This issue contains a selection of the submitted paper from symposia sessions on the program at the 2022 biennial meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Symposia proposals involve a unifying theme for a set of talks; they are adjudicated based on abstracts, with an aim to generate useful interactions among speakers on the topic. Accepted symposia presenters then have the option to write up their talk and submit it for consideration for this special issue (separately from the other journal submission processes).
The 2022 PSA was notable for strength of the junior members of the field and for the diversity of topics that were presented. The symposia drew together scholars at different career stages, from different kinds of backgrounds, and from different geographical areas and institutions. They are an opportunity to get specialists together on topics of new and emerging interest for a focused discussion, and often galvanize the directions that discussions take in upcoming years.
Included in this issue is the presidential address for the 2021–22 president of the PSA, John Dupre. This presidential address was given in person at the 2022 meeting.
The work of the Program Committee is foundational for PSA meetings, as they review all contributions in the main program, as well as reviewing submissions for publication in these two special issues. These papers that came out of symposia sessions have been through the highest degree of peer review: The initial symposia proposals were reviewed by three or more committee members for selection onto the program, and then final papers that came out of those symposia were further reviewed for inclusion in this special issue. These papers thus reflect the discussions and feedback among symposiasts, with audience members and others at the PSA meeting, and a high level of peer review. Considering the two review processes, for acceptance of symposia and then acceptance of submitted papers submitted for consideration after the symposia, the acceptance rate for this issue was 24 percent.
The Program Committee members:
Kenneth Aizawa, Rutgers University Newark
Anna Alexandrova, Cambridge
Mazviita Chirimuuta, Edinburgh
Christopher Weaver, University of Illinois U-C
Hayley Clatterbuck, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Matteo Colombo, Tilburg
Kenny Easwaran, Texas A&M
Uljana Feest, Leibniz Universität Hannover
Manuela Fernandez, Universidad de los Andes
Carrie Figdor, University of Iowa
Doreen Fraser, University of Waterloo
Daniel Hicks, University of California, Merced
Christopher Hitchcock, California Inst of Technology
Jennifer Jhun, Duke
Marie Kaiser, Bielefeld University
Lena Kästner, University of Bayreuth
Corey Maley, University of Kansas
Michael Miller, University of Toronto
Gry Oftedal, University of Oslo
Thomas Pradeu, CNRS – University of Bordeaux
Noel Swanson, University of Delaware
Naftali Weinberger, Munich
Daniel Wilkenfeld, University of Pittsburgh
President John Dupre guided this meeting of the PSA through a change in executive directorship for the association. His level-headed leadership through the disruptions of the 2020/2021 conference and the planning for the 2022 conference were appreciated. Thanks also to the new Executive Director Max Cormendy, who had the task of stepping into the reviewing process mid-leap, to the previous executive director, Ryan Feigenbaum, who initiated the review process for symposia, and the PSA office staff who saw it through to the final version on Dryfta. I am grateful to former program chairs who were generous with advice through this process.
This was the PSA of many transitions: the directorship of the association, as well as the press for the journal, editorship of the journal, and platform for reviewing. Thanks to Andrea Woody and Kayla Mehl, who oversaw the beginning of this process. Special thanks to Margaret Farrell and James Weatherall, for enabling the Program Committee to move its review work from Dryfta to the Philosophy of Science editorial manager in its new home with Cambridge University Press, which streamlined the reviewing process for this special issue.
The 2022 PSA was a meeting bursting with enthusiasm, lively discussion, and exciting new connections. I hope that some of that energy comes through in this special issue as well.
