-
7Xiang Chen, Instrumental Traditions and Theories of Light: The Uses of Instruments in the Optical RevolutionAnnals of Science 59 436-439. 2002.
-
2Reductionism and the Relation Between Chemistry and PhysicsIn Ana Simões, Jürgen Renn & Theodore Arabatzis (eds.), Relocating the History of Science: Essays in Honor of Kostas Gavroglu, Springer Verlag. 2015.
-
194Inventing Temperature: Measurement and Scientific ProgressOUP Usa. 2004.This book presents the concept of “complementary science” which contributes to scientific knowledge through historical and philosophical investigations. It emphasizes the fact that many simple items of knowledge that we take for granted were actually spectacular achievements obtained only after a great deal of innovative thinking, painstaking experiments, bold conjectures, and serious controversies. Each chapter in the book consists of two parts: a narrative part that states the philosophical pu…Read more
-
235Contingent transcendental arguments for metaphysical principlesRoyal Institute of Philosophy Supplement 63 113-133. 2008.
-
219What can we conclude from a mere handful of case studies? The field of HPS has witnessed too many hasty philosophical generalizations based on a small number of conveniently chosen case studies. One might even speculate that dissatisfaction with such methodological shoddiness contributed decisively to a widespread disillusionment with the whole HPS enterprise. Without specifying clear mechanisms for history-philosophy interaction, we are condemned to either making unwarranted generalizations fro…Read more
-
93The Chemical Revolution revisitedStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 49 91-98. 2015.
-
124Ontological principles and the intelligibility of epistemic activitiesIn Henk De Regt, Sabina Leonelli & Kai Eigner (eds.), Scientific Understanding: Philosophical Perspectives, University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 64--82. 2009.
-
181Hasok Chang. 2012. Is Water H2O? Evidence, Realism and PluralismTheoria: Revista de Teoría, Historia y Fundamentos de la Ciencia 28 (2): 331-334. 2013.
-
127Can planck's constant be measured with classical mechanics?International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 11 (3). 1997.An interesting case of the complex interaction between theory and experiment can be found in many experiments in quantum physics employing classical reasoning. It is expected that this practice would lead to quantitative inaccuracy, unless the measurements' results were averaged. Whether or not this inaccuracy is significant depends critically on the details of the particular experimental situation. The example of Millikan's photoelectric experiment, in which he obtained a precise value of Planc…Read more
-
206The quantum counter-revolution: Internal conflicts in scientific changeStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 26 (2): 121-136. 1995.Many of the experiments that produced the empirical basis of quantum mechanics relied on classical assumptions that contradicted quantum mechanics. Historically this did not cause practical problems, as classical mechanics was used mostly when it did not happen to diverge too much from quantum mechanics in the quantitative sense. That fortunate circumstances, however, did not alleviate the conceptual problems involved in understanding the classical experimental reasoning in quantum-mechanical te…Read more
-
137A misunderstood rebellionStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 24 (5): 741-790. 1992.
-
302Scientific Progress: Beyond Foundationalism and CoherentismRoyal Institute of Philosophy Supplement 61 1-20. 2007.Scientific progress remains one of the most significant issues in the philosophy of science today. This is not only because of the intrinsic importance of the topic, but also because of its immense difficulty. In what sense exactly does science makes progress, and how is it that scientists are apparently able to achieve it better than people in other realms of human intellectual endeavour? Neither philosophers nor scientists themselves have been able to answer these questions to general satisfac…Read more
-
188Is Water H2O? Evidence, Realism and PluralismBoston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science. 2012.This book exhibits deep philosophical quandaries and intricacies of the historical development of science lying behind a simple and fundamental item of common sense in modern science, namely the composition of water as H2O. Three main phases of development are critically re-examined, covering the historical period from the 1760s to the 1860s: the Chemical Revolution, early electrochemistry, and early atomic chemistry. In each case, the author concludes that the empirical evidence available at th…Read more
-
37Compositionism as a dominant way of knowing in modern chemistryHistory of Science 49 (3): 247-268. 2011.
-
170Historians often feel that standard philosophical doctrines about the nature and development of science are not adequate for representing the real history of science. However, when philosophers of science fail to make sense of certain historical events, it is also possible that there is something wrong with the standard historical descriptions of those events, precluding any sensible explanation. If so, philosophical failure can be useful as a guide for improving historiography, and this constit…Read more
-
68On the applicability of the quantum measurement formalismErkenntnis 46 (2): 143-163. 1997.Customary discussions of quantum measurements are unrealistic, in the sense that they do not reflect what happens in most actual measurements even under ideal circumstances. Even theories of measurement which discard the projection postulate tend to retain two unrealistic assumptions of the von Neumann theory: that a measurement consists of a single physical interaction, and that the topic of every measurement is information wholly contained in the quantum state of the object of measurement. I s…Read more
-
168How to take realism beyond foot-stampingPhilosophy 76 (1): 5-30. 2001.I propose a reformulation of realism, as the pursuit of ontological plausibility in our systems of knowledge. This is dubbed plausibility realism, for convenience of reference. Plausibility realism is non-empiricist, in the sense that it uses ontological plausibility as an independent criterion from empirical adequacy in evaluating systems of knowledge. Ontological plausibility is conceived as a precondition for intelligibility, nor for Truth; therefore, the function of plausibilty realism is to…Read more
-
14
-
37A Misunderstood Rebellion: The twin-paradox controversy and Herbert Dingle's vision of scienceStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 24 (5): 741-790. 1993.
-
13Seeking ultimates: An intuitive guide to physics - Peter T. Landsberg, institute of physics publishing, bristol and philadelphia, 2000, 328 pp., US $34.99 pbk, ISBN 0 7503 0657 (review)Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 33 (2): 368-371. 2002.
-
2Measurement and the Disunity of Quantum PhysicsDissertation, Stanford University. 1993.I present philosophical reflections arising from a study of laboratory measurement methods in quantum physics. More specifically, I investigate three major methods of measuring kinetic energy, from the period during which quantum physics was developed and came to be widely accepted: magnetic deflection, electrostatic retardation, and material retardation. The historical material serves as a provocative focus at which many broader philosophical topics come together: the empirical testing of theor…Read more
-
275Causality and realism in the EPR experimentErkenntnis 38 (2). 1993.We argue against the common view that it is impossible to give a causal account of the distant correlations that are revealed in EPR-type experiments. We take a realistic attitude about quantum mechanics which implies a willingness to modify our familiar concepts according to its teachings. We object to the argument that the violation of factorizability in EPR rules out causal accounts, since such an argument is at best based on the desire to retain a classical description of nature that consist…Read more
-
282The Philosophical Grammar of Scientific PracticeInternational Studies in the Philosophy of Science 25 (3): 205-221. 2011.I seek to provide a systematic and comprehensive framework for the description and analysis of scientific practice—a philosophical grammar of scientific practice, ‘grammar’ as meant by the later Wittgenstein. I begin with the recognition that all scientific work, including pure theorizing, consists of actions, of the physical, mental, and ‘paper-and-pencil’ varieties. When we set out to see what it is that one actually does in scientific work, the following set of questions naturally emerge: who…Read more
-
1111Sensory Measurements: Coordination and StandardizationBiological Theory 10 (3): 200-211. 2015.Do sensory measurements deserve the label of “measurement”? We argue that they do. They fit with an epistemological view of measurement held in current philosophy of science, and they face the same kinds of epistemological challenges as physical measurements do: the problem of coordination and the problem of standardization. These problems are addressed through the process of “epistemic iteration,” for all measurements. We also argue for distinguishing the problem of standardization from the pro…Read more
-
337Preservative realism and its discontents: Revisiting caloricPhilosophy of Science 70 (5): 902-912. 2003.A popular and plausible response against Laudan's “pessimistic induction” has been what I call “preservative realism,” which argues that there have actually been enough elements of scientific knowledge preserved through major theory‐change processes, and that those elements can be accepted realistically. This paper argues against preservative realism, in particular through a critical review of Psillos's argument concerning the case of the caloric theory of heat. Contrary to his argument, the his…Read more
-
109Incommensurability: Revisiting the Chemical RevolutionIn Vasō Kintē & Theodore Arabatzis (eds.), Kuhn's The structure of scientific revolutions revisited, Routledge. pp. 153. 2012.
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Physical Science |
General Philosophy of Science |