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Written by <a href='/community/profile/5028-didymus/'>Didymus</a>
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Wednesday, 28 February 2007 22:14 |
The London School of Economics and Political Science announces that this year's Lakatos Award, of £10,000 for an outstanding contribution to the philosophy of science, has been jointly won by:
Harvey Brown for his book Physical Relativity: Space-time Structure from a
Dynamical Perspective (Oxford University Press 2005)
Hasok Chang for his book Inventing Temperature: Measurement and Scientific
Progress (Oxford University Press 2004)
The joint-winners will visit LSE to receive their Awards and give the Award
Lectures on the 18th April 2007.
Brown’s book develops a critical account of the way that Einstein formulated his
special theory of relativity, concentrating on a tension between its kinematical
and dynamical aspects. It sheds new light on central issues such as the alleged
conventionality of simultaneity and the relationships between the special and
the general theory of relativity.
Chang’s book attacks the seemingly simple question ‘What is temperature and how
can we measure it?’ He shows, however, that pursuing that question leads to new
perspectives on a range of general issues about scientific reasoning and the
authority of science.
The Lakatos Award is given for an outstanding contribution to the philosophy of
science, widely interpreted, in the form of a book published in English during
the previous six years. It was made possible by a generous endowment from the
Latsis Foundation. The Award is in memory of the former LSE professor, Imre
Lakatos, and is administered by an international Management Committee organised
from the LSE.
The Committee decides the outcome of the Award competition on the advice of an
international, independent and anonymous panel of Selectors.
________________________________________________________________________
Nominations can now be made for the 2007 Lakatos Award, and must be received by
Monday 23rd April 2007. The 2007 Award will be for a book published in English
with an imprint from 2001-2006 inclusive. A book may, with the permission of the
author, be nominated by any person of recognised standing within the profession.
For further details of the nomination procedure or more information on the
Lakatos Award 2007, contact Lisa Toseland on + 44 (0) 20 7955 7901, or email
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
________________________________________________________________________
Imre Lakatos, who died in 1974 aged 51, had been Professor of Logic with special
reference to the Philosophy of Mathematics at LSE since 1969. He joined the
Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method in 1960. Born in Hungary
in 1922, he graduated (in Physics, Mathematics and Philosophy) from Debrecen
University in 1944. He then joined the underground resistance. (His mother and
grandmother perished in Auschwitz.) After the War, he was active in the
Communist Party and had an influential position in the Ministry of Education.
In 1950 he was arrested and spent the next three years as a political prisoner.
After his release, he was given refuge in the Hungarian Academy of Science where
he translated western works in science and mathematics into Hungarian. After
the suppression of the Hungarian uprising he escaped to Vienna and from there,
with the aid of a Rockefeller fellowship, on to Cambridge, England. He there
wrote his (second) doctoral thesis out of which grew his famous Proofs and
Refutations (CUP, 1976). Two volumes of Philosophical Papers, edited by John
Worrall and Gregory Currie, appeared in 1978, also from CUP.
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