-
37Later Wittgenstein On Essentialism, Family Resemblance And Philosophical MethodMetaphysica 6 (2): 53-73. 2005.In this paper I have two objectives. First, I attempt to call attention to the incoherence of the widely accepted anti-essentialist interpretation of Wittgenstein’s family resemblance point. Second, I claim that the family resemblance idea is not meant to reject essentialism, but to render this doctrine irrelevant, by dissipating its philosophical force. I argue that the role of the family resemblance point in later Wittgenstein’s views can be better understood in light of the provocative aim o…Read more
-
19Neither Weak, Nor Strong? Emergence and Functional ReductionIn Brigitte Falkenburg & Margaret Morrison (eds.), Why More is Different: Philosophical Issues in Condensed Matter Physics and Complex Systems, Springer. pp. 253-266. 2015.The paper argues that the phenomenon of first-order phase transitions (e.g., freezing) has features that make it a candidate to be classified as 'emergent'. However, it cannot be described either as 'weakly emergent' or 'strongly emergent'; hence it escapes categorization in terms employed in the current literature on the metaphysics of science.
-
41The applicability of mathematics in science: indispensability and ontologyPalgrave-Macmillan. 2012.Suppose we are asked to draw up a list of things we take to exist. Certain items seem unproblematic choices, while others (such as God) are likely to spark controversy. The book sets the grand theological theme aside and asks a less dramatic question: should mathematical objects (numbers, sets, functions, etc.) be on this list? In philosophical jargon this is the ‘ontological’ question for mathematics; it asks whether we ought to include mathematicalia in our ontology. The goal of this work is t…Read more
-
89On the Role of Bridge Laws in Intertheoretic RelationsPhilosophy of Science 78 (5): 1108-1119. 2011.What is the role of bridge laws in inter-theoretic relations? An assumption shared by many views about these relations is that bridge laws enable reductions. In this article, I acknowledge the naturalness of this assumption, but I question it by presenting a context within thermal physics (involving phase transitions) in which the bridge laws, puzzlingly, seem to contribute to blocking the reduction.
-
116Critical notice of C. Pincock's Mathematics and Scientific Representation (2012).
-
14Wynn’s Experiments and the Later Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of MathematicsIyyun 61 219-240. 2012.This paper explores the connections between K. Wynn's well-known experiments in cognitive psychology and later Wittgenstein's views on the philosophy of mathematics.
-
135Scientific explanation and understanding: unificationism reconsideredEuropean Journal for Philosophy of Science 7 (1): 103-126. 2017.The articulation of an overarching account of scientific explanation has long been a central preoccupation for the philosophers of science. Although a while ago the literature was dominated by two approaches—a causal account and a unificationist account—today the consensus seems to be that the causal account has won. In this paper, I challenge this consensus and attempt to revive unificationism. More specifically, I aim to accomplish three goals. First, I add new criticisms to the standard anti-…Read more
-
34Later Wittgenstein's Philosophy of MathematicsIn James Fieser & Bradley Dowden (eds.), Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Routledge. 2011.An opinionated survey of the main topics in later Wittgenstein's philosophy of mathematics.
-
29On The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural SciencesIn Emiliano Ippoliti, Fabio Sterpetti & Thomas Nickles (eds.), Models and Inferences in Science, Springer. pp. 11-29. 2016.I present a reconstruction of Eugene Wigner’s argument for the claim that mathematics is ‘unreasonable effective’, together with six objections to its soundness. I show that these objections are weaker than usually thought, and I sketch a new objection.
-
104Pythagorean heuristic in physicsPerspectives on Science 14 (4): 387-416. 2006.: Some of the great physicists' belief in the existence of a connection between the aesthetical features of a theory (such as beauty and simplicity) and its truth is still one of the most intriguing issues in the aesthetics of science. In this paper I explore the philosophical credibility of a version of this thesis, focusing on the connection between the mathematical beauty and simplicity of a theory and its truth. I discuss a heuristic interpretation of this thesis, attempting to clarify where…Read more
Bergen, Hordaland, Norway