The talk “Mary Hesse’s Contribution to the History and Philosophy of Science“, presented by Pietro Gori at the Center for Women Philosophers and Scientists in Paderborn on January 26, 2026, is now available for viewing online.
In this talk, Pietro Gori provides an overview of important aspects of Mary B. Hesse’s epistemology, with special attention to her contribution to the development of an integrated approach to the history and philosophy of science. Gori focuses especially on Hesse’s early use of the history of science in her philosophical investigations, her view of scientific theories as metaphorical redescriptions of the domain of the explanandum, and her conception of metaphors and models as symbolic systems of world-depiction. Furthermore, he explores the moderate constructivism that lies at the core of Hesse’s projected “new epistemology”, with some conclusive remarks on Hesse’s attempt to enhance traditional empiricism through the integration of natural science into a wider epistemological framework that embraces hermeneutics, among other disciplines.