Designation: Assistant Professor
Department: Humanities and Social Sciences
Email: shonkholen[at]iitism[dot]ac[dot]in
Contact Number: 7400401381
Personal Page: Click Here
About Me: I am an assistant professor of Philosophy at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad. I work primarily in History and Philosophy of Science. Before joining IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, I was a Post Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay (2023-2024). I have a PhD in Philosophy of Science from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay. My philosophical inclinations have been and continue to be influenced by naturalistically and empirically informed developments in philosophy of science, especially epistemology of science, Bayesian epistemology, virtue epistemology, social epistemology, roles of values in science, and philosophy of physics. I also take a keen interest in Metaphysics of Science, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Technology (Artificial Intelligence), and Philosophy of Social Sciences. I am willing to take PhD students in any of the above areas. Potential scholars can reach out to me at shonkholen@iitism.ac.in; lenymat@gmail.com; or 7400401381. .NOTE: I am currently accepting only Externally Funded Ph.D. candidate!
Research Interest: History and Philosophy of Science, Epistemology of Science, Bayesian Epistemology, Virtue Epistemology, Social Epistemology, Roles of Values in Science, Scientific Explaination and Causality, Philosophy of Technology (Artificial Intelligence), and Philosophy of Physics
PG & PhD (Couses developed at IIT Dhanbad)
1. HSD561/NHD543: History and Philosophy of Science
2. HSD566/NHSD533: Philosophy of Psychiatry
3. NHSD551: Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence
UG (Couses developed at IIT Dhanbad)
1. NHSE301: Theories of Knowledge
1. Mate, S. & Sirola, V.S. (2025). Understanding Scientific Normativity as Social Convention. Global Philosophy 35,10. (Springer, Netherland) (Scopus Indexed)
DOI: 10.1007/s10516-025-09743-8
2. Mate, S. (2025). Laudan's Normative Naturalism: An Analytical Review. Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research 42, 217-233. (Springer, India) (Scopus Indexed)
DOI: 10.1007/s40961-025-00352-9
3. Mate, S. (2022). A Holistic Understanding of Scientific Methodology: The Cases of the CMS and OPERA Experiments. KRITERION – Journal of Philosophy, 36(3-4), 263-289. (De Gruyter) (Scopus Indexed)
DOI: 10.1515/krt-2022-0025
4. Mate, S. (2023). The normativity question in Quine’s naturalism: The context of the language learning situation. Balkan Journal of Philosophy, 15 (2), 165-178 (Philosophy Documentation Center) (Scopus Indexed)
DOI: 10.5840/bjp202315221
5. Kumar, N., Mate, S. & Mukhopadhyay, S (2014). Estimation of Qp and Qs of Kinnaur Himalaya. J Seismol 18, 47–59 (Springer, USA) (Scopus Indexed)
DOI: 10.1007/s10950-013-9399-7
Lifetime member of Indian Philosophical Congress
Member of Indian Philosophy Network
Administrative Responsibilities
1. Faculty-In-Charge (Coordinator), Placement Cell, HSS Department (2026-2027)
Event (Outside IIT Dhanbad) Participated
Ātmaniveśaṇā Yātrā: An Evocative Theatrical Performance based on the Upanishads held on 2nd Nov 2025, organized by Center of Excellence for Indian
Knowledge System, IIT Kharagpur (Representing HSS Dept., IIT (ISM) Dhanbad)
Invited Talks:
Resource Person on “Philosophy of Science” (03.11.2025) for the Online Refresher Course on Research Methodology and Academic Writing, sponsored by the UGC–Ministry of Education under the Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Programme (MMTTP), and organized by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad.
1. Ranjeet Ranjan
Academic Background: B.Tech (BITS Pilani), MA Philosophy (BHU)
Fellowship: Institute Fellow, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, October 2025 - Present
Research Area: Philosophy of Science
Tentative Topic: Undertermination Thesis in Science and Pragmatism
2. Md Kaif Sk
Academic Background: MA Philosophy, Viswa Bharati University
Fellowship: Institute Fellow, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, October 2025 - Present
Research Area: Social Epistemology, Philosophy of Psychiatry and Medicine.
Tentative Topic: Epistemic Injustices in Psychiatric Practices
3) Himanshu Kumar
Academic Background: BS-MS (Physics), IISER Berhampur
Fellowship: Institute Fellow, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, July 2026 - Present
Research Area: Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Physics
Tentative Research Topic: Epistemic Structuralism and Quantum Physics
4) Fiza P
Academic Background: MA (Philosophy), IIT Bombay
Fellowship: Institute Fellow, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, July 2026 - Present
Research Area: Philosophy of AI
Tentative Research Topic: Allignment Problem in AI
5) Ranjeet Kaunr
Academic Background: MA (Liberal Arts), IIT Guahati
Fellowship: Institute Fellow, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, July 2026 - Present
Research Area: Social Epistemology, Philosophy of Climate Science and Policies
Tentative Research Topic: Epistemic (In)justices in Climate Science
