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10Scientific Realism and the Quantum (edited book)Oxford University Press. 2020.Quantum theory explains a hugely diverse array of phenomena in the history of science. But how can the world be the way quantum theory says it is? Fifteen expert scholars consider what the world is like according to quantum physics in this volume and offer illuminating new perspectives on fundamental debates that span physics and philosophy.
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106The Reasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics: Partial Structures and the Application of Group Theory to PhysicsSynthese 125 (1-2): 103-120. 2000.Wigner famously referred to the `unreasonable effectiveness' of mathematics in its application to science. Using Wigner's own application of group theory to nuclear physics, I hope to indicate that this effectiveness can be seen to be not so unreasonable if attention is paid to the various idealising moves undertaken. The overall framework for analysing this relationship between mathematics and physics is that of da Costa's partial structures programme.
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344Thinking Outside the Toolbox: Towards a More Productive Engagement Between Metaphysics and Philosophy of PhysicsEuropean Journal of Analytic Philosophy 8 (1): 42-59. 2012.he relationship between metaphysics and science has recently become the focus of increased attention. Ladyman and Ross, in particular, have accused even naturalistically inclined metaphysicians of pursuing little more than the philosophy of A-level chemistry and have suggested that analytic metaphysics should simply be discontinued. In contrast, we shall argue, first of all, that even metaphysics that is disengaged from modern science may offer a set of resources that can be appropriated by phil…Read more
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83Defending eliminative structuralism and a whole lot moreStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 74 22-29. 2019.Ontic structural realism argues that structure is all there is. In (French, 2014) I argued for an ‘eliminativist’ version of this view, according to which the world should be conceived, metaphysically, as structure, and objects, at both the fundamental and ‘everyday’ levels, should be eliminated. This paper is a response to a number of profound concerns that have been raised, such as how we might distinguish between the kind of structure invoked by this view and mathematical structure in general…Read more
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70Between Factualism and Substantialism: Structuralism as a Third WayInternational Journal of Philosophical Studies 26 (5): 701-721. 2018.According to the substantialist, substances should be regarded as the fundamental ontological category. It is substances that are the bearer of properties, that are causally efficacious and that compose the things we see and touch around us. Cumpa has argued that this metaphysics fits poorly with classical physics and Buonomo has extended this argument into the quantum realm. After reviewing their claims, I shall argue that simple reflection on the form of the Standard Model also undermines subs…Read more
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1Thinking About Science, Reflecting on Art: Bringing Aesthetics and Philosophy of Science Together (edited book)Routledge. 2017._Thinking about Science, Reflecting on Art: Bringing Aesthetics and Philosophy of Science togethe_r is the first book to systematically examine the relationship between the philosophy of science and aesthetics. With contributions from leading figures from both fields this edited collection engages with such questions as: Does representation function in the same way in science and in art? What important characteristic do scientific models share with literary fictions? What is the difference betwe…Read more
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16Mary Hesse was one of the most significant figures in 20th Century history and philosophy of science, not only because of her academic research, but also for the role she played in further developing and enhancing the field at the institutional level. She was instrumental in the formation of the Division of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Leeds, where she was a lecturer in mathematics, before she moved to University College, London and from there to the Dept. of History an…Read more
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95Toying with the Toolbox: How Metaphysics Can Still Make a ContributionJournal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 49 (2): 211-230. 2018.Current analytic metaphysics has been claimed to be, at best, out of touch with modern physics, at worst, actually in conflict with the latter The continuum companion to the philosophy of science, Continuum, London, 2011; Ladyman and Ross Every thing must go: metaphysics naturalized, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007). While agreeing with some of these claims, it has been suggested that metaphysics may still be of service by providing a kind of ‘toolbox’ of devices that philosophers of scien…Read more
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69In this paper I begin with a recent challenge to the Semantic Approach and identify an underlying assumption, namely that identity conditions for theories should be provided. Drawing on previous work, I suggest that this demand should be resisted and that the Semantic Approach should be seen as a philosophical device that we may use to represent certain features of scientific practice. Focussing on the partial structures variant of that approach, I then consider a further challenge that arises f…Read more
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42The Structural Foundations of Quantum Gravity (edited book)Oxford University Press. 2006.What is spacetime? General relativity and quantum field theory answer this question in very different ways. This collection of essays by physicists and philosophers looks at the problem of uniting these two most fundamental theories of our world, focusing on the nature of space and time within this new quantum framework, and the kind of metaphysical picture suggested by recent developments in physics and mathematics. This is a book that will inspire further philosophical reflection on recent adv…Read more
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44Da Costa and French explore the consequences of adopting a 'pragmatic' notion of truth in the philosophy of science. Their framework sheds new light on issues to do with belief, theory acceptance, and the realism-antirealism debate, as well as the nature of scientific models and their heuristic development.
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67Pragmatic Truth and the Logic of InductionBritish Journal for the Philosophy of Science 40 (3): 333-356. 1989.We apply the recently elaborated notions of 'pragmatic truth' and 'pragmatic probability' to the problem of the construction of a logic of inductive inference. It is argued that the system outlined here is able to overcome many of the objections usually levelled against such attempts. We claim, furthermore, that our view captures the essentially cumulative nature of science and allows us to explain why it is indeed reasonable to accept and believe in the conclusions reached by inductive inferenc…Read more
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25Steven Weinberg, facing up: Science and its cultural adversaries. Cambridge, ma and London: Harvard university press, 2001. Pp. XI+283. Isbn 0-674-00647-X. £17.95, $26.00 (review)British Journal for the History of Science 37 (4): 491-492. 2004.
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12Partial Structures and the Logic of Azande DOI: 10.5007/1808-1711.2011v15n1p77Principia: An International Journal of Epistemology 15 (1): 77-105. 2011.In Science and Partial Truth it was argued that inconsistencies in scientific reasoning may be accommodated by the combination of partial structures and quasi-truth, together with a notion of ‘representational belief’. In this paper I shall examine whether this framework can be extended to the reasonings and beliefs of other cultures, focusing in particular on the witchcraft beliefs of Azande. I shall argue that these beliefs are akin to the theoretical beliefs of Western science but that the mo…Read more
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34Gerhard Schurz: Philosophy of Science—A Unified ApproachJournal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 46 (1): 241-243. 2015.Professor Schurz has written a book that is ambitious in both scope and aims. It begins with an introductory chapter on the historical development and general aims of the philosophy of science itself, moves on to issues associated with establishing a basis for a unified approach to science, with extensive consideration of the conceptual toolkit required, then takes us through chapters on laws and empirical testing, the empirical evaluation of theories more generally, including issues of realism …Read more
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6Facing Up: Science and Its Cultural Adversaries (review)British Journal for the History of Science 37 (4): 491-492. 2004.
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Infestation or pest control: the introduction of group theory into quantum mechanicsManuscrito 22 (2): 37-68. 1999.
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99Models and mathematics in physics: The role of group theoryIn Jeremy Butterfield & Constantine Pagonis (eds.), From Physics to Philosophy, Cambridge University Press. pp. 187--207. 1999.
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17Belief, contradiction and the logic of self-deceptionAmerican Philosophical Quarterly 27 (3): 179-197. 1990.
Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Areas of Specialization
Metaphysics and Epistemology |
Science, Logic, and Mathematics |