Institute for Scientific Methodology

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Master "Paul K. Feyerabend"

• Bagheria (Italy): January-June 2008

A six-months Master
Critical thinking on science, society, politics, economics and management

Entitled to a giant philosopher of science, the Master "Paul K. Feyerabend" of the Institute for Scientific Methodology addresses the role of science in contemporary society and culture and is aimed to managers, philosophers, communicators, psychologists, scientists and other knowledge workers.

Its overall objective is to transfer a powerful systemic approach to the knowledge jobs to the attendees providing them with new conceptual -- and practical -- competences that emerge from reconsidering the science's role in culture and society..

The growing interaction of science with the political and social realities -- which nourish science -- has naturally led to a strong need for boader scientific education and communication models for scientists, managers and politicians: from the rhetorical divulgation model to one founded on critical and pertinent information; from reciprocal isolation -- we, the managers; and you the technocrats -- to one based on understanding of the concepts and collaboration.

We believe that traditional technical training of both scientists and businessmen need to be expanded to include those elements of history, philosophy, economics and ethics that are of urgent need to the very practice of the scientific and managerial professions. Thereby, the methodological question is directly connected to the social and cultural role of the scientific and management enterprises.

Who should attend

The Master PKF addresses the role of science in contemporary society and culture and is intended for researchers, managers, communicators, lawyers, economists, philosophers and all sort of knowledge workers who have to think, live and making choices in a world that the new scientific and technological scenarios have deeply changed. There are no prerequisites, except an university's degree (Bachelor or higher) in any topic, including humanistics. The course will cover some basics before delving into more complex issues.

Its overall objective is to transfer to attendees a powerful systemic approach to the knowledge works capable to provide them with new conceptual -- and practical -- competences that emerge from reconsidering the science's role in culture and society.

Graduates of the Master will will acquire unvaluable knowledge and abilities that will be useful in a multiplicity of professional sectors, well beyond academy's scientific work to include management, communication, politics, banking, advertising, writing, journalism, teaching, counselling and psychology.

Course Outline

The Master lasts six months (January throuhg June). It is conducted weekly in the outstanding Villa dei Principi di Cattolica in in Bagheria (near Palermo) by professors Licata and Pagliaro (main teachers). Prestigeous scientists and philosophers from the advisory board and professionals from enterprises and Public Service will also teach at the Master as visiting professors. The Master has a strong theoretical input, and one strongly oriented to practice. Both are used in a thorough, logical manner to project every lecture session.

• Introduction
• Science and Culture
  • History of a relationship
  • Bringing science back into culture
• Towards an Epistemology of Complexity 
  • Epistemology evolution in perspective
• Science and Method
  • Methodological anarchism
  • Hard and soft sciences
• Knowledge Production and Ethical Values
  • Values and ethics as growth & development factors
  • The use of knowledge in post-industrial society 
• Science, Technology and Society
  • People and science
  • Science vs. technology
• Science and Politics
  • Science in the Socialist tradition
  • Science in the Anglo-Saxon tradition
• Information, Complexity and Systems
  • The problem of mono-disciplinary reductionism
  • Systems Theory : A powerful tool
• Science in the Age of the Internet
  • Collective intelligence
  • New publishing: the case of ArXiv
• Laboratory and the competence sharing problem
  • From Göttingen to Los Alamos – The Big Science
  • The Santa Fè experience 
• Communicating Science and Technology
  • Real and mental images in science
  • From rethorical divulgation to critical assessment
• Knowledge Production
  • The role of the observer
  •  The observer as emergence detector
• Rethorics and Communication
  • Write it Right: Effective writing
  • Say it Right: Effective speaking
• Management as Systemic Activity
  • Managing feedbacks
  • Ecology of growth
• Leadership
  • Involving and leading people
  • Primus inter pares
• Economics of Science
  • Political economy of 21st century science
  • Fund raising, spending and accounting
• Science and Management
  • From scientific to olistic management
  • Numbers and values in management

Registration

Registration costs 9,600 Euro (VAT included) per person (paying by purchase order only). To register, and reserving accommodations if necessary, write to: mario.pagliaro@ismn.cnr.it

Professors

Ignazio Licata is full professor of theoretical physics at the Institute of Basic Research (Palm Harbor, USA) and Editor of the Electronic Journal of Theoretical Physics (EJTP) and of Quantum BioSystems. After working with Abdus Salam, David Bohm and Giuseppe Arcidiacono, he carried out his research activity in Merida, Campinas, Santa Fé and Singapore. His main interests are in the foundation of quantum mechanics, space-time at Planck scale, group approach to quantum cosmology, systems theory and constructivism in epistemology, computation in biological and cognitive systems. He has written the books Osservando la Sfinge. La realtà Virtuale della Fisica Quantistica, (2nd edition 2003, Di Renzo, Rome); Informazione & Complessità (Andromeda, Bologna,1998); Majorana Legacy in Contemporary Physics (EJTP/Di Renzo, 2006); Physics of Emergence and Organization (EJTP/Polimetrica, in press). His latest book La logica aperta della mente, on natural computation in biological systems, is in course of  publication. Ignazio is a member of the New York Academy of Science, International Society of Systems Sciences (ISSS), Associazione Italiana Richerche Sistemiche (AIRS). In 1998 Professor Licata founded the IxtuCyber for Complex Systems. He collaborates with the philosophical magazine Dedalus.

Mario Pagliaro, Ph.D., is a research chemist and educator based in Palermo at Italy's National Research Council. He is the founder of the Institute for Scientific Methodology and the responsible of a research group. He has studied and worked in Israel, Netherlands, France and Germany and currently collaborates with Rosaria Ciriminna and researchers of ten countries doing research on new functional materials of scientific and industrial interest. Mario is also the author of the management book Scenario: Qualità and of tens of scientific papers and international patents. He holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Palermo's University (1998) after working with his two mentors: David Avnir in Jerusalem and Arjan de Nooy in the Netherlands. In 2005 he was appointed "Maître de conférences associé" at theFrance's ENSCM. Dr. Pagliaro has over 700 hours of teaching experience having taught management to entrepreneurs, managers and young graduates at the Quality College del Cnr. Since his return to Italy in 1998, he managed the funds earned with the Quality College to restructure the labs of his institute and to establish relationships with important management and scientific schools worldwide.Since 2004 he organizes the prestigeous Seminar "Marcello Carapezza".