The London School of Economics and Political Science announces that the 2006 Lakatos Award, of £10,000 for an outstanding contribution to the philosophy of science, has been jointly won by:

 

Brown

 

Harvey Brown (University of Oxford) for his book Physical Relativity: Space-time Structure from a Dynamical Perspective (Oxford University Press, 2005)

 

 

Chang

 

Hasok Chang (University College London) for his book Inventing Temperature: Measurement and Scientific Progress (Oxford University Press, 2004)

 

 

Harvey Brown – Physical Relativity: Space-time Structure from a Dynamical Perspective

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.

 

Hasok Chang – Inventing Temperature: Measurement and Scientific Progress

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.

 

Lakatos Award Lectures

18 April 2007, 5:00pm

Hong Kong Theatre, London School of Economics

Hasok Chang: Inventing Temperature

Harvey Brown: A Hundred years of Relativity: what remains controversial for the philosopher?