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The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science | Vol 75, No 2British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 71 (4): 1157-1186. 2018.
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64Between a Stone and a Hausdorff SpaceBritish Journal for the Philosophy of Science. forthcoming.
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19The Local Validity of Special Relativity, Part 1: GeometryPhilosophy of Physics 1 (1). 2023.In this two-part essay, we distinguish several senses in which general relativity has been regarded as “locally special relativistic.” Here, in Part 1, we focus on senses in which a relativistic spacetime has been said to be “locally (approximately) Minkowskian.” After critiquing several proposals in the literature, we present a result capturing a substantive sense in which every relativistic spacetime is locally approximately Minkowskian. We then show that Minkowski spacetime is not distinguish…Read more
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13The Local Validity of Special Relativity, Part 2: Matter DynamicsPhilosophy of Physics 1 (1). 2023.In this two-part essay, we distinguish several senses in which general relativity has been regarded as “locally special relativistic.” In Part 1, we focused on senses in which a relativistic spacetime may be said to be “locally (approximately) Minkowskian.” Here, in Part 2, we consider what it might mean to say that a matter theory is “locally special relativistic.” We isolate and evaluate three criteria in the literature and show that they are incompatible: matter theories satisfying one will g…Read more
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46The Next Generation Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration: History, Philosophy, and CultureGalaxies 11 (1): 32. 2023.This white paper outlines the plans of the History Philosophy Culture Working Group of the Next Generation Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration.
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86We review several topics of philosophical interest connected to misleading online content. First we consider proposed definitions of different types of misleading content. Then we consider the epistemology of misinformation, focusing on approaches from virtue epistemology and social epistemology. Finally we discuss how misinformation is related to belief polarization, and argue that models of rational polarization present special challenges for conceptualizing fake news and misinformation.
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90On Representational Redundancy, Surplus Structure, and the Hole ArgumentFoundations of Physics 50 (4): 270-293. 2020.We address a recent proposal concerning ‘surplus structure’ due to Nguyen et al.. We argue that the sense of ‘surplus structure’ captured by their formal criterion is importantly different from—and in a sense, opposite to—another sense of ‘surplus structure’ used by philosophers. We argue that minimizing structure in one sense is generally incompatible with minimizing structure in the other sense. We then show how these distinctions bear on Nguyen et al.’s arguments about Yang-Mills theory and o…Read more
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69Mathematical Responses to the Hole Argument: Then and NowPhilosophy of Science 89 (5): 1223-1232. 2022.We argue that several apparently distinct responses to the hole argument, all invoking formal or mathematical considerations, should be viewed as a unified “mathematical response.” We then consider and rebut two prominent critiques of the mathematical response before reflecting on what is ultimately at issue in this literature.
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92On Gravitational Energy in Newtonian TheoriesFoundations of Physics 48 (5): 558-578. 2018.There are well-known problems associated with the idea of gravitational energy in general relativity. We offer a new perspective on those problems by comparison with Newtonian gravitation, and particularly geometrized Newtonian gravitation. We show that there is a natural candidate for the energy density of a Newtonian gravitational field. But we observe that this quantity is gauge dependent, and that it cannot be defined in the geometrized theory without introducing further structure. We then a…Read more
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58On automorphism criteria for comparing amounts of mathematical structureSynthese 201 (6): 1-14. 2023.Wilhelm (Forthcom Synth 199:6357–6369, 2021) has recently defended a criterion for comparing structure of mathematical objects, which he calls Subgroup. He argues that Subgroup is better than SYM \(^*\), another widely adopted criterion. We argue that this is mistaken; Subgroup is strictly worse than SYM \(^*\). We then formulate a new criterion that improves on both SYM \(^*\) and Subgroup, answering Wilhelm’s criticisms of SYM \(^*\) along the way. We conclude by arguing that no criterion that…Read more
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95On Einstein Algebras and Relativistic SpacetimesStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 52 (Part B): 309-316. 2015.In this paper, we examine the relationship between general relativity and the theory of Einstein algebras. We show that according to a formal criterion for theoretical equivalence recently proposed by Halvorson and Weatherall, the two are equivalent theories.
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57New Perspectives on the Hole ArgumentFoundations of Physics 50 (4): 217-227. 2020.This special issue of Foundations of Physics collects together articles representing some recent new perspectives on the hole argument in the history and philosophy of physics. Our task here is to introduce those new perspectives.
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17Where Does General Relativity Break Down?Philosophy of Science 1-10. forthcoming.It is widely accepted by physicists and philosophers of physics alike that there are certain contexts in which general relativity will “break down”. In such cases, one expects to need some as-yet undiscovered successor theory. This paper will discuss certain pathologies of general relativity that might be taken to signal that the theory is breaking down, and consider how one might expect a successor theory to do better. The upshot will be an unconventional interpretation of the “Strong Cosmic Ce…Read more
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35Part 1: Theoretical equivalence in physicsPhilosophy Compass 14 (5). 2019.I review the philosophical literature on the question of when two physical theories are equivalent. This includes a discussion of empirical equivalence, which is often taken to be necessary, and sometimes taken to be sufficient, for theoretical equivalence; and “interpretational” equivalence, which is the idea that two theories are equivalent just in case they have the same interpretation. It also includes a discussion of several formal notions of equivalence that have been considered in the rec…Read more
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36The Best Paper You’ll Read TodayPhilosophical Topics 50 (2): 127-153. 2022.Scientific curation, where scientific evidence is selected and shared, is essential to public belief formation about science. Yet common curation practices can distort the body of evidence the public sees. Focusing on science journalism, we employ computational models to investigate how such distortions influence public belief. We consider these effects for agents with and without confirmation bias. We find that standard journalistic practices can lead to significant distortions in public belief…Read more
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Collective belief, Kuhn, and the string theory communityIn Michael Brady & Miranda Fricker (eds.), The Epistemic Life of Groups: Essays in the Epistemology of Collectives, Oxford University Press Uk. 2016.
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217How to Beat Science and Influence People: Policymakers and Propaganda in Epistemic NetworksBritish Journal for the Philosophy of Science 71 (4): 1157-1186. 2018.In their recent book, Oreskes and Conway describe the ‘tobacco strategy’, which was used by the tobacco industry to influence policymakers regarding the health risks of tobacco products. The strategy involved two parts, consisting of promoting and sharing independent research supporting the industry’s preferred position and funding additional research, but selectively publishing the results. We introduce a model of the tobacco strategy, and use it to argue that both prongs of the strategy can be…Read more
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39Black Holes, Black Scholes, and Prairie Voles: an Essay Review of Simulation and Similarity by Michael Weisberg (review)Philosophy of Science 83 (4): 613-626. 2016.An essay review of Michael Weisberg's Simulation and Similarity.
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32Conformity in scientific networksSynthese 198 (8): 7257-7278. 2020.Scientists are generally subject to social pressures, including pressures to conform with others in their communities, that affect achievement of their epistemic goals. Here we analyze a network epistemology model in which agents, all else being equal, prefer to take actions that conform with those of their neighbors. This preference for conformity interacts with the agents’ beliefs about which of two (or more) possible actions yields the better result. We find a range of possible outcomes, incl…Read more
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27Equivalence and Duality in ElectromagnetismPhilosophy of Science 87 (5): 1172-1183. 2020.In this article I bring the recent philosophical literature on theoretical equivalence to bear on dualities in physics. Focusing on electromagnetic duality, which is a simple example of S-duality i...
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29Two dogmas of dynamicismSynthese 199 (S2): 253-275. 2020.I critically discuss two dogmas of the “dynamical approach” to spacetime in general relativity, as advanced by Harvey Brown [Physical Relativity Oxford:Oxford University Press] and collaborators. The first dogma is that positing a “spacetime geometry” has no implications for the behavior of matter. The second dogma is that postulating the “Strong Equivalence Principle” suffices to ensure that matter is “adapted” to spacetime geometry. I conclude by discussing “spacetime functionalism”. The discu…Read more
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19PrefaceStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 72 150-151. 2020.
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23Review of Craig Callender’s What Makes Time Special? - Craig Callender, What Makes Time Special? Oxford: Oxford University Press (2017), xx+343 pp., $44.95 (cloth) (review)Philosophy of Science 87 (3): 536-544. 2020.
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54The Logic in Philosophy of Science, by Hans HalvorsonMind 130 (519): 1032-1039. 2021.The Logic in Philosophy of Science, by HalvorsonHans. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019. Pp. viii + 296.
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45Conformity in scientific networksSynthese 1-22. 2018.Scientists are generally subject to social pressures, including pressures to conform with others in their communities, that affect achievement of their epistemic goals. Here we analyze a network epistemology model in which agents, all else being equal, prefer to take actions that conform with those of their neighbors. This preference for conformity interacts with the agents’ beliefs about which of two possible actions yields the better result. We find a range of possible outcomes, including stab…Read more
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21John L. Bell.*Oppositions and Paradoxes: Philosophical Perplexities in Science and MathematicsPhilosophia Mathematica 27 (3): 443-445. 2019.BellJohn L.* * _ Oppositions and Paradoxes: Philosophical Perplexities in Science and Mathematics _. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-55481302-5 ; 978-1-77048603-4. Pp. xiv + 202.
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64Part 2: Theoretical equivalence in physicsPhilosophy Compass 14 (5). 2019.I review the philosophical literature on the question of when two physical theories are equivalent. This includes a discussion of empirical equivalence, which is often taken to be necessary, and sometimes taken to be sufficient, for theoretical equivalence; and “interpretational” equivalence, which is the idea that two theories are equivalent just in case they have the same interpretation. It also includes a discussion of several formal notions of equivalence that have been considered in the rec…Read more
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119The Misinformation Age: How False Beliefs SpreadYale University Press. 2019."Why should we care about having true beliefs? And why do demonstrably false beliefs persist and spread despite consequences for the people who hold them? Philosophers of science Cailin O’Connor and James Weatherall argue that social factors, rather than individual psychology, are what’s essential to understanding the spread and persistence of false belief. It might seem that there’s an obvious reason that true beliefs matter: false beliefs will hurt you. But if that’s right, then why is it irre…Read more
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University of California, IrvineThe Department of Logic and Philosophy of ScienceAssistant Professor
Irvine, California, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Philosophy of Physical Science |
General Philosophy of Science |