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7From Babylon to Bitcoin: some philosophical reflections on the ontology of moneyRivista di Estetica 84 89-102. 2023.This (somewhat polemical) paper focuses on the ontological nature of money and draws comparisons to the ontological status of gauge freedom in physics. The parallels allow us to move beyond the social constructivist theories of Searle et al., and thereby avoid some pitfalls with such views. Since we have a reasonably good grasp of the ontological features in the physics context, we can pull back lessons from there onto the economic domain. In general, we find that this approach offers a nice len…Read more
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27A deeper meaning for quantum theory is presented, integrating recent developments in participatory realist approaches to quantum mechanics with older ideas involving ineffability and nothingness. I argue that Schelling's notion of the Godhead serves as a useful way of interpreting a superposition which then grounds both our freedom and the indeterminacy of quantum phenomena that makes the theory function.
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17Stephen Wolfram has recently outlined an unorthodox, multicomputational approach to fundamental theory, encompassing not only physics but also mathematics in a structure he calls The Ruliad, understood to be the entangled limit of all possible computations. In this framework, physical laws arise from the the sampling of the Ruliad by observers (including us). This naturally leads to several conceptual issues, such as what kind of object is the Ruliad? What is the nature of the observers carrying…Read more
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213How does one formalize the structure of structures necessary for the foundations of physics? This work is an attempt at conceptualizing the metaphysics of pregeometric structures, upon which new and existing notions of quantum geometry may find a foundation. We discuss the philosophy of pregeometric structures due to Wheeler, Leibniz as well as modern manifestations in topos theory. We draw attention to evidence suggesting that the framework of formal language, in particular, homotopy type theor…Read more
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Flow of time (edited book)Published by Wiley Subscription Services, Inc. on behalf of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2014.
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225Gauge Pressure (review)Metascience 18 (1): 5-41. 2009.Symposium review of Richard Healey, Gauging What’s Real: The Conceptual Foundations of Contemporary Gauge Theories. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Pp. 297. $99.00 HB.
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83Introduction: Principles of quantum gravityStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 46 (2): 135-141. 2014.In this introduction, we describe the rationale behind this special issue on Principles of Quantum Gravity. We explain what we mean by ‘principles’ and relate this to the various contributions. Finally, we draw out some general themes that can be found running throughout these contributions
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Quantum mechanics in the making. The concepts of light atoms and light molecules and their final interpretation / Dieter Fick and Horst Kant. Early interactions of quantum statistics and quantum mechanics / Daniela Monaldi. Pourparlers for amalgamation : some early sources of quantum gravity research (review)In Shaul Katzir, Christoph Lehner & Jürgen Renn (eds.), Traditions and transformations in the history of quantum physics: HQ-3, Third International Conference on the History of Quantum Physics, Berlin, June 28-July 2, 2010, Edition Open Access. 2013.
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10A Brief History of String Theory: From Dual Models to M-TheoryImprint: Springer. 2014.During its forty year lifespan, string theory has always had the power to divide, being called both a 'theory of everything' and a 'theory of nothing'. Critics have even questioned whether it qualifies as a scientific theory at all. This book adopts an objective stance, standing back from the question of the truth or falsity of string theory and instead focusing on how it came to be and how it came to occupy its present position in physics. An unexpectedly rich history is revealed, with deep con…Read more
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8The philosophy of physicsPolity. 2016.Interpreting physical theories -- General concepts of physics -- Symmetries in physics -- Getting philosophy from symmetry -- Further adventures in space and time -- Linking micro to macro -- Quantum philosophy -- On the edge : a snapshot of advanced topics.
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Things ain't what they used to be : physics without objectsIn Tomasz Bigaj & Christian Wüthrich (eds.), Metaphysics in Contemporary Physics, Brill | Rodopi. 2015.
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6Information and Interaction: Eddington, Wheeler, and the Limits of Knowledge (edited book)Imprint: Springer. 2017.In this essay collection, leading physicists, philosophers, and historians attempt to fill the empty theoretical ground in the foundations of information and address the related question of the limits to our knowledge of the world. Over recent decades, our practical approach to information and its exploitation has radically outpaced our theoretical understanding - to such a degree that reflection on the foundations may seem futile. But it is exactly fields such as quantum information, which are …Read more
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7What is philosophy of science?[Polity]. 2020.Philosophy, science, and history -- Logic and philosophy of science -- Demarcation and the scientific method -- The nature of scientific theories.
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14Life is Short: An Appropriately Brief Guide to Making It More MeaningfulPrinceton University Press. 2022.Why life’s shortness—more than anything else—is what makes it meaningful Death might seem to render pointless all our attempts to create a meaningful life. Doesn’t meaning require transcending death through an afterlife or in some other way? On the contrary, Dean Rickles argues, life without death would be like playing tennis without a net. Only constraints—and death is the ultimate constraint—make our actions meaningful. In Life Is Short, Rickles explains why the finiteness and shortness of lif…Read more
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35Dual-Aspect Monism and the Deep Structure of MeaningRoutledge. 2022.This book investigates the metaphysical position of dual-aspect monism, with particular emphasis on the concept of meaning as a fundamental feature of the fabric of reality.
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29Lowe vs Lewis vs Lowe on Temporary IntrinsicsActa Analytica 37 (2): 173-177. 2022.We find that E. J. Lowe’s resolution to David Lewis’s problem of temporary intrinsics is wrong, but not quite for the reasons adduced by Lewis himself. Our discussion hinges on a connection between state-independent properties and intrinsic properties.
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9Of Lego and LayersIn Anthony Aguirre, Brendan Foster & Zeeya Merali (eds.), What is Fundamental?, Springer Verlag. pp. 37-47. 2019.‘Fundamental’ is a prime example of what philosopher John Post called an “accordion word”: highly flexible and capable of expanding or contracting depending on context. Physicists and many cosmologists will view their domain as fundamental, and one will often see the expression ‘fundamental physics’ to describe an actual subject area—the idea being that such practitioners are dealing in ‘compositional ultimates’.
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7Interdisciplinary perspectives on the flow of timeAnnals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1326 (1): 1-8. 2014.Where does the study of the flow of time belong: physics, the cognitive sciences, philosophy, or somewhere else? Physicists and philosophers have set themselves up into two camps: those who believe there is genuine flow or becoming in the world and those who believe there is just a block of events. What had not been considered is whether the subjective feeling of flow of time is the same the world over, whether it could be tampered with by brain injury, or whether it is present at all developmen…Read more
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5Christophe Bouton and Philippe Huneman: Time of Nature and the Nature of Time: Philosophical Perspectives of Time in Natural Sciences: Springer, Dordrecht, 2017, 403 pp, €123,00, ISBN: 978-3-319-53725-2 (review)Journal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 50 (1): 187-189. 2019.
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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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24Christophe Bouton and Philippe Huneman: Time of Nature and the Nature of Time: Philosophical Perspectives of Time in Natural Sciences (review)Journal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 50 (1): 187-189. 2019.
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121The 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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191A new spin on the hole argumentStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 36 (3): 415-434. 2004.This brief paper shows how an exact analogue of Einstein's original hole argument can be constructed in the loop representation of quantum gravity. The new argument is based on the embedding of spin-networks in a manifold and the action of the diffeomorphism constraint on them. The implications of this result are then discussed. I argue that the conclusions of many physicists working on loop quantum gravity---Rovelli and Smolin in particular---that the loop representation uniquely supports relat…Read more
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120Time and Structure in Canonical GravityIn Dean Rickles, Steven French & Juha T. Saatsi (eds.), The Structural Foundations of Quantum Gravity, Clarendon Press. 2004.In this paper I wish to make some headway on understanding what \emph{kind} of problem the ``problem of time'' is, and offer a possible resolution---or, rather, a new way of understanding an old resolution. The response I give is a variation on a theme of Rovelli's \emph{evolving constants of motion} strategy. I argue that by giving correlation strategies a \emph{structuralist} basis, a number of objections to the standard account can be blunted. Moreover, I show that the account I offer provide…Read more
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17Huw Price and Richard Corry, eds. Causation, Physics, and the Constitution of Reality: Russell's Republic Revisited Reviewed by (review)Philosophy in Review 30 (2): 127-131. 2010.
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2Book Review (review)Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 41 (2): 160-162. 2010.
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93In this paper I examine the connection between symmetry and modality from the perspective of `reduction' methods in geometric mechanics. I begin by setting the problem up as a choice between two opposing views: reduction and non-reduction. I then discern four views on the matter in the literature; they are distinguished by their advocation of distinct geometric spaces as representing `reality'. I come down in favour of non-reductive methods.
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia