statement against dissolving the HPS department at Eotvos University, Budapest

Tue Mar 15 19:11:51 CET 2005

 	Dear All,

The Hungarian HPS community would very much appreciate your support in the 
following matter. One of the very few Hungarian HPS departments, the 
Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Eotvos University, 
faces immediate dissolution. The Council of Faculty of Science will vote 
about the issue on the 16th of March; this will be followed by a vote of 
the University Council, countersigned by the Rector of the University.

We would kindly ask you to consider signing a general statement opposing 
this action. Some more information about the case and excerpts from 
letters from Adolf Grunbaum and Peter Galison are below.

   The website where you can reach the statement:

      http://www.petitiononline.com/hpselte/

Some more details:

The Faculty of Science at the Eotvos University with which this Department 
is affiliated got into financial troubles which they plan to "solve" by 
dissolving the whole HPS Department and dismissing all of its members. (As 
you might know, Miklos Redei and Laszlo E. Szabo are members of this 
department.) This very prestigious University has a history of making 
unsound and ad hoc financial decisions. In case of this decision, for 
example, only the money paid for salaries was considered, and not the 
income gained by the work of the department. Therefore, while in financial 
crisis, the Faculty is likely to act in a way that will not solve this 
crisis on the long run. The Department produces more money than it takes 
away (after student*credit the university receives appr. 70 million HUF 
for the work the department does, while the salaries add up to appr. 37 
million HUF).

To my knowledge neither the Rector, nor Dr. Mózes Székely (who is the 
commissioner appointed to solve the financial troubles of the University - 
the Dean was suspended) prefers this way of getting around the problem, 
but this is the solution offered by the Faculty of Science and the vote on 
the 16th of March seems to be decisive.

The Free Variables Association prepared a short, general statement to 
which you might want to join your names (see the link above). The 
statement reads:

"
   It is my understanding that Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) is 
considering the dissolution of the Department of History and Philosophy of 
Science at the Faculty of Science. As a member of the international 
community of History and Philosophy of Science, I urge you to reconsider.

   The academic accomplishments of the members of the Department of History 
and Philosophy of Science at ELTE are recognized around the globe. They 
publish in widely-read journals, attend international conferences, and 
have been active in the advancement of the field at large. The department 
contributes greatly to the international renown of ELTE and its 
dissolution would negatively impact the university's international 
standing. It would also deprive the international community of a 
productive and contributing center of scholarship.

   Based on this, I, the undersigned, request that ELTE, the Faculty of 
Science of ELTE, Prof. Dr. István Klinghammer (Rector), Dr. Mózes Székely 
(Head of Center for Scientific Innovation and Grant Affairs) and anyone 
else involved seek a solution which would not result in the dismissal of 
the Department of History of Science.
"

Further information about the department can be found at 
http://hps.elte.hu. Department Chair Gyorgy Kampis can be reached at 
gk at hps.elte.hu. If you have any comments or questions, please contact 
Balazs Gyenis (University of Pittsburgh, gyepi at pitt.edu) or Daniel 
Margocsy (Harvard University, margocsy at fas.harvard.edu ).

Thank you for consideration.

Sincerely,

 	Balazs Gyenis

Below are excerpts from letters by Adolf Grunbaum and Peter Galison (for 
which we are really thankful):

Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 21:21:41 -0500
From: Adolf Grunbaum <grunbaum at pitt.edu>
To: 'Balazs Gyenis' <gyepi at hps.elte.hu>
Subject: RE: HPS at Eotvos University
Dear Colleague Gyenis,
I hasten to reply to your worrisome and disturbing E-mail of today
concerning the dire possibility that the HPS Department at ELTE might 
simply
be abolished, along with the dismissal of such excellent, well-known
professors as M.Redei and L. Szabo.

I am writing to say that I am eager to be one of the signatories of the
general statement which you drew up against the dissolution of the HPS 
Dept.
at ELTE. You may append my 3 academic titles at the University of
Pittsburgh,which are as follows:Andrew Mellon Professor of Philosophy of
Science; Research Professor of Psychiatry;Chairman of the Center for
Philosophy of Science.
I ask that you please convey my high regard for Professors Redei and Szabo
to the relevant officials at ELTE. And let me thank you very much for the
initiative you took!
Best wishes and regards,
Sincerely,
Adolf Grunbaum

***

From: Peter Galison <galison at fas.harvard.edu>
Date: March 12, 2005 10:18:53 AM EST
To: Daniel Margocsy <margocsy at fas.harvard.edu>
Cc: Peter Galison <galison at fas.harvard.edu>
Subject: Re: HPS Department to be dissolved in Hungary - please forward

- --------------------

Dear Colleagues,

I was extremely troubled to learn that the great Eotvos University--which
all of us admire so much--is contemplating the elimination of its history
and philosophy of science.  This is a field that is just now growing
enormously not only in the United States, but throughout Europe as well.
The Max Planck Institute in Germany, for instance, has grown into a major
world center, the Centre Koyre in Paris has expanded enormously, and the
principal sites here, including Chicago, Princeton, Stanford, Penn, Yale,
and Harvard all have revitalized and significantly expanded their
programs.  All are concerned with historical, philosophical, and science
policy questions that are of the first importance now and surely will
remain so during the coming decades.

Budapest has long maintained true strength in this area, and it is in part
because of this enormously illustrious tradition that I so worry about the
information I have received about a possible closing.  If there is
anything that I or my colleagues can do to encourage the continuation and
bolstering of HPS at the Eotvos, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Peter Galison
Mallinckrodt Prof. of the History of Science and Physics
Harvard University

=================== http://www.pitt.edu/~gyepi/ ===================
Balazs Gyenis                                            64  10  63
Ph.D. Student                                            30  57  32
Department of History and Philosophy of Science          43  52  ??
University of Pittsburgh

Postal address:                   E-mail:  gyepi at pitt.edu     ,_,
1017 Cathedral of Learning        Tel:       412-521-0804    (O,O)
Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA         Fax:       412-624-6825    (   )
--------------------------------------------------------------"-"--

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