‘Trends and Tensions in Intellectual Integration’: Seminar with Professor Uskali Mäki

What is a сenter of excellence, and how to establish one – these were the topics of the talk delivered by the Professor of the Academy of Finland and of the University of Helsinki Uskali Mäkiat at the seminar of the Department of Political Science on May 19.

The seminar became an instructive supplement to the course on  Philosophy of Interdisciplinarity  which prof. Mäki has taught for the students of the Master's programmePolitics. Economics. Philosophy. The course was based on his personal experiences in organizing the world largest Center of Excellence in the field of philosophy of social sciences TINT (Trends and Tensions of Intellectual Integration) in Helsinki.

The seminar attracted colleagues from different departments of HSE, as well as from Moscow State University, Saint Petersburg University of Economics and Finance, and other institutions. The talk provoked many questions and discussions.

Uskali Mäki:

— Academy Professor, Academy of Finland;
— Professor of Social and Moral Philosophy, University of Helsinki;
— Director of the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences (TINT);
— Professor and Director at the Erasmus Institute for Philosophy & Economics, Erasmus University of Rotterdam in 1995–2006;
— Editor of the Journal of Economic Methodology in 1996–2005;
— Chair of the International Network for Economic Method in 2007–2008.

The Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences (TINT) aims to produce philosophy of the social sciences with a focus on issues of interdisciplinarity that has clear relevance for social scientific practice. The Academy of Finland granted the research project TINT (Trends and Tensions in Intellectual Integration) the status of a Centre of Excellence in 2011 in recognition of its cutting edge research of the highest standards. It is now the largest, and still growing, international research community in this field with some 30 members and a number of research associates and visitors.