An Inaugural Lecture by Professor Sabina Leonelli

What impact are big and open data having on research and on what counts as empirical knowledge in the 21st century? One way to answer this question is to engage in empirical philosophy of science. In this talk, I exemplify what this involves by examining three dimensions of this type of scholarship:

1. The study of science in the world, which identifies characteristic features of research endeavours (past or present) in ways that are open to empirical scrutiny; 
2. The development of philosophy relating to such study, which provides ways to critically reflect upon and situate the practices and outputs of research vis-à-vis their epistemological, social, ethical and/or ontological significance;
3. The engagement of society in such philosophical ideas, where “society” can include any type and number of institutions and groups which are affected by research processes (including of course philosophers themselves).

I illustrate the extent to which these modes of analysis are intertwined through my work on the philosophy of big and open data, which proposes a relational understanding of data epistemology and highlights how data processing practices and tools inform the production and validation of scientific knowledge.

If you wish to attend the above lecture, which includes a drinks reception afterwards, please reserve a seat by emailing SSIS Events.  All seats will be allocated on a first come first served basis.