Passed Motions
In July 2016, the Governing Board of the PSA passed a motion that in the interest of transparency, motions passed by the Governing Board will generally be posted on the PSA website, starting with the motions passed since January 1, 2015. Some motions will not be posted (e.g. about personnel) and some motions will be posted after various people have been informed first or after an official announcement has been made. PSA will post passed motions as a default, but a motion need not be posted if the Governing Board, President, or Executive Director decides with reason that the passed motion should not be posted. If the President or Executive Director decides subsequent to a vote that a passed motion should not be posted, they should inform the Governing Board and explain their reasons for not posting the motion.
The motions below are listed by date starting from the most recent. The date the motion was passed is listed following each motion.
Motions Passed by the Governing Board of the PSA
Motion: That the board authorize UPSS to decide on the award of the prize in consultation as necessary with president, and advise that, in order to carry out this function, they convene an ad hoc advisory group that can advise on this decision. Passed December 2020
Motion: To establish a committee that is empowered to look at questions of renewal and continuity of journal. Passed December 2020
Social Media Committee Motion: That the Social Media Committee conference tweeting policy be adopted. Passed December 2020
Climate Task Force Motion: That the first sentence of task force report (a-d) will be taken as recommendations. Passed December 2020
Climate Task Force Motion: That the PSA formally endorses the guidelines for sustainable practice as attached. Passed December 2020
Motion: That the PSA adopt an access policy for the PSA Archive held by the University of Pittsburgh Library that provides for a 75-year moving wall for all non-public material currently in the archive and to be deposited in the future. Passed September 2020
Motion: That the PSA ensure that those whose material may be deposited in the archive in the future are informed of this policy and extend to them an opt-out option: they can specify that they do not want their material to be included in the PSA archive. Passed September 2020
Motion: That the board charge one of its members with liaising with AAAS to increase PSA representation in AAAS. Passed May 2019
Motion: That the board create a standing Public Forum Committee (this being an ad hoc committee at present). Passed May 2019
Motion: That the board create a non-restrictive endowment of $100,000 to anchor the creation of an investment and fundraising strategy. Passed May 2019
Motion: That the board confirm the Finance Committee’s membership, with the Treasurer and Executive Director appointed (ex officio) as voting members. Passed May 2019
Motion: That the board approve the PSA Conduct and Harassment Policy. Passed May 2019
Diversity and Climate Committee Motion: That the board adopt 1.2 respectful conduct statement. Passed May 2019
Diversity and Climate Committee Motion: That the penultimate and antepenultimate sentences of the statement preceding the collection of demographic data (passed 2015, revised 2018) be deleted and be replaced with “demographic information gathered will be used only in the aggregate.” Passed May 2019
Revised version:
The Philosophy of Science Association is committed to advancing diversity and inclusion in furtherance of its mission to promote research, teaching, and free discussions of issues in the philosophy of science from diverse standpoints. Collection of the following demographic information will assist the Philosophy of Science Association with its diversity and inclusion efforts and enhance its programs, practices, and services to meet member needs. Demographic information will be used only in the aggregate, and individual identities will not be shared. If you prefer not to answer any of the questions, simply select “Prefer Not to Answer” or leave it unanswered, as specified below.
[ ] I have read the PSA’s specified purposes concerning its collection of my demographic information and hereby provide my explicit consent to the PSA’s processing of the demographic information. I understand that I am not required to answer any of the demographic questions below.
Users MUST check the box before entering demographic information
[ ] I have read the PSA’s specified purposes concerning its collection of my demographic information and hereby provide my explicit consent to the PSA’s processing of the demographic information. I understand that I am not required to answer any of the demographic questions below.
Users MUST check the box before entering demographic information
Motion: That the board develop and publish a PSA policy on the collection, use, security of demographic data. Passed May 2019
Motion: That the board change the name of the Global Outreach Committee to the Committee on International Relations. Passed May 2019
Motion: that the Governing Board propose to amend Article III of the PSA Bylaws to add a separate position of Secretary of the Association, and that this proposed change will appear on the 2019 PSA Election Ballot for approval by the PSA membership, as per Article VI: Amendments to the Constitution. Passed May 2019
Text of the proposed amendment can be found: https://philsci.org/about-the-psa/governance/bylaws-of-the-association/2-uncategorised/1955-text-of-the-2019-amendments.html (Amendments subsequently passed by the PSA membership in the 2019 Election.)
Resolution: That the PSA Open Access Monograph Series Committee, chaired by David Teira and Bryan Roberts, will be informed that the PSA cannot proceed with the proposal they have developed with the University of Calgary Press at this time. The Governing Board would welcome the opportunity to revisit this proposal in a year, and in the meantime endorse Teira and Roberts’ suggestion that they explore the potential for support from other philosophy of science associations. Resolved May 2019
Motion: That the board change the name of the “Office Reorganization Committee” to “Office Reorganization and Transition Committee.” Passed May 2019
Motion: That the board create a standing Fundraising Committee. Passed May 2019
Motion: That the board change the “Finance and Fundraising Committee” to “Finance Committee.” Passed May 2019
Motion: That the board create a dedicated UPSS session at the 2020 PSA meeting, to be managed as proposed in Section V of the UPSS report (consisting of three papers by graduate student mentees; with the UPSS subcommittee selecting these), and subject to periodic review. Passed November 2018
Motion: That the board strike an ad hoc journal search committee. Passed November 2018
Motion: That the board strike an ad hoc PSA planning task force, consisting of presidents past, present, and future (SM, AW, and JD). Passed November 2018
Motion: That the board form an ad hoc committee to investigate options for (re)structuring the PSA office, with Hasok Chang as chair, and Peter Godfrey-Smith as a member. Passed November 2018
Motion: That the board to change the language on p. 2 of the PSA Conduct and Harassment Policy: to read “to the PSA president, president elect, and past president of the society” rather than “to the PSA ombudsperson.” Passed November 2018
Motion: That the board PSA board endorse the syllabus drive as a project of the governing board. Passed November 2018
Motion: That the PSA enter negotiation of an agreement for publishing a PSA Open Access Monograph Series with the University of Calgary Press. Passed November 2018
Motion: That the board authorize the Open Access Monograph Publishing Committee to proceed with both presses, Cambridge and Calgary, to get full-fledged proposals for Open Access Monograph Series. Passed April 2018
Motion: That the board propose to the membership a change in the bylaws: to add the position of PSA Treasurer which will be advisory, appointed by the GB and serving for a term of 4 years renewable. Passed April 2018
Motion: That the board establish a standing Global Outreach Committee. Passed April 2018
Motion: That the board create an Outreach & Engagement award to be presented at the 2018 meeting. The current committee will decide the award and is entrusted with responsibility to work out the details of time span and what works are to be included. Passed April 2018
Motion: That the board rescind the motion passed in 2015 by the Governing Board regarding the timing of cognate society sessions, so that they are not required to be held on Sunday morning. Passed April 2018
Motion: that the PSA pursue a contract with the Hilton Baltimore for PSA2020, November 19-22, 2020. Passed December 2017
Motion: that the PSA Archives Committee be changed from an ad hoc committee into a standing committee. Passed on 13 May 2017
Motion: that a new standing committee be created – the PSA Media Committee – whose charge is to explore and develop proposals concerning the PSA’s media profile (e.g., website, Facebook, and other social media), and liaise with the PSA office regarding implementation and updates. Passed on 13 May 2017
Motion: that a new standing committee be created – the PSA Outreach and Engagement Committee – whose charge is to develop programming and infrastructure to encourage, connect, and promote the activities of members who want to be more socially engaged as philosophers of science. The committee will be constituted by appointment of the president and include at least one member of the governing board and at least one co-chair of JCSEPHS. Passed on 12 May 2017
Motion: that a new standing committee be created – the PSA Finance and Fundraising Committee – whose charge is to develop initiatives for creating and sustaining the financial well-being of the organization. Janet seconded. Committee will be constituted by the President, the Past President, the President Elect, and the Executive Director. Passed on 12 May 2017
Motion: that the Philosophy of Science Association will become an organizational partner of the April 22, 2017 March for Science. Passed March 2017
Motion: PSA will provide onsite childcare at the PSA 2018 Meeting along the lines that were piloted at 2016 meeting. Passed on 2 November 2016.
Motion: PSA will provide dependent care subsidies for the PSA 2018 Meeting along the lines that were piloted for the 2016 meeting. Passed on 2 November 2016.
Motion: PSA will seek to provide travel subsidies to graduate students and recent PhDs along the lines that were piloted for the 2016 meeting. Passed on 2 November 2016.
[This will include (a) seeking an NSF grant to subsidize travel costs for U.S. citizens and scholars (regardless of citizenship) studying or working at U.S. institutions as has been done for many years and (b) using PSA’s own funds to subsidize travel costs for those ineligible for funding from the NSF grant which was piloted for PSA2016.]
Motion: PSA will rename the “PSA Recent PhD Essay Award” to the "PSA Early-Career Scholar Essay Award” and change the eligibility requirement for the award to the following: To be eligible for the year X PSA Early-Career Scholar Essay Award, the article must have a publication date in Philosophy of Science during the year X, and the author must supply evidence either that they were a graduate student at the time of publication or that their Ph.D. Degree was awarded after December (year X –5 years). Papers that have received the PSA Graduate Student Essay Award are not eligible for the PSA Early-Career Scholar Essay Award. Passed on 2 November 2016.
Motion: The PSA Lectures and Awards committee shall contain at least one member of the governing board. Passed on 2 November 2016.
[The President appoints the committee members. Previously, at least three members had to be members of the Governing Board.]
Motion: PSA will make the Poster Forum a regular part of its Biennial Meeting. The President will choose a Poster Forum Chair. The Poster Forum Chair will select Poster Forum Committee members in consultation with the President. The Poster Forum Chair will not start this selection process until after the Program Committee Chair has completed selections for the Program Committee. Poster Forum Chairs will serve as consultants to their immediate successors. So, a Chair’s term of service will be four years. Passed on 6 November 2016.
Motion: PSA will make the Cognate Societies Sessions a regular part of its Biennial Meeting. Passed on 6 November 2016.
Motion: PSA authorizes Governing Board member Janet Stemwedel to pursue further inquiries in to what respectful conduct policy might be worth pursuing with respect to feasibility and report back to board. Passed on 6 November 2016.
Motion: PSA authorizes Executive Director Jessica Pfeifer to look into creating a treasurer position in consultation with the President and to construct a proposal of how the position could be set up. Passed on 6 November 2016.
Motion: The minutes of future PSA Governing Board meetings will consist of motions, votes and brief explanation of rationale behind motions if needed. Passed on 6 November 2016.
Motion: PSA encourages authors with papers accepted by Philosophy of Science to post preprints on Phil-Sci Archive. Authors will be informed of this encouragement when their papers are accepted for publication. Passed on 6 November 2016.
Motion: that in the interest of transparency, motions passed by the Governing Board will generally be posted on the PSA website, starting with the motions passed since January 1, 2015. Some motions will not be posted (e.g. about personnel) and some motions will be posted after various people have been informed first or after an official announcement has been made. PSA will post passed motions as a default, but a motion need not be posted if the Governing Board, President, or Executive Director decides with reason that the passed motion should not be posted. If the President or Executive Director decides subsequent to a vote that a passed motion should not be posted, they should inform the Governing Board and explain their reasons for not posting the motion. Passed July 2016
Motion: that the “Diversity Committee” be renamed the “Committee on Diversity and Climate.” Passed July 2016
Motion: that the Committee on Diversity and Climate be charged with investigating the best practices for climate policies, formulating both a climate statement proposal and a climate policy proposal for administrative and legal review, as well as further discussion from the governing board. Passed July 2016
Motion: that Jessica Pfeifer, Executive Director of PSA, be authorized to set up on-site childcare services for PSA2016 provided it can be done within a $6,000 budget from PSA (not counting additional fees paid by those using the service). Passed July 2016
Motion: that the Governing Board proposes that Article III, Section 3, of the PSA Bylaws be amended as follows (Passed July 2016):
The function of the Governing Board shall be to formulate and give effect to the major policies of the Association. A proposal before the Governing Board shall be considered adopted if approved by a majority of the Governing Board. A referendum of any action of the Governing Board shall be held at the time of the annual election if a demand for it is filed with the Executive Director by fifteen full members before November 1 April 1. The Governing Board shall be overruled only by an absolute majority of the full members.
Per Article VI §2 of the PSA By-Laws, this proposed amendment shall be adopted if approved by two-thirds of the full members who vote on it in the next PSA Election.
Per Article VI §2 of the PSA By-Laws, this proposed amendment shall be adopted if approved by two-thirds of the full members who vote on it in the next PSA Election.
Motion: that the Governing Board proposes that Article IV, Sections 5, 6, and 7, of the PSA Bylaws be amended as follows (Passed July 2016):
Section 5
Biennially in odd numbered years the Governing Board shall nominate at least six individuals to stand for election to the Nominating Committee. In addition nominations may be made by any fifteen full members of the Association. All nominations must be filed with the Executive Director on or before
Section 6
Nominations for President shall be made by the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall nominate at least three candidates for President. In addition, nominations may be made by any fifteen full members of the Association. All nominations must be filed with the Executive Director on or before
Section 7
Nominations for Governing Board members other than the President, President-elect, and most recent past president shall be decided by the Nominating Committee. The number of candidates for Governing Board that the Nominating Committee must select shall equal twice the number of Governing Board members whose current terms are expiring. In addition, nominations may be made by any fifteen full members of the Association.
All nominations must be filed with the Executive Director on or before
Per Article VI §2 of the PSA By-Laws, this proposed amendment shall be adopted if approved by two-thirds of the full members who vote on it in the 2017 PSA Election.
Motion: that the Governing Board proposes that Article VI, Section 1, of the PSA Bylaws be amended as follows (Passed July 2016):
Amendments to this document may be proposed by the Governing Board and shall appear on the annual election ballot with an indication that this is a Governing Board proposed amendment. Amendments may also be proposed by a full member. Any amendment proposed by a full member must be accompanied by the signatures of fifteen full members and must be filed with the Executive Director before October 1 March 1. Any amendment proposed by a member shall be circulated to the Governing Board prior to its appearance on the ballot in order to ascertain whether they wish to make a recommendation concerning its adoption to the membership.
Per Article VI §2 of the PSA By-Laws, this proposed amendment shall be adopted if approved by two-thirds of the full members who vote on it in the 2017 PSA Election.
Per Article VI §2 of the PSA By-Laws, this proposed amendment shall be adopted if approved by two-thirds of the full members who vote on it in the 2017 PSA Election.
Motion: that the following amendment (in bold) be made to the PSA’s Conflict of Interest Policy for PSA Awards, adding “or other awards committee”:
Conflict of Interest Policy for PSA Awards (Originally adopted July 19, 2014; Amendments in bold passed July 2016)
1. A conflict of interest occurs when Governing Board or other awards committee member is in any of the following relationships with a nominee:
Familial relationship (spouse, partner, parent, sibling)
Dissertation supervisor or supervisee
Collaborator (e.g. coauthor, coeditor) within last 5 years
Departmental colleague within last 5 years
A personal relationship (positive or negative) that the Governing Board member feels would interfere with or compromise member’s judgment (or be perceived as so compromising)
Dissertation supervisor or supervisee
Collaborator (e.g. coauthor, coeditor) within last 5 years
Departmental colleague within last 5 years
A personal relationship (positive or negative) that the Governing Board member feels would interfere with or compromise member’s judgment (or be perceived as so compromising)
2. Procedure:
For Hempel Award: In the case a Governing Board member is in a COI relationship with any of the nominations, the Governing Board member merely assigns the median score to the nominee with respect to whom the member has a COI. If there is an even number of nominations the voting member pairs the COI nomination with what would be the middleranked nomination without the COI and splits the vote between the two.
For other awards: Committee member must declare COI to fellow committee members. They have the option of evaluating and ranking the paper themselves or calling on external assistance if they do not feel competent to judge the paper.
For other awards: Committee member must declare COI to fellow committee members. They have the option of evaluating and ranking the paper themselves or calling on external assistance if they do not feel competent to judge the paper.
Motion: that the following amendment be made to the PSA's Hempel Award Procedure:
Hempel Award Procedure (Originally adopted in 2012. Amended in April and July 2014. New amendments in bold passed July 2016.)
1. Every Governing Board member is a voting member of the committee to decide the Hempel Award.
2. All deliberations, including our discussions and the names of nominees and nominators, are strictly confidential. You shouldshred delete your copy of the nomination packets at the end of our deliberations.
3. The ExecutiveSecretary Director will distribute the nomination packets of the nominees.
4. There will be several weeks for you to read the files and engage in any necessary discussion. We respectfully request that this time be used for mentioning material that might be overlooked, and not for campaigning for any particular candidate or making invidious comparisons.
5. You may use your own knowledge as well as the information in the nomination packets in coming to your decisions.
6. We will use a Borda count procedure for voting, so as to maximize the chance of selecting a generally preferred candidate. Each Governing Board member must rank every candidate. For example, if there are 4 candidates, they will give 4 points to their first choice candidate, 3 points to their second choice candidate, 2 points to their third choice candidate, and 1 point to their fourth choice candidate. Votes will be sent to the ExecutiveSecretary Director and are strictly confidential. The votes will be tallied, and the top vote getter receives the award. Voting should take place by August 5 July 20. In the unlikely event of a tie between top vote getters, there will be a run off election to decide between them.
7. In the case a Governing Board member is in a COI relationship with any of the nominations (see the PSA Conflict of Interest Policy for Awards), Governing Board member merely assigns the median score to the nominee with respect to whom the member has a COI. If there is an even number of nominations the voting member pairs the COI nomination with what would be the middleranked nomination without the COI and splits the vote between the two.
8. Hempel Award Nominators can renominate candidates for one cycle by simply informing the Executive Director that they would like their previous nomination to be reconsidered. Self-nominations will be accepted. Nominees and nominators should be members of the Philosophy of Science Association. Current members of the Governing Board of the PSA may not make nominations or be nominated for the Hempel Award.
2. All deliberations, including our discussions and the names of nominees and nominators, are strictly confidential. You should
3. The Executive
4. There will be several weeks for you to read the files and engage in any necessary discussion. We respectfully request that this time be used for mentioning material that might be overlooked, and not for campaigning for any particular candidate or making invidious comparisons.
5. You may use your own knowledge as well as the information in the nomination packets in coming to your decisions.
6. We will use a Borda count procedure for voting, so as to maximize the chance of selecting a generally preferred candidate. Each Governing Board member must rank every candidate. For example, if there are 4 candidates, they will give 4 points to their first choice candidate, 3 points to their second choice candidate, 2 points to their third choice candidate, and 1 point to their fourth choice candidate. Votes will be sent to the Executive
7. In the case a Governing Board member is in a COI relationship with any of the nominations (see the PSA Conflict of Interest Policy for Awards), Governing Board member merely assigns the median score to the nominee with respect to whom the member has a COI. If there is an even number of nominations the voting member pairs the COI nomination with what would be the middleranked nomination without the COI and splits the vote between the two.
8. Hempel Award Nominators can renominate candidates for one cycle by simply informing the Executive Director that they would like their previous nomination to be reconsidered. Self-nominations will be accepted. Nominees and nominators should be members of the Philosophy of Science Association. Current members of the Governing Board of the PSA may not make nominations or be nominated for the Hempel Award.
Motion: that the PSA adopt the following Social Media Policy (Passed July 2016):
Background: Increasingly, members of academic disciplines including philosophy are using Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms to broadcast information from professional conferences to a wider audience. However, norms around the use of social media tools at professional conferences have not yet solidified, and some conference participants may feel uneasy at the potential for social media coverage to misrepresent their claims or to broaden their audience in an unwelcome way.
Policy: The biennial conferences of the Philosophy of Science Association allow members to share their research with a wider audience. Social media can help extend that audience to members not at the meeting, and to the public. Norms around the use of social media in academic culture are still emerging. Meeting attendees using social media to broadcast content from the conference to a broader audience are asked to engage with respect and professionalism. Do not post images from presentations without consent. Be clear about when you are posting the words or claims of a presenter and when you are posting your own opinion on a presentation. Be considerate of presenters’ requests for no social media coverage; they may be sharing work with their peers at this conference to foster discussion and feedback, but feel that the findings are not ready for wider consumption. If you prefer that your presentation not be shared via social media, communicate that clearly to your audience.
Policy: The biennial conferences of the Philosophy of Science Association allow members to share their research with a wider audience. Social media can help extend that audience to members not at the meeting, and to the public. Norms around the use of social media in academic culture are still emerging. Meeting attendees using social media to broadcast content from the conference to a broader audience are asked to engage with respect and professionalism. Do not post images from presentations without consent. Be clear about when you are posting the words or claims of a presenter and when you are posting your own opinion on a presentation. Be considerate of presenters’ requests for no social media coverage; they may be sharing work with their peers at this conference to foster discussion and feedback, but feel that the findings are not ready for wider consumption. If you prefer that your presentation not be shared via social media, communicate that clearly to your audience.
Motion: that for any PSA meeting the President, in consultation with the Program Chair, have the option of organizing a plenary session, remaining mindful that the Governing Board would not wish that this session decrease beyond necessity the number of accepted papers or symposia among those submitted by the membership. Passed July 2016
Earlier motions (starting 1 January 2015) will be posted soon.