Pittsburgh Polish Community Helps Bring Philosophy of Science From Pitt to Poland

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh's Center for Philosophy of Science (CPS), one of the foremost programs of its kind in the world, has forged a unique collaboration with the Pittsburgh and national Polish community. With the financial support of five national Polish organizations, including the Pittsburgh-based Polish Cultural Council and Polish Falcons of America (PFA), CPS held an international conference of former University of Pittsburgh Visiting Fellows in Rytro, Poland, May 26–31.

Past conferences have been supported financially by the host country's universities. But owing to decreased state financial support, Polish universities were unable to provide full support for this year's conference. To secure the funding needed for this year's conference, James Lennox, director of CPS and a professor in Pitt's Department of History and Philosophy of Science, contacted Col. Merle Addams, who has been president of the Polish Cultural Council for the past 20 years, for help.

"The Center's objectives of research and study of the philosophy of science supports the rich, long history of Polish scientific discoveries, from Copernicus to Curie," said Addams. "The Polish Cultural Council is proud to be the first Polish pledge of support to this group of distinguished international scholars for a gathering of such magnitude."

Addams, a well-known member of the national Polish community, helped secure support from his organization as well as from the PFA, the Polish National Alliance, the Polish American Congress, and the Kosciuszko Foundation. Pitt's Center for Russian and East European Studies also provided financial support.

Since 1977, CPS has sponsored more than 230 fellows from 34 countries who came to Pitt to conduct research with some of the best-known philosophers worldwide. This year's International Fellows Conference, which is held every four years, brought together former fellows from more than 20 countries, including Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Fellows presented their current research, ranging from biology and computation to the problem of realism.

"Our fifth International Fellows Conference in Poland was a great success," said Lennox. "The local organizers from Cracow's historic Jagiellonian University did a marvelous job, and the conference site, in the Tatra Mountains near the Slovakian border, was spectacular. We enjoyed lectures on a wide range of topics by 60 speakers from all over the world."

"The Polish Falcons of America has a strong interest in the country of our ancestors," said PFA President Wallace Zielinski. "When we became aware of the conference in Poland, and since the Falcons are domiciled in Pittsburgh, our organization thought it would be an honor and a gesture of good will to lend our financial support to this joint venture between the University of Pittsburgh and Poland."

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