Today’s guest is Dr. Milena Ivanova, a philosopher of science based at Fitzwilliam College at Cambridge University, where she is a fellow, graduate tutor, and the Director of Studies in Philosophy. Dr. Ivanova’s research involves studying aesthetics in the expansive field of science and publishing numerous articles, papers, and books on the subject. She is the author of Duhem and Holism (Cambridge UP, 2021) and co-editor ofThe Aesthetics of Science: Beauty, Imagination, and Understanding (Routledge, 2020).

Dr. Ivanova lends us her expertise to explore the following:

1. What attracted Dr. Ivanova to studying beauty in science
2. The relevance of beauty and its role in understanding science
3. Functionality and optimality of purpose contributing to an experiment’s beauty
4. The beauty of experiments beyond visual aesthetics through design and significance
5. On beauty contributing to bias
6. The benefit of learning about beauty in science for scientists and philosophers
7. Applying beauty and the awareness of it in other aspects

To learn more about Dr. Ivanova’s work, visit https://www.milenaivanova.co.uk/

Also, check out her books such as:

Duhem and Holism

https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/abs/duhem-and-holism/0D574554BB82648C0E5E1DFA6C550300

The Aesthetics of Science: Beauty, Imagination, and Understanding

https://www.routledge.com/The-Aesthetics-of-Science-Beauty-Imagination-and-Understanding-1st-Edition/Ivanova-French/p/book/9780367141141

You can also explore the topic of our interview in the following articles:

When is a scientific experiment like a beautiful work of art?

https://aeon.co/essays/when-is-a-scientific-experiment-like-a-beautiful-work-of-art

What is a beautiful experiment?

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10670-021-00509-3

The aesthetics of scientific experiments

https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/phc3.12730

Watch out for our new episodes every 1st and 15th of the month!