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61A Brief Remark on Energy Conditions and the Geroch-Jang TheoremFoundations of Physics 42 (2): 209-214. 2012.The status of the geodesic principle in General Relativity has been a topic of some interest in the recent literature on the foundations of spacetime theories. Part of this discussion has focused on the role that a certain energy condition plays in the proof of a theorem due to Bob Geroch and Pong-Soo Jang [“Motion of a Body in General Relativity.” Journal of Mathematical Physics16(1) (1975)] that can be taken to make precise the claim that the geodesic principle is a theorem, rather than a post…Read more
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28On the status of the geodesic principle in Newtonian and relativistic physicsStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 42 (4): 276-281. 2011.A theorem due to Bob Geroch and Pong Soo Jang ["Motion of a Body in General Relativity." Journal of Mathematical Physics 16, ] provides a sense in which the geodesic principle has the status of a theorem in General Relativity. I have recently shown that a similar theorem holds in the context of geometrized Newtonian gravitation [Weatherall, J. O. "The Motion of a Body in Newtonian Theories." Journal of Mathematical Physics 52, ]. Here I compare the interpretations of these two theorems. I argue …Read more
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97Collective Belief, Kuhn, and the String Theory CommunityIn Michael Brady & Miranda Fricker (eds.), The Epistemic Life of Groups: Essays in the Epistemology of Collectives, Oxford University Press Uk. pp. 191-217. 2016.One of us [Gilbert, M.. “Collective Belief and Scientific Change.” Sociality and Responsibility. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. 37-49.] has proposed that ascriptions of beliefs to scientific communities generally involve a common notion of collective belief described by her in numerous places. A given collective belief involves a joint commitment of the parties, who thereby constitute what Gilbert refers to as a plural subject. Assuming that this interpretive hypothesis is correct, and that s…Read more
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128The Scope and Generality of Bell’s TheoremFoundations of Physics 43 (9): 1153-1169. 2013.I present a local, deterministic model of the EPR-Bohm experiment, inspired by recent work by Joy Christian, that appears at first blush to be in tension with Bell-type theorems. I argue that the model ultimately fails to do what a hidden variable theory needs to do, but that it is interesting nonetheless because the way it fails helps clarify the scope and generality of Bell-type theorems. I formulate and prove a minor proposition that makes explicit how Bell-type theorems rule out models of th…Read more
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59Maxwell-Huygens, Newton-Cartan, and Saunders-Knox Space-TimesPhilosophy of Science 83 (1): 82-92. 2016.I address a question recently raised by Simon Saunders concerning the relationship between the space-time structure of Newton-Cartan theory and that of what I will call “Maxwell-Huygens space-time.” This discussion will also clarify a connection between Saunders’s work and a recent paper by Eleanor Knox.
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40Against dogma: On superluminal propagation in classical electromagnetismStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 48 (2): 109-123. 2014.It is deeply entrenched dogma that relativity theory prohibits superluminal propagation. It is also experimentally well-established that under some circumstances, classical electromagnetic fields propagate through a dielectric medium with superluminal group velocities and superluminal phase velocities. But it is usually claimed that these superluminal velocities do not violate the relativistic prohibition. Here I analyze electromagnetic fields in a dielectric medium within a framework for unders…Read more
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106Regarding the ‘Hole Argument’British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 2016.I argue that the Hole Argument is based on a misleading use of the mathematical formalism of general relativity. If one is attentive to mathematical practice, I will argue, the Hole Argument is blocked.
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University of California, IrvineThe Department of Logic and Philosophy of ScienceAssistant Professor
Irvine, California, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Philosophy of Physical Science |
General Philosophy of Science |