1. The Association for the Foundations of Science, Language, and Cognition, hereafter known as AFOS, shall be an international society open to all individuals who meet the qualifications for membership as detailed in Section 2.
2. The objectives of AFOS shall be to promote investigation of foundational and methodological issues in the sciences, language, and cognitive studies. 'Sciences' shall be construed here to include both the natural and the human sciences. AFOS subscribes to the view that this is best done by adhering to the highest standards of logical, scientific and philosophical rigour. In order to promote such investigation, AFOS shall support activities such as, but not limited to: publication of scholarly journal(s) and books in the field; sponsorship of scholarly meetings, and fostering communications between its members.
3. AFOS may, upon decision of its Executive Committee, affiliate itself with other organizations with compatible aims.
4. AFOS is organized exclusively for educational or scientific purposes. (This section will need to be supplemented with specific wording to ensure tax-free status in whatever country AFOS is headquartered.)
5. The Association shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Sections 1 and 2 hereof. No substantial part of the activities of the Association shall be the carrying on of propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation and the corporation shall not participate in or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office.
1. There shall be three classes of membership: full, associate and student.
2. Full membership shall be open to qualified scientists, theorists of science, and philosophers who are in sympathy with the objectives of the Association. Prima facie evidence of qualification shall be constituted by any of the following: a doctoral degree or equivalent training in any scientific or philosophical field relevant to foundational and methodological issues; a professional position (assistant professorship or above, or the equivalent) in any of these fields; a professional research position in any of these fields. Application for full membership shall be made to the Secretary and shall be subject to final approval of the Executive Committee.
3. Associate membership shall be open to any organization the primary purpose of which is scientific or philosophical research, including corporations. Applications for associate membership must be made to the Secretary of AFOS and approved by at least two thirds of the Executive Committee. Each group associate member is eligible to appoint a number of representatives to AFOS who shall have the status of full members without payment of additional fees. The number of representatives shall be determined by the Executive Committee. Associate membership is also open under the same conditions as above to any group of individuals for whom the criteria of membership are deemed by the Executive Committee to be in sympathy with the aims of AFOS.
4. Student membership shall be open to any bona fide full time student. Application for student membership must be made to the Secretary of AFOS.
5. If special circumstances warrant, membership may be approved in one of the above categories to individuals or organizations that do not satisfy the above criteria. Such approval must be granted by two thirds of the Executive Committee.
6. All members shall have the same privileges of membership so long as their dues are not in arrears, but only full members shall be eligible for office in the Association and eligible to vote upon matters pertaining to the Association.
7. Annual dues for the various classes of membership shall be set by the Executive Committee by a simple majority. Dues for associate members shall be proportional to the number of representatives they have.
8. Members whose dues are six months or more in arrears may be dropped from the membership at the discretion of the Secretary. Reinstatement to membership shall be contingent upon payment of past dues.
1. The Association shall elect a President and a Vice-President. The term of the President and Vice-President shall be four years, the term to begin on January 1 and to end on December 31. In the event that a President cannot serve the full term, the Vice-President shall assume the office. Presidents and Vice-Presidents may serve only one term in those capacities, but those who have held the office of Vice-President shall be eligible for election to President.
2. There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of the President, Past President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, a representative of the editors of the official journal(s) of the Association, the heads of regional offices of AFOS, where such exist, and six other individuals elected by the full members of AFOS. The terms of these six at-large members shall be four years, beginning on January 1 and ending on December 31, and they are eligible for re-election.
3. The Treasurer and Secretary shall be appointed by the Executive Committee (excluding themselves) for four year terms which are renewable. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the financial affairs of the Association and shall make an annual financial report to the Executive Committee, more often if requested. The Secretary shall be responsible for keeping the membership rolls, collecting dues, routine communications of the Association, holding elections, and other such business as the executive Committee shall deem appropriate.
4. The Nominating Committee shall consist of three individuals elected for a term of four years by the full members of AFOS from a group of six candidates selected by the Executive Committee. These terms shall run from January 1 to December 31. The function of the Nominating Committee shall be to propose candidates for President, Vice-President, and the six at-large members of the Executive Committee. They shall nominate at least three candidates for President and nine candidates for at-large members. These nominations shall be filed with the Secretary by October 1st and election materials shall be sent to the members of AFOS by October 15th in an election year. Nominations may also be made by a petition of at least twenty-five full members of AFOS, such petitions to be filed no later than October 1st in an election year.
5. The function of the Executive Committee shall be to formulate and give effect to the major policies of the Association. A proposal before the Executive Committee shall be considered adopted if approved by a majority of that Committee. A referendum of any action of the Executive Committee shall be held if a demand for it is filed with the Secretary by twenty-five full members.
6. Authority for the receipt and disbursement of funds shall rest in the Executive Committee. The Treasurer is authorized to receive and disburse funds under the direction of the Executive Committee.
7. Vacancies in elective positions may be filled by appointment of the Executive Committee.
8. No person shall concurrently hold more than one office in AFOS. In the case of conflicts, the Executive Committee, voting in the absence of that person, shall decide to which office he or she has been elected. Tied votes shall be resolved by the Executive Committee.
1. Elections and other business of the Association or of the Executive Committee may be conducted by regular mail or by electronic mail, at the discretion of the Executive Committee. Of the candidates for President, the one gaining the most votes shall be elected President, and the runner-up shall be elected Vice-President. The at-large members elected will be those gaining the six highest totals of votes from those nominated. In the event of a tie, both candidates will be deemed to have been elected. The exact method of voting shall be determined by the Executive Committee. Elections shall be held in November and December of an election year.
2. The Executive Committee shall be empowered to call business meetings of itself, or of the Association. These meetings may be held via some electronic medium rather than in person. At the discretion of those members of the Executive Committee who are present, associate and student members may be permitted to participate in business meetings of the Association, but voting is limited to full members.
3. The Executive Committee shall be empowered to call professional meetings of the Association. Full members may have conferences devoted to professional matters endorsed as an official meeting of AFOS by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.
4. A regional office of AFOS may be formed by any group of members who are able to obtain adequate funding for that office. The formation of a regional office must be approved by 75% of the Executive Committee.
1. Amendments to this document may be proposed by the Executive Committee and shall appear on the election ballot with an indication that this is an amendment proposed by the Executive Committee. Amendments may also be proposed by a full member. Any amendment proposed by a full member must be accompanied by the signatures of twenty-five full members and must be filed with the Secretary. Any amendment proposed by a member shall be circulated to the Executive Committee prior to its appearance on the ballot in order to ascertain whether they wish to make a recommendation concerning its adoption to the membership.
2. Proposed Amendments shall be adopted if approved by two- thirds of the full members who vote on them at the election.
1. Upon the dissolution of the Association, the Executive Committee shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all of the liabilities of the Association, dispose of all of the assets of the Association exclusively for the purposes of the Association in such manner or to such organization or organizations organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, religious, or scientific purposes as shall be deemed appropriate by the Executive Committee.