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About the GWP

The German Society for Philosophy of Science (GWP) aims at supporting and internationally representing the philosophy of science in German speaking countries. Since its foundation in 2012, the GWP organises triannual conferences. Moreover, the GWP supports young academics, distributes information about research and projects within the philosophy of science, advocates the freedom of research and teaching and encourages national and international exchange between philosophers of science.

Current Steering Committee

Axel Gelfert

President
(Technische Universität Berlin)

Vera Hoffmann-Kolss

Vice President
(Universität Bern)

Lena Kästner

Vice President
(Universität Bayreuth)

Alexander Christian

Managing Director
(University of Düsseldorf)

Alexander Gebharter

Treasurer
(Università Politecnica delle Marche Ancona)

Thomas Reydon

Co-opted Committee Member
(Leibniz University Hannover)

Founding and previous Steering Committees of the GWP

The GWP aims to organize an international conference devoted to all fields of philosophy of science every three years.

  • President: Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schurz (University of Düsseldorf)
  • Vice President: Prof. Dr. Uljana Feest (University of Hannover)
  • Vice President: Prof. Dr. Vera Hoffmann-Kolss (University of Bern)
  • Managing Director: Dr. Christian J. Feldbacher-Escamilla (University of Cologne)
  • Treasurer: Dr. Alexander Gebharter (UNIVPM, Ancona)
  • Co-opted board member for the Journal for General Philosophy of Science: Prof. Dr. Thomas Reydon (University of Hannover)
  • President: Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schurz (University of Düsseldorf)
  • Vice President: Prof. Dr. Uljana Feest (University of Hannover)
  • Managing Director: Dr. Christian J. Feldbacher-Escamilla (University of Düsseldorf)
  • Treasurer: Dr. Alexander Gebharter (University of Groningen)
  • Co-opted board member for the Journal for General Philosophy of Science: Prof. Dr. Thomas Reydon (University of Hannover)
  • President: Prof. Dr. Holger Lyre (University of Magdeburg)
  • Vice President: Prof. Dr. Uljana Feest (University of Hannover)
  • Managing Director: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Krohs (University of Muenster)
  • Treasurer: Prof. Dr. Thomas Reydon (University of Hannover)

The GWP was founded on September 28, 2011 in Hannover.

  • President: Prof. Dr. Holger Lyre (University of Magdeburg)
  • Managing Director: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Maria Kronfeldner (University of Bielefeld)
  • Treasurer: Prof. Dr. Thomas Reydon (University of Hannover)

Further founding members of the GWP were:

  • Prof. Dr. Andreas Bartels (University of Bonn)
  • Prof. Dr. Carsten Held (University of Erfurt)
  • PD Dr. Meinard Kuhlmann (University of Bremen)
  • Prof. Dr. Gregor Schiemann (University of Wuppertal)

Partners

The GWP works in cooperation with the following philosophical societies:

DGPHIL (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Philosophie): DGPhil and GWP aim to organise philosophy of science colloquia at one another’s conferences; this first happened at the DGPhil.2017 in Berlin, September 24–27, 2017, with a colloqium entitled: “Why Laws of Nature?”

DLMPST (Division of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science and Technology): The GWP is an international member, category A, of the DLMPST.

DVLMG: (Deutsche Vereinigung für Mathematische Logik und für Grundlagenforschung der Exakten Wissenschaften). DVLMG and GWP aim at fostering philosophy of science in German research foundations.

EPSA (European Philosophy of Science Association): The GWP is a member of the EPSA.

FID (Fachinformationsdienst Philosophie): The GWP is a cooperation partner of the Fachinformationsdienst Philosophie (FID). Members of the GWP can use the premium services of the FID. Please register for this on the FID website: https://philportal.de.

GAP (The German Society for Analytic Philosophy): GAP and GWP aim to organise philosophy of science colloquia at one another’s conferences; the last joint colloquium took place at GAP.11 in Berlin, September 12–15, 2022 with a colloquium entitled: “Epistemic Responsibility in the Context of Scientific Inquiry”.

LehrGut (lehrgut.org): Blog in German language for teaching Philosophy at universities.

SPS (Société de Philosophie des Sciences): SPS and GWP aim to organise philosophy of science colloquia at one another’s conferences; this first happened at the GWP.2016 in Duesseldorf, March 8–11, 2016, with a colloqium entitled: “From Genetics to Culture – Lines, Gaps and Bridges”.

SWIP Germany (Society for Women in Philosophy Germany): SWIP Germany and GWP aim to cooperate in the form of organizing events focusing on women in philosophy of science.

If you are interested in cooperating with the GWP, please contact us here.

GWP Society Constitution

This constitution was agreed upon at the founding assembly on September 28, 2011. The last changes were made at the general assembly that was held on March 30, 2017.

(Please note that the German version of this document is the legally binding one.)

§ 1 Name, Location

  1. 1. The Name of the Society shall be “Gesellschaft für Wissenschaftsphilosophie (GWP)” (German Society for the Philosophy of Science). It shall be registered with the register of associations and then include the suffix “e.V.”
  2. 2. The Headquarters of the Society shall be Hannover.

§ 2 Purpose

The Purpose of the Society shall be the advancement and promotion of the philosophy of science. The Aims of the Society shall be realised especially through the organization of conferences, support of young academics, representation of philosophy of science in the media, distribution of information about research and projects within the philosophy of science, advocating for the freedom of research and teaching, as well as the encouragement of national and international networking between philosophers of science.

§ 3 Non-Profit Status

  1. 1. The Society pursues wholly charitable aims in the sense of the “tax-privileged purposes” clause of the General Tax Code. The Society is a not-for-profit organisation; it does not primarily pursue its own financial purposes.
  2. 2. The funds of the Society may only be used for statutory purposes. Members are granted no allowances from the funds of the Society. No person may receive benefit through payments which are not in line with the Aims of the Society.

§ 4 Fiscal Year

The Society’s fiscal year shall correspond with the calendar year.

§ 5 Membership

  1. Membership in the GWP does not preclude membership in any other philosophical societies.
  2. Any adult can become a member of the Society.
  3. Admission can be requested in writing, the managing committee decides on acceptance. The applicant can file an objection to the committee’s decision; in this case a single majority vote at the next general assembly shall take place.
  4. Membership ends
    1. with the death of a member;
    2. through a written notice of resignation, sent to the managing committee; only at the end of a calendar year under observance of a three month notice period;
    3. through expulsion from the Society. The managing committee can expel a member with a simple majority vote. The reasons shall be sent in writing to the member affected at least two weeks before the vote. The Expulsion can be reversed at the request of the affected member with a simple majority vote at the next general member meeting. Should such a request be made, the affected member shall maintain his or her membership status until such a vote takes place. This request can only be made within four weeks of the Notification of Expulsion.

§ 6 Member Fees

The amount and due date of member fees shall be decided upon in the general assembly.

§ 7 Society Management

The Management of the Society includes:

  1. The Managing Committee and
  2. General Member Assembly.

§ 8 The Managing Committee

  1. The Managing Committee of the Society is made up of at least a President, a Vice-President, a Managing Director, and a Treasurer. The Members of the Managing Committee each have the power to represent the Society in and out of court.
  2. The Managing Committee shall be elected by the members to a three-year term. Committee members may serve three terms. The members of the Managing Committee remain in office until the election of a new Committee.
  3. Changes to the constitution, which may be required for formal reasons from supervisory, court, or tax authorities, may be made by the managing committee. These changes must be promptly conveyed to Society members and registered by the committee with the register of associations (Vereinsregister).
  4. The Managing Committee can be extended to further members (without voting rights) through co-option.

§ 9 The General Member Assembly

  1. A General Assembly of the Society shall decide, e.g., the election of the Managing Committee, the relief of the Managing Committee, the amount of the membership fees, the verification and approval of the annual financial statement, changes to the constitution and dissolution of the Society, rejection and expulsion of members.
  2. A General Assembly takes place either as physical gathering of members or in electronical form via a digital resolution (election or voting). It consists of all participating members of the GWP.
  3. A regular General Assembly is a physical meeting of members. It shall take place every fourth year, at the latest, after the most recent General Assembly.
  4. A General Assembly shall be convened when 1/3 of all members agree on an agenda and make a written request to convene. The resulting assembly shall take place at the latest ½ year after the request is made.
  5. The General Assembly shall be convened upon request of the Managing Committee at least four (4) weeks in advance. A General Assembly has been properly convened when, after the decision of the Managing Committee, an invitation and agenda for the General Assembly has been sent to the members.
  6. The General Assembly has achieved a quorum when it has been properly convened.
  7. Decisions shall be made with a simple majority vote from the members present. Decisions regarding changes to the constitution or dissolution of the Society require a ¾ majority from the members present.
  8. A protocol of the General Assembly shall be written and signed by the Chairperson of the Meeting. The protocol shall be sent to the members within 6 weeks.
  9. The Chairperson of the General Assembly is the President of the GWP or, shall he or she be unable to be present, another authorised representative shall be selected according to §8 Para. 1. Should these individuals also be unable to attend; a chair shall be selected from the general assembly.
  10. The Managing Committee, as well as the General Assembly, can create panels for special tasks. Non-members may also participate in said panels. The Chair of such a panel must be a member throughout the duration of the panel. The tasks of the panels shall be reported to the General Assembly by the Managing Committee, or on their behalf by the chair of the panel.

§ 10 Finances

  1. The Society funds itself from member fees, donations, and public grants.
  2. Donations to the Society become assets of Society. Obligations associated with grants are not permitted if they interfere with the Aims or eliminate the neutrality of the Society.
  3. Resigned members have no claim to Society funding.

§ 11 Dissolution of the Society and Liquidation of Assets

  1. The General Assembly can only make a decision to dissolve the GWP when a Request for Dissolution has been made by at least 4/5 of the members. This request has to be received by the Managing Committee at least 2 months before the General Assembly.
  2. Should the Society be dissolved or suspended or should its aims no longer be achieved, the assets of the Society shall fall to a legal entity under public law or another tax-privileged body to support the advancement and promotion of Philosophy of Science.