by Lilia Gurova | Newsletter 01-2016

(a) How many (full) professors of philosophy are there in your country (approx.) and how many are philosophers of science?

There are about 200 professional philosophers in Bulgaria that hold permanent academic positions. A fourth of them (about 50) are full professors. There are only 2 full professors in philosophy of science and the other 4 mention philosophy of science in their interests. If we add to the latter numbers the number of the associate professors and the assistant professors who mention philosophy of science in their denomination, the total number of professional philosophers having some points of contact with philosophy of science will be about 15 (which is less than 8% of all Bulgarian philosophers).

(b) How would you characterize philosophy of science in your country? For example, is it mainly general or specific (philosophy of physics, psychology, economics etc.)?

There is no clear tendency. Probably most of those 15 persons which I have mentioned above are concerned with one or another aspect of general philosophy of science, but some of them have also written on particular problems related to philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of logic, philosophy of physics, philosophy of biology, and philosophy of cognitive science. The following book provides an idea of what the philosophers of science in Bulgaria have worked on in the last decades:

• Ginev, D. (Ed.) (2003) Bulgarian Studies in the Philosophy of Science. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol. 236. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

(c) What are the possibilities and chances in your country for external funding in philosophy of science?

The possibilities to obtain external funding for research in the field of philosophy of science are limited. There is only one national agency for funding scientific research in Bulgaria and for the last 15 years it hasn’t funded any project in philosophy of science.

(d) Is there a society for philosophers of science in your country, and if so, what are its activities?

In Bulgaria, there is no society for philosophy of science per se but part of the philosophers of science are members of the Bulgarian Society for Analytic Philosophy (BSAP) which was founded in 2012. BSAP organizes monthly seminars, reading groups and conferences, and some of these events are on topics related to philosophy of science. In 2015, for example, BSAP organized a conference on philosophy of mathematics and in 2016 it will take part in the organization of the Inaugural conference of the East European Network for Philosophy of Science, which will be held in Sofia, on June 24-26.

Lilia Gurova is Associate Professor in philosophy of science at New Bulgarian University, Sofia.