Prof. Yafeng Shan received his PhD from University College London. He is the author and editor of several books, published by Oxford University Press, Routledge, Springer, and Wiley. He also edited special issues of such journals as Synthese, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, and Metaphyilosophy. His research articles appear in journals including Philosophy of Science, Synthese, European Journal for Philosophy of Science, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, and Philosophy Compass. He was the recipient of some major research grants (as P-I) from the British Academy (BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grant) and Horizon Europe (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions) as well as various research and conference organisation grants from the Aristotelian Society, the Analysis Trust, the British Society for the Philosophy of Science, the British Society for the History of Science, the Karl Popper Charity Trust, and the Research Grants Council (Hong Kong).

Currently he is Vice President of The Asian Philosophy of Science Association. He is also serving on the Steering Committee of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science, the Steering Committee of the Asian Network of the Philosophy of the Social Sciences, and the Membership Committee of the Philosophy of Science Association, and a co-chair of the Marjorie Grene and Werner Callebaut Prizes Committee, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology.

At HKUST, he founded the HKUST Philosophy of Science Research Group and is running HKUST Philosophy of Science Lecture Series, HKUST HPS Research Seminar, and HKUST Philosophy Reading Group.

Research Interests

Philosophy of Science, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Metaphilosophy, History and Philosophy of Biology, Philosophy of Social Science

Representative Publications

Books​

​Shan, Yafeng. 2020. Doing Integrated History and Philosophy of Science: A Case Study of the Origin of Genetics. Cham: Springer.

​Shan, Yafeng, ed. 2022. New Philosophical Perspectives on Scientific Progress. New York and London: Routledge.

Shan, Yafeng, ed. 2023. Examining Philosophy Itself. Chichester: Wiley.

Shan, Yafeng and Jon Williamson. 2023. ​Evidential Pluralism in the Social Sciences. London and New York: Routledge.

Shan, Yafeng, ed. 2023. Philosophical Foundations of Mixed Methods Research: Dialogues between Researchers and Philosophers. London and New York: Routledge.

Shan, Yafeng, ed. 2024. Alternative Approaches to Causation: Beyond Difference-making and Mechanism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Shan, Yafeng, ed. 2024. Rethinking Thomas Kuhn's Legacy. Cham: Springer.

Selected Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Shan, Yafeng. 2019. "A New Functional Approach to Scientific Progress." Philosophy of Science 86 (4): 739–58. 

Shan, Yafeng. 2020. "Kuhn’s ‘Wrong Turning’ and Legacy Today." Synthese 197 (1): 381–406. 

Shan, Yafeng. 2021. "Beyond Mendelism and Biometry.” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 89: 155-163.​

Shan, Yafeng, and Jon Williamson. 2021. "Applying Evidential Pluralism to the Social Sciences." European Journal for Philosophy of Science 11(4), 96.

Shan, Yafeng. 2022. "Philosophy Doesn't Need a Concept of Progress." Metaphilosophy 53(2-3): 176-184. 

Shan, Yafeng. 2022. "Philosophical Foundations of Mixed Methods Research." Philosophy Compass 17(1), e12804.

Shan, Yafeng. 2023. "The Historiography of Scientific Revolutions." In Handbook of the Historiography of Science, edited by Mauro L. Condé and Marlon Salomon, 257-273. Cham: Springer.

Shan, Yafeng. 2024. "The Extended Evolutionary Synthesis: An Integrated Historical and Philosophical Examination." Philosophy Compass 19, e13002.