Samuli Reijula (né Pöyhönen)
I am a philosopher and cognitive scientist interested in how science works, how it could, and how it should work.
In 2019, I joined the permanent faculty of Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Helsinki as a university lecturer (roughly equivalent to US associate professor). I’m also affiliated with the TINT Centre for Philosophy of Social Science, and a docent (academic habilitation) in Practical philosophy, University of Helsinki.
I’m currently (2020-2025) on research leave as an Academy of Finland research fellow. My project focuses on the nature of scientific problem solving: Science is the humanity’s most successful problem-solving system, and the primary source of epistemic authority in modern societies. How does that system function at different levels from individual scientists to research groups and scientific communities? And how should it function - what are the social, cognitive, and institutional preconditions of well-functioning scientific research?
I am also interested in cognitive diversity, coping with uncertainty, epistemology of simulation modeling, foundations of scientific classification, as well as issues related to the (cognitive) science of science, scientific discovery, science policy, evidence-based policy, boosting, and Bildung in all its forms.
In June 2022, together with Säde Hormio and Raul Hakli, I organized the first Institutional epistemology workshop at the University of Helsinki. INES2023 took place in June 2023.
Together with Pantelis Analytis (Odense, Denmark) and Jacob Habinek (IAS, Sweden), I organize a series of workshops Nordic Network for the Science of Science (funded by NOS-HS, 2022-2023). In 2024, the nordic network transformed into the European Network for the Science of Science (EUROSCISCI).
News
- A new preprint (w/ Renne Pesonen): Would you pass the Turing Test? Mirroring human intelligence with large language models (2024-11)
- My opinion piece “Public authorities should leave X” published in Suomen Kuvalehti (2024-11)
- A reading list on fediverse (2024-09)
- Interview in philosophy magazine Paatos (2024-09)
- Visiting CMU in Oct-Nov 2024 (2024-09)
- On the idea of Bildung university (2024-09)
- “Persistential evidential discordance” accepted in the BJPS (2024-05)
- Interview - Science, uncertainty and trust (2024-01)
- Intelligent bullshit - AI as a mirror for human intelligence (2023-09)
- Encyclopedia entry on the philosophy of science (2023-05)
- Workshop materials: agent-based models in social epistemology (2023-04)
- Comment on positionality statements (in Finnish). (2023-03)
- More news here.
Recent publications
- Persistent evidential discordance, forthcoming in the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (w/ Sofia Blanco Sequeiros) (2024-05)
- Group problem solving: Diversity versus diffusion, forthcoming in COGSCI 2024, Jonard, Nicolas, Samuli Reijula and Luigi Marengo (2024-05)
- Tieteiden filosofi: Ian Hacking (1936–2023), Niin & Näin, 24, 59-63 w/ Tuomas Vesterinen
- Ideal Institutional Epistemology, Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective w/ Säde Hormio (2024-05)
- The emergence of computational social science: Intellectual integration or persistent fragmentation?, preprint, Pääkkönen Juho, Matti Nelimerkka and Samuli Reijula (2024-03)
- Universities as anarchic knowledge institutions, Social Epistemology. (w/ Säde Hormio) (2023-12)
- Self-nudging and the citizen choice architect, reprinted in Sunstein & Reisch (eds.) Research Handbook on Nudges and Society. (w/ Ralph Hertwig). (2023-11)
- Social and cognitive diversity in science: introduction, Synthese (open access). (w/ Kristina Rolin, Inkeri Koskinen, Jaakko Kuorikoski) (2023-07)
- Älykästä paskapuhetta - tekoälymallit ihmisälyn peilinä (Fluent bullshit - AI models as a mirror to human intelligence), Tieteessä Tapahtuu (open access). (w/ Renne Pesonen) (2023-06)
- The division of cognitive labor and the structure of interdisciplinary problems, Synthese (open access). (w/ Jaakko Kuorikoski and Miles MacLeod) (2023-06)