Hallerstein: 3rd International Conference of the European Society for the History of Science

From 10th till 12th September 2008 the Third International Conference of the European Society for the History of Science took place in Vienna. The Conference was hosted by the Austrian Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research. The Third International Conference of the European Society for the History of Science was devoted to the topic Styles of Thinking in Science and Technology. (http://conf.ifit.uni-klu.ac.at/eshs/)

In 1994 the late Alistair Crombie published his monumental work ‚Styles of Scientific Thinking in the European Tradition’. He distinguished between six "styles of inquiry, demonstration and explanation diversified by their subject-matters, by their general conceptions of nature, and by scientific experience“ (publisher’s prospectus): postulation, the experimental argument, hypothetical modelling, taxonomy, probabilistic and statistical analysis, historical derivation. Fourteen years later it is time to reconsider this fascinating topical subject, in order to broaden earlier, Eurocentric approaches. Which philosophical, cultural, religious, political, economic influences can be identified that led to certain styles of thinking in science and technology all over the world and that influenced their further development ? Cross-cultural influences and interrelations are of special interest. How are such traditions of thinking transmitted to later generations, to other cultures ? How are they modified in the course of history ? The Third Conference of the European Society for the History of Science would like to give a platform to all historians and philosophers of science and technology who are interested in these questions. Vienna with its scientific and cultural institutions that played a crucial role in the history of science is an ideal city for such an event.
Eberhard Knobloch, President of the ESHS

A part of the conference was dedicated to Hallerstein and his transfer of mid-european science to Beijing and back.

Programme:

Session 1
Stanislav Južnič: Hallerstein’s Mid-European Milieu
Organizer and chairperson
Institute for Mathematics, Physics and Mechanics, University of Ljubljana
Stanislav.Juznic-1@ou.edu

Katherine Tredwell: Tycho Brahe’s Astronomical Instruments at Beijing in Hallerstein’s Use
Independent scholar
rheticus1@yahoo.com

Jani Osojnik: Hallerstein's Star Catalogue
Independent scholar
janez.osojnik@guest.arnes.si

Session 2
Tanja Šumrada: Scientific Content of Hallerstein’s Letters to his Sister
Gimnazija Jožeta Plečnika Ljubljana
sumrada.tanja@gmail.com

Viljem Marjan Hribar: Science in Hallerstein’s unscientific correspondence
Independent scholar
vili.hribar@gmail.com

Mitja Saje: Science in Hallerstein’s unscientific correspondence
Department of Asian and African Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana
mitja.saje@guest.arnes.si