International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
Professional services
UnclaimedAn international umbrella union representing the history, philosophy, logic, methodology, and related study of science and technology within the International Science Council.
Last updated August 25, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
The International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, commonly abbreviated IUHPST, is an international non-governmental scientific organization and a member of the International Science Council. It provides an umbrella structure for two specialist divisions: the Division of History of Science and Technology (DHST) and the Division of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science and Technology (DLMPST). Through these divisions, the union supports international cooperation, scholarly exchange, congresses, commissions, and institutional representation for disciplines that examine how scientific and technological knowledge is produced, organized, interpreted, and used. The union was established in 1955 through the merger of the International Union of History of Science and the International Union of Philosophy of Science. Its formation brought historical and philosophical approaches to science into a common international framework. The organization does not operate as a conventional membership corporation with an independent membership base and separate governance apparatus. Instead, it is governed through the officers of its two divisions, with the presidency rotating between the presidents of DHST and DLMPST. This structure reflects the union's role as a coordinating federation rather than a standalone scholarly society with individual subscribers. DHST represents the history of science and technology. It promotes international collaboration among national committees and international scientific organizations, coordinates specialist commissions, and convenes the International Congress for the History of Science and Technology. The congress has a long institutional history dating to 1929 and has been hosted in cities across Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and Oceania. The most recent congress listed in the reference material was held in Prague in 2021, while the 2025 meeting was scheduled for Dunedin and the 2029 meeting for Paris. DHST also participates in wider humanities cooperation through its membership in the Conseil international de la philosophie et des sciences humaines. DLMPST represents logic, methodology, and philosophy of science and technology. Its central recurring activity is the Congress for Logic, Philosophy and Methodology of Science and Technology, which has taken place every four years since the first meeting at Stanford in 1960. The division's remit includes formal and philosophical analysis of scientific reasoning, methods, models, explanation, evidence, values, and the relationship between science and technology. In 2015, the division adopted its current name, adding technology to its earlier title. The union's work is primarily intellectual and institutional rather than commercial. It does not sell consumer products, manufacture goods, or publish a conventional commercial brand portfolio. Its principal offerings are congresses, international coordination, specialist commissions, disciplinary representation, and support for cross-border scholarly networks. In 2021, DHST and the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics established the Inter-Union Commission on the History and Philosophy of Physics, creating a further formal link between historical-philosophical scholarship and the physics community. The current union leadership is drawn from the leadership of the two divisions. Valentin Goranko serves as president, Janet Browne as vice president, Eleonora Cresto as secretary general, and Pierre Edouard Bour as treasurer, according to the referenced organizational material. The union's identity is therefore best understood as that of a global academic federation: its value lies in convening researchers, sustaining disciplinary institutions, and representing the history and philosophy of science and technology within international science governance.
History
The IUHPST was created in 1955 by bringing together two pre-existing international bodies: the International Union of History of Science and the International Union of Philosophy of Science. The merger established a common umbrella for historical, philosophical, logical, and methodological approaches to scientific knowledge. Its institutional setting places it within the wider international science system, where it represents its fields as a member of the International Science Council. The union is unusual in that it does not maintain an independent membership structure comparable to a conventional learned society. Its two divisions, DHST and DLMPST, carry out most of the substantive work and supply the union's governance. Leadership is coordinated through a rotational arrangement in which the presidency passes between the presidents of the divisions. This framework allows the union to combine two related but distinct intellectual communities while retaining their separate congresses, councils, commissions, and disciplinary priorities. DHST is devoted to the history of science and technology and promotes collaboration among national committees and international scientific unions. Its principal congress developed from meetings that began in Paris in 1929. Subsequent congresses have addressed subjects such as science in the eighteenth century, the social context of scientific instruments and ideas, cultural diversity, globalization, and the relationship between global and local scientific activity. The congress series has moved among continents and political settings, helping historians of science and technology build international networks. DHST also coordinates specialist commissions and is affiliated with the Conseil international de la philosophie et des sciences humaines. DLMPST focuses on logic, methodology, and philosophy of science and technology. Its congress series began at Stanford in 1960 and has since been held in locations including Jerusalem, Amsterdam, London, Moscow, Florence, Beijing, Nancy, Helsinki, Prague, and Buenos Aires. The meetings provide a recurring international forum for work on scientific reasoning, formal systems, models, explanation, methodology, values, and the philosophical implications of technological change. The division's renaming in 2015 signaled the explicit inclusion of technology in its scope. The union's activities have expanded through collaboration with neighboring scientific organizations. In May 2021, DHST and the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics formed the Inter-Union Commission on the History and Philosophy of Physics. The commission links historical and philosophical research with the international physics community and is recognized as an affiliated commission of IUPAP. In the 2021–2025 governance period, DHST was led by Janet Browne, with Ana Simões as president-elect and a council including Silvia Figueirôa, Hamish Spencer, Thomás Haddad, Maarten Bullynck, Sam Robinson, Milada Sekyrková, and other assessors. DLMPST was led by Valentin Goranko, with Sandra Mitchell, Mitsuhiro Okada, Nancy Cartwright, Eleonora Cresto, Pierre Édouard Bour, and divisional assessors. At union level, Goranko served as president and Browne as vice president. The planned congress calendar included the DHST meeting in Dunedin in 2025 and Paris in 2029, while the next DLMPST congress after Buenos Aires in 2023 was planned for Kobe in 2027.
- 2023
Seventeenth logic, philosophy, and methodology congress
[1]The DLMPST congress was held in Buenos Aires with the theme “Science and Values in an Uncertain World.”
- 2021
Inter-Union Commission on the History and Philosophy of Physics created
[1]DHST and IUPAP established a joint commission, later recognized as an affiliated IUPAP commission.
- 2021
Twenty-sixth history and technology congress
[1]The International Congress for the History of Science and Technology was held in Prague under the theme “Giants and Dwarfs in Science, Technology and Medicine.”
- 2015
DLMPST adopts its current name
[1]The division expanded its formal name to include technology.
- 1960
First logic, philosophy, and methodology congress
[1]The first congress of the logic and philosophy division was held at Stanford in the United States.
- 1955
Formation of the union
[1]The International Union of History of Science and the International Union of Philosophy of Science merged to create the umbrella union.
- 1929
First international congress in the history-of-science series
[1]The first congress later associated with the DHST history-of-science congress series was held in Paris.
Products and positioning
A global coordinating and representative umbrella organization for the history, philosophy, logic, and methodology of science and technology.
Academic congress · 1929
International Congress for the History of Science and Technology
A recurring international congress organized through DHST. It brings together historians of science and technology and related researchers for presentations, thematic sessions, commission meetings, and international scholarly exchange. The series began in 1929 and has been hosted in numerous countries.
Academic congress · 1960
Congress for Logic, Philosophy and Methodology of Science and Technology
The principal four-year congress organized through DLMPST. It provides a forum for research in logic, scientific methodology, philosophy of science, and philosophy of technology, with themes ranging from models and modelling to science, values, and technological change.
International commission · 2021
Inter-Union Commission on the History and Philosophy of Physics
A joint commission created by DHST and the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics to connect historical and philosophical studies of physics with the international physics community.
Brand decisions
2021
Creation of the physics history and philosophy commissionStrategyBackground
DHST and IUPAP sought a formal mechanism for cooperation between historical-philosophical scholarship and physics.
Action taken
They established the Inter-Union Commission on the History and Philosophy of Physics.
Aftermath
The commission received recognition as an affiliated commission of IUPAP.
2015
Expansion of the DLMPST name and remitStrategyBackground
The logic and philosophy division had previously used a name that did not explicitly mention technology.
Action taken
The division adopted the title Division of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science and Technology.
Aftermath
Technology became an explicit part of the division's institutional identity and congress scope.
1955
Merger of the two predecessor unionsM&ABackground
The history-of-science and philosophy-of-science unions were brought together to create a unified international umbrella organization.
Action taken
The two organizations were consolidated into the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science.
Aftermath
The resulting union later operated through separate history and philosophy divisions within a common international framework.
Sources2 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/international-union-of-history-and-philosophy-of-science · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled