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27Structural Realism: Structure, Object, and Causality (edited book)Springer. 2012.Structural realism has rapidly gained in popularity in recent years, but it has splintered into many distinct denominations, often underpinned by diverse motivations. There is, no monolithic position known as ‘structural realism,’ but there is a general convergence on the idea that a central role is to be played by relational aspects over object-based aspects of ontology. What becomes of causality in a world without fundamental objects? In this book, the foremost authorities on structural realis…Read more
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26I examine the early history of quantum gravity and comment on its suitability as an episode that demands an integrated approach to history and philosophy of science.
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46Melville Y. Stewart, ed. , Science and Religion in Dialogue (2 vols.) . Reviewed by (review)Philosophy in Review 32 (1): 62-68. 2012.
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4Kit Fine, Modality and Tense: Philosophical Papers Reviewed by (review)Philosophy in Review 26 (4): 250-252. 2006.
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113In this chapter we consider economic systems, and in particular financial systems, from the perspective of the physics of complex systems (i.e. statistical physics, the theory of critical phenomena, and their cognates). This field of research is known as econophysics—alternative names are ‘financial physics’ and ‘statistical phynance.’ This title was coined in 1995 by Eugene Stanley, and since then its researchers have attempted to forge it as an independent and important field, one that stands …Read more
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90Who's afraid of background independence?In Dennis Geert Bernardus Johan Dieks (ed.), The Ontology of Spacetime II, Elsevier. pp. 133--52. 2008.Background independence is generally considered to be ‘the mark of distinction’ of general relativity. However, there is still confusion over exactly what background independence is and how, if at all, it serves to distinguish general relativity from other theories. There is also some confusion over the philosophical implications of background independence, stemming in part from the definitional problems. In this paper I attempt to make some headway on both issues. In each case I argue that a pro…Read more
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1Understanding permutation symmetryIn Katherine Brading & Elena Castellani (eds.), Symmetries in Physics: Philosophical Reflections, Cambridge University Press. pp. 212--38. 2003.
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46Patrick Rebuschat, Martin Rohrmeier, John Hawkins, and Ian Cross, eds. , Language and Music as Cognitive Systems . Reviewed by (review)Philosophy in Review 32 (4): 253-258. 2012.
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2Jon Elster, Explaining Social Behaviour: More Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences Reviewed by (review)Philosophy in Review 28 (3): 169-172. 2008.
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24Causality in complex interventionsMedicine, Health Care and Philosophy 12 (1): 77-90. 2009.In this paper I look at causality in the context of intervention research, and discuss some problems faced in the evaluation of causal hypotheses via interventions. I draw attention to a simple problem for evaluations that employ randomized controlled trials. The common alternative to randomized trials, the observational study, is shown to face problems of a similar nature. I then argue that these problems become especially acute in cases where the intervention is complex (i.e. that involves int…Read more
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15The Birth of String Theory (review)Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 44 (4): 524-526. 2013.
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134AdS/CFT duality and the emergence of spacetimeStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 44 (3): 312-320. 2013.The AdS/CFT duality has been a source of several strong conceptual claims in the physics literature that have yet to be explored by philosophers. In this paper I focus on one of these: the extent to which spacetime geometry and locality can be said to emerge from this duality, so that neither is fundamental. I argue: that the kind of emergence in question is relatively weak, involving one kind of spacetime emerging from another kind of spacetime; inasmuch as there is something conceptually inter…Read more
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4Robert C. Bishop, The Philosophy of the Social Sciences: An Introduction Reviewed by (review)Philosophy in Review 28 (3): 169-172. 2008.
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