Nicholas Zautra
In September of 2016, a doctoral student in History and Philosophy of Science started a social engagement project in the form of an interview-based podcast featuring prominent and up-and-coming philosophers of science. The initial goals of the project were to develop an outreach platform that would connect philosophers of science with other areas of academia, and to the public; to learn of the origin stories and diverse backgrounds of philosophers of science; and to gain a better understanding of the spectrum of philosophy of science methods. After two years and over forty 90-minute interviews later, the project continues to reach its initial goals, while having simultaneously evolved into a forum in which working philosophers of science freely share their meta-philosophic views on the conceptual, epistemic, and structural problems facing their discipline. The present study offers insight into a variety of such views via an analysis of the recorded and transcribed podcast interviews, with a focus on a central question asked of interviewees: “What is the greatest challenge facing philosophy of science today?” Results of the study suggest four perceived general challenges facing philosophy of science: 1) Staying relevant to mainstream philosophy, and to mainstream science; 2) drawing too much or too little on philosophic methods and/or empirical work; 3) over-reliance on case studies as a preferred methodology; and 4) how to contribute to the public understanding of science as a philosopher of science. Developing a general understanding of the challenge areas in philosophy of science as perceived by those in the field may prove useful in helping to direct current and future philosophy of science work, as well efforts to enhance the Philosophy of Science Association.
