perspectives on Synthetic Biology

Date: Friday, September 2, 2011, 9.00-16.00
Venue: Building 23, room 23.4.39 at Ny KUA, Njalsgade 76

Program:

9.00-10.00: Mette Ebbesen (AU),
Does the creation of new biological functions require a new ethics?
10.15-11.15: Sune Holm (KU),
Do environmentalists have reason to worry about synthetic biology?
11.30-12.30: Janus Hansen (CBS),

Synthetic biology in the public sphere: What do we know about the roots of public controversies and what is to be done about them?
12.30-13.30: Lunch
13.30-14.30: Maja Horst/Cecilie Glerup (CBS),
Scientific Social Responsibility: Tracing efforts to socialize science
14.45-15.45: Steen Rasmussen (ISSP/SDU),

TBA

Synthetic biology is guided by a vision about a future in which humans are routinely engaging in large-scale design and engineering of living systems. While the development of this emerging area of research promises to bring about extremely beneficial applications in areas such as energy, medicine, and agriculture, it is also widely recognized that the field may have a significant impact on the future of humans, society, and the environment.

This workshop brings together researchers from synthetic biology, philosophy, and the social sciences in order to explore some of the important questions that synthetic biology raises from the point of view of ethics, social responsibility and public engagement.

Registration is free, but please e-mail Sune Holm if you would like to attend: suneh@hum.ku.dk

Den cybersemiotiske stjerne fylder rundt

On the occasion of Søren Brier’s 60th birthday, the Department of International Culture and Communication Studies and the Center for Language, Cognition and Mentality are hosting a one-day conference. The theme of the conference is the transdisciplinary input and theories for the area of information, cognition and communication sciences (including semiotics and linguistics) inspired by the suggestions made by Søren Brier's work on the Cybersemiotic framework and the questions it raises.

Time and place:

23 September, 2011

08.30 - 18.30

Copenhagen Business School

Room SØ.041

Dalgas Have 15,

2000 Frederiksberg

See adress on map — See room on floor plan

Organized by:

The Department of International Culture and Communication Studies

and

The Center for Language, Cognition and Mentality

Registration: If you wish to participate in the conference, send an e-mail to Merete Borch, mb.iadh@cbs.dk.

Deadline for registration is 12 September 2011.

Participation is free of charge. Tea/coffee is provided and lunch can be purchased in the cafeteria.

Further information: Please contact Søren Brier sb.ikk@cbs.dk

Cybersemiotics and other

Transdisciplinary Studies of

Distributed Cognition

and Communication

For further details see the programme for the conference attached to this invitation. The programme will be updated on IKK’s website.

Søren Brier is Professor MSO of the semiotics of information, cognition and communication in the Department of International Culture and Communication Studies at CBS. His primary research fields include transdisciplinary philosophy and theory of science, in the area of information, computation, cognition and communication. He works primarily with system and information science, cybernetics and semiotics. He has contributed to the development of bio-semiotics and the Foundation of Information Science group and has created the field of Cybersemiotics, which integrates Peircean semiotics, system theory, autopoiesis and cybernetic information theory.
Søren Brier has published widely. Much of his work is collected in the book Cybersemiotics: Why Information is not enough, Toronto University Press 2008 and 2010. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the academic journal Cybernetics & Human Knowing, A journal of Second Order Cybernetics, Autopoiesis & Cyber-Semiotics. Søren Brier received the Warren McCulloch award from the American Society of Cybernetics in 2008.

Søren Brier på CBS har aldrig forsøgt at skjule, at han

oprindeligt er biolog. Fra Søren Briers hjemmeside på CBS.

(Klik på billedet for at forstørre).

Nordiske STS-møder hvert andet år

fra DASTS-hjemmesiden
Fra 2013 vil der blive holdt nordiske STS-møder hvert andet år. Det første løber af stablen 24-26 April 2013 på NTNU i Trondheim. Initiativet til nordiske møder er taget af Jane Summerton og Knut Sørensen og er drøftet med repræsentanter for STS-organisationer i de nordiske lande, heriblandt bestyrelsen for DASTS som har givet sin fulde opbakning til idéen. Start-tidspunktet 2013 er valgt af hensyn til 4S/EASST konferencen i København i 2012. Den to-årige kadence er valgt for fortsat at give rum til nationale konferencer. Indbydelsen fra Jane Summerton kan læses nedenfor.
/Mvh. Torben Elgaard Jensen


Dear STS colleagues in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway,

As many of you already know, the Norwegian STS environments at the University of Oslo/UiO and the Norwegian University of Science & Technology/NTNU would like to suggest that we develop STS-meetings on a Nordic basis.

The purpose of such meetings is to present and exchange the results of our on-going work, provide an opportunity for primarily doctoral students and young researchers to develop networks with their Nordic colleagues, and strengthen intellectual contacts between our respective environments. Pending a successful first meeting and a joint commitment to continue this initiative, our preliminary idea is that such meetings could be organized every other year.

Toward this end, we would like to invite you to a first "Nordic STS meeting" as follows:

Date: April 24-26, 2013
Place: NTNU in Trondheim

The meeting will be jointly organized by Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture/NTNU (contact person: Knut Sørensen) and the Center for Technology, Innovation and Culture/UiO (contact person: Jane Summerton). We will have a conference organizing committee where we would like each of the national environments to be represented (we will get back to you later about details).

We know that 2013 sounds far away at the moment, but we would like you to SAVE THE DATE now and spread the word widely among all colleagues, departments and interested others within your networks. If we all work to ensure that this date is reserved for the event, there will be a great potential for a strong participation from many different areas in our part of the world!
Please do not hesitate to contact me for more information. Looking forward!
Best, Jane

Jane Summerton
Professor
Director,
Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture/TIK
University of Oslo
Postboks 1108, Blindern
N-0317 Oslo
Norway

tel +47 - 930 00 870

Rettidig tidsforståelse

... you may be interested in an event we will host at the Tycho Brahe Planetarium in Copenhagen, at 19:00, 30 August---

Setting Time Aright:

Understanding How Time Works,

From Cosmology to Cognition.

It is a free event aimed at the public, featuring a panel of researchers discussing the nature of time in science and philosophy, including Paul Davies, Tim Maudlin, Raissa D'Souza and David Eagleman.

Please attend if you're interested. You are also welcome at a reception at the planetarium from 17:30.

[...] a website with a bit more info is

http://fqxi.org/setting-time-aright.html

Please also share this invitation with anyone else you feel may be interested.

Sincerely,

Brendan Foster

FQXi

"This is a free panel discussion, open to the public. Tickets are not required, but seating is limited, and available on a first come, first served basis."

Matematisk umulighed

Foredrag i Videnskabshistorisk Selskab, København:

1.

professor Jesper Lützen,
Institut for Matematiske Fag, Københavns Universitet:
Umulighed i Matematik: Fra meta-udsagn til matematiske sætninger

En række af de mest kendte sætninger i matematikken siger at noget er umuligt: Det er umuligt at konstruere cirklens kvadratur, vinklens tredeling og terningens fordobling med passer og lineal (de klassiske problemer); Det er umuligt at løse femtegradsligningen med radikaler; Det er umuligt at bevise parallelpostulatet; Det er umuligt at bevise aritmetikkens konsistens (Gödel); Fermats store sætning; . . . I foredraget skal jeg diskutere sådanne sætningers rolle. Spiller umulighedssætninger en anden rolle i matematik end de gør i andre områder? Har de en anden status end andre matematiske sætninger? Har deres rolle ændret sig gennem tiden? Er der forskellige typer af umulighedssætninger? Specielt vil jeg argumentere for at umulighedssætninger i historiens løb har udviklet sig fra at være meta-udsagn om den matematiske problemløsnings-proces til at være fuldgyldige matematiske sætninger, som kan bevises med matematiske metoder. På denne måde er det lykkedes at gøre grænserne for den matematiske virksomhed til genstand for matematikken selv. Til slut i foredraget vil jeg diskutere de klassiske konstruktionsproblemer i lidt større detalje.

tirsdag, den 13. september 2011, kl. 17.00
i auditorium 10, på H. C. Ørsted Instituttet,
Universitetsparken 5, København

2.
Professor David Bloor,
University of Edinburgh:
Philipp Frank, 1884–1966
Philipp Frank and the Definition of Relativism

tirsdag den 11. oktober 2011, kl. 17
Tuesday 11 October 2011 at 5 p.m.
Auditorium 10, H. C. Ørsted Instituttet,
Universitetsparken 5, 2100 Copenhagen Ø

Relativism is a topic that causes much dispute. I shall offer a defence of relativism using the definition adopted by the physicist Philipp Frank, namely, that relativism is best defined as the rejection of absolutism. The rejection of absolutism is a necessary and a sufficient condition for relativism. Many philosophers are deeply hostile to relativism but claim that they are free to adopt a position that is neither relativist nor absolutist. I shall examine some of the results of this claim, and identify the definitions of relativism that lie behind it. I shall argue that the alleged middle ground, or third way, between relativism and absolutism is untenable and confused.

Kl. 16.30 inviterer Selskabet på kaffe, te og frugt i Institut for Matematiske Fags frokoststue, rum 04.4.19 på 4. sal.
Efter foredraget vil der blive lejlighed til at spise middag med foredragsholderen for egen regning.
Jesper Lützen, Sekretær

Læs mere om selskabet og foredragene på http://www.math.ku.dk/videnskabshistorie/

Hugin og Munin nr. 264

Hugin og Munin nr. 264, den 23. august, 2011.

Kalender

• 26. aug.: To universitetspolitiske ph.d.-afhandlinger
• 13. sept.: Umulighed i Matematik: Fra meta-udsagn til matematiske sætninger
• 21. sept.: Konference om om behovet for proaktivisme i uddannelsessystemet
• 11. okt.: David Bloor om Philipp Frank's relativism.
• 13.-14. dec.: Science and Politics at War: New Relations in the Post War Era (cfp)
• Oplæg om syntesebiologi fra Etisk Råd
• Kollokvier ved Inst. f. Videnskabsstudier på ÅU
• Nyt fra ISSP - videnskab og politik
• Nye Bøger
• Nye artikler og proceedings
• Thorbjørn Lausten om Orbit

Redaktionen modtager også gerne bog- og artikelomtaler.

Nyhedsbrevet læses på nettet på odinsravne.blogspot.com

Med venlig hilsen Red.

Initiativet

Læs om nyt fra ISSP,

Initiativet for Videnskab, Samfund og Politik

her

www.science-society-policy.org

Forsknings- og universitetspolitiske ph.d.-afhandlinger

Den 26. august forsvares to ph.d.-afhandlinger indenfor det universitetspolitiske felt:

den ene om basismidlernes udvikling /afvikling (se her)

den anden om uddannelsespolitikkens kompetencebegreb (se her).

Colloquium plan

Offentlige KOLLOKVIER I EFTERÅRET 2011 ved

Institut for Videnskabsstudier, Århus Universitet

Colloquium plan for autumn 2011

22 August Matt Farish: Western Electric Turns North: Technicians and the Transformation of the Cold War Arctic

5 September Hugo Alrøe

19 September Stig Andur Petersen

13 October David Bloor

LÆS mere her:

http://ivs.au.dk/nyheder/arrangementer/kollokvier-i-efteraaret-2011/

An Ecology of Mind for kun 1.400,- kr. eksklusiv moms

The following comes from Nora Bateson to me with regard to showing of her film in Europe.

An Ecology of Mind: A Daughter's Portrait of Gregory Bateson

Winner Media Ecology Association John Culkin 2011 Award for Outstanding Praxis
Winner Audience Choice BEST DOCUMENTARY The Santa Cruz Film Festival 2011
Winner BEST DOCUMENTARY The Spokane International Film Festival 2011
Official Selection of The Vancouver International Film Festival
Official Selection Bioneers Film Festival
Official Selection of the Cinema Pacific Film Festival
Official Selection Haida Gwaii Film Festival

Here are the links to the shows/workshops in Scandinavia... if you know people who would be interested please let them know about it.

Here are the Danish: August 24
http://www.macmannberg.dk/Inspiration/Arrangementer/An-Ecology-of-Mind-–-en-portrætfilm-og-inspirationsdag-om-Gregory-Bateson.aspx

in Norway: August 29
http://litteraturhuset.no/program/dag.html?d=2011-08-29 ;-)

and Swedish links: Sept 2
http://www.macmannberg.se/workshop-med-filmskaparen-nora-bateson/

Film website: www..anecologyofmind.com

Det virker voldsomt, det med 'at bygge med liv'.

Det Etiske Råd og Teknologirådet har udarbejdet et debatoplæg, der skal skabe opmærksomhed og debat om syntesebiologi:

se http://etiskraad.dk/Nyhedsarkiv/2011/juni/Debatoplaeg-om-syntesebiologi
og hent oplægget samme sted.

Proaktivistisk uddannelseskonference

Den 21. september afholder SOPHIA endnu en konference, denne gang en ungdomspolitisk konference, se dette link.

Der er tale om den 3. konference i rækken i SOPHIA’s projekt En flerstemmig vision for uddannelsessystemet – fra vuggestue til universitet, med pejlemærkerne 2015, 2025 og 2040.
Konferencens titel er

Tilpasning eller handling – om behovet for proaktivisme i uddannelsessystemet

De faglige foreninger i uddannelsessystemet, elev- og studenterorganisationerne og de politiske ungdomsorganisationer er hver især blevet bedt om at belyse, hvad der er galt og behovet for ændringer, og i 2 x gruppearbejde skal konferencedeltagerne sammen paneldeltagerne formulere kritikken og forslag til handlinger. På baggrund af det producerede materiale udarbejder SOPHIA efterfølgende en handleorienteret grønbog, der udsendes til alle deltagere og alle interessenter i uddannelsessystemet inkl. folketingspolitikerne.

Vi håber meget, I vil omtale i trykte medier og netmedier, men også være til stede på konferencedagen.

Venlig hilsen
Per Kjeldsen / Karen Prins
http://www.sophia-tt.org/da/TilmeldingKonference

Viden eller one-night-stands

Ny bog fra Samfundslitteratur:

Oplysningens blinde vinkler - En åndselitær kritik af informationssamfundet
Af Pelle Guldborg Hansen og Vincent F. Hendricks
298 sider • vejl. pris 250 kr.

ISBN: 978-87-593-1594-1

Google, Wikipedia, Facebook og YouTube – adgangen til information har aldrig været lettere. Vi lever oven i købet i et såkaldt informationssamfund. I Oplysningens blinde vinkler peger Pelle Guldborg Hansen og Vincent F. Hendricks på de farer, der lurer for de demokratiske processer og demokratiet som helhed, hvis borgeren eller vælgeren kun har information og ingen viden til rådighed.

”At opnå viden er at sammenligne med at erobre den næste kæreste. Der skal flirtes, man skal gøre sig umage, måske ændre strategi fra tid til anden, og efter længere tids kurtisering og hårdt arbejde kan det måske ende med, at han eller hun vil med i kassen og se sandheden. At indhente information er omvendt som et one-night-stand. Efter det første knald eller det første opslag, har man scoret. Den følgende dag kan så spenderes på at spekulere over, hvad man fik ud af det.”

Sådan skriver Pelle Guldborg Hansen og Vincent F. Hendricks i forordet til deres nye bog Oplysningens blinde vinkler. I bogen gennemgår de en række informationsfænomener, som optræder i vores dagligdag bl.a. Google, Wikipedia, Facebook og YouTube og analyserer disse med udgangspunkt i filosofien, socialpsykologien, økonomien, beslutnings- og spilteorien.

Forfatterne viser, hvordan disse informationsfænomener kan bruges til at oplyse, men også til at manipulere med mennesker, meninger og markeder. Det er således væsentligt at kunne skelne mellem viden og information. De er nemlig ikke sammenfaldende begreber. Og det tager hverken Google, Wikipedia, Facebook , YouTube eller den brede offentlighed højde for.

På Bogforum kan du opleve oplysning for fuld skrue i samtalen mellem Clement Kjærsgaard, Vincent Hendricks og Pelle Guldborg Hansen. Det finder sted søndag d. 13. november kl. 14.15 på Samfundslitteraturs stand.

Om forfatterne
Vincent F. Hendricks er dr.phil., ph.d. og professor i formel filosofi ved Københavns Universitet og Columbia University, New York. Han er redaktør af tidsskriftet Synthese, vært og tilrettelægger på DR2 samt modtager af Videnskabsministeriets Eliteforskerpris i 2008. Endelig er han forfatter til flere bøger om logik, erkendelse og viden.

Pelle Guldborg Hansen er ph.d. og postdoc på Syddansk Universitet, adfærdsfilosofi og Co-Director for ISSP – Initiative for Science, Society & Policy.

Nationalkommiteen kalder på koldkrigsforskere

The Danish National Committee for the

History and Philosophy of Science

Call for Papers for the Annual Conference 2011

Center of Science Studies,

Aarhus University, 13-14 December 2011

This year’s annual conference will consist of a thematic part and an open part for papers on all topics in the history and philosophy of science. Abstracts are welcome for both parts. The thematic part is open to all, whilst the open part is dedicated to the presentation and discussion of current PhD projects.

Thematic part:
Science and Politics at War: New Relations in the Post War Era

Scientists have contributed to both political power and warfare—and, in turn, have profited from them. The relationship between science and politics intensified considerably in the Cold War era. As the superpowers turned to science as a vehicle for increasing power and control in the global arena, scientists took on new roles as policy-makers and international relations experts in national administrations.

The relationship between science and politics was nurtured by the Cold War— and at the same time shaped the Cold War itself. Scientific fields profited from increased funding, but state science policies—and scientific internationalism— were also significantly affected. These changes raised new and controversial questions: To what extent should political institutions empower scientists and mandate decision-making? And to what extent should scientists give up standards of autonomous science and ambitions of a peaceful endeavour in favour of political power games? Even as the superpowers aggressively pursued closer interaction between science and politics, they put pressure on the allied states to adjust to the new demands of the Cold War science-politics-military nexus.

This conference will be dedicated to exploring aspects and examples of the science-politics relationship and investigating the role of science in national politics and international relations in the Cold War era. Invited speakers include Ronald E. Doel and Kristine C. Harper, Florida State University, Zuoyue Wang, California State Polytechnic University, and Nikolaj Petersen, Aarhus University.

The conference will be in English. Abstracts for conference contributions should be sent to Dr. Janet Martin-Nielsen (janet@ivs.au.dk) by 7 October 2011.