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1Eliminating Objects Across the SciencesIn Thomas Pradeu & Alexandre Guay (eds.), Individuals Across The Sciences, Oxford University Press. 2016.An eliminativist view of objects in physics has recently been defended in the context of “ ‘ontic structural realism.” This chapter explores the extent to which a similar eliminativism can be articulated and defended in the philosophy of biology. Obviously the motivations are very different, but a range of issues can be identified that pull us away from an object-oriented stance. Various metaphysical resources can then be deployed to help assuage concerns regarding such a move, and the chapter c…Read more
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1Structural Realism and the Standard ModelIn Alberto Cordero (ed.), Philosophers Look at Quantum Mechanics, Springer Verlag. 2019.
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98In a recent work, ‘Thinking Outside the Toolbox’, we mounted a qualified defence of analytic metaphysics in the face of ardent criticism. While sympathizing with other philosophers of science in decrying the lack of engagement of metaphysicians with real science when addressing central metaphysical problems, we also wanted to acknowledge the role that analytic metaphysics has played in providing useful tools for naturalistic metaphysicians. This double-edged stance compels us to identify what fe…Read more
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88A coherence theory of truthManuscrito 28 (2): 263-290. 2005.In this paper, we provide a new formulation of a coherence theory of truth using the resources of the partial structures approach − in particular the notions of partial structure and quasi-truth. After developing this new formulation, we apply the resulting theory to the philosophy of mathematics, and argue that it can be used to develop a new account of nominalism in mathematics. This application illustrates the strength and usefulness of the proposed formulation of a coherence theory of truth
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56A coherence theory of truth/Uma teoria coerentista da verdadeManuscrito 30 (2): 539-568. 2007.In this paper, we provide a new formulation of a coherence theory of truth using the resources of the partial structures approach − in particular the notions of partial structure and quasi-truth. After developing this new formulation, we apply the resulting theory to the philosophy of mathematics, and argue that it can be used to develop a new account of nominalism in mathematics. This application illustrates the strength and usefulness of the proposed formulation of a coherence theory of truth.…Read more
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19Phenomenology, Perspectivalism and (Quantum) PhysicsFoundations of Physics 54 (3): 1-18. 2024.It has been claimed that Massimi’s recent perspectival approach to science sits in tension with a realist stance. I shall argue that this tension can be defused in the quantum context by recasting Massimi’s perspectivalism within a phenomenological framework. I shall begin by indicating how the different but complementary forms of the former are manifested in the distinction between certain so-called ‘-epistemic’ and ‘-ontic’ understandings of quantum mechanics, namely QBism and Relational Quant…Read more
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9Representation and Realism: On Being a Structuralist All the Way (Up and) DownIn Claus Beisbart & Michael Frauchiger (eds.), Scientific Theories and Philosophical Stances: Themes from van Fraassen, De Gruyter. pp. 87-108. 2024.
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6Laudatio: Professor Bas van FraassenIn Claus Beisbart & Michael Frauchiger (eds.), Scientific Theories and Philosophical Stances: Themes from van Fraassen, De Gruyter. pp. 13-20. 2024.
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Putting some flesh on the participant in participatory realismIn Philipp Berghofer & Harald A. Wiltsche (eds.), Phenomenology and Qbism: New Approaches to Quantum Mechanics, Routledge. 2023.
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16Does the Claim that there are no Theories Imply that there is no History of Theories to be Written?(!)Journal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 1-20. forthcoming.InThere Are No Such Things As Theories(French 2020), the reification of theories is critically analysed and rejected. My aim here is to tease out some of the implications of this approach first of all, for how we, philosophers of science, should view the history of science; secondly, for how we should understand the devices that we use in our own philosophical practices; and thirdly, for how we might think about the relationship between the history of science and the philosophy of science.
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42The Aesthetics of Science: Beauty, Imagination and Understanding (edited book)Routledge. 2020.This volume builds on two recent developments in philosophy on the relationship between art and science: the notion of representation and the role of values in theory choice and the development of scientific theories. Its aim is to address questions regarding scientific creativity and imagination, the status of scientific performances--such as thought experiments and visual aids--and the role of aesthetic considerations in the context of discovery and justification of scientific theories. Severa…Read more
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22There Are No Such Things as TheoriesOxford University Press. 2020.What is a scientific theory? This book considers this fundamental question by presenting a range of options and the issues they raise. It draws comparisons between theories and artworks and proposes that we should stop thinking of theories as things altogether.
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1307Scientific 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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41FundamentalityIn Eleanor Knox & Alastair Wilson (eds.), The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Physics, Routledge. pp. 679-688. 2022.The idea that there is some fundamental “level” or “ground” where our description of the world bottoms out has acquired the status of ‘the received view’ in metaphysics ; for a more recent critical defense, see Cameron, 2008). Typically this view is cashed out in terms of some set of ‘basic building blocks’ populating this level, which sits at the bottom of a hierarchy ordered according to some set of compositional principles. These fundamental building blocks are thus taken to have some form of…Read more
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29Quasi-structural RealismIn Jonas R. B. Arenhart & Raoni W. Arroyo (eds.), Non-Reflexive Logics, Non-Individuals, and the Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics: Essays in Honour of the Philosophy of Décio Krause, Springer Verlag. pp. 29-43. 2023.Devising an appropriate formal framework for structural realism has long been an issue in the development of this position. Décio Krause has suggested that quasi-set theory might offer such a framework and here I explore that possibility in the context of so-called ‘moderate’ and ‘radical’ forms of Ontic Structural Realism (OSR). However, although the central claims of the former can indeed be captured by quasi-set theory, I argue that these claims cannot bear the metaphysical weight placed upon…Read more
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25Review of Emiliano Trizio’s Philosophy’s Nature: Husserl’s Phenomenology, Natural Science, and Metaphysics (review)Husserl Studies 39 (3): 345-350. 2023.
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19Vi*-Structure as a Weapon of the Realist1Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 106 (2): 167-185. 2006.Although much of its history has been neglected or misunderstood, a structuralist ‘tendency’ has re-emerged within the philosophy of science. Broadly speaking, it consists of two fundamental strands: on the one hand, there is the identification of structural commonalities between theories; on the other, there is the metaphysical decomposition of objects in structural terms. Both have been pressed into service for the realist cause: the former has been identified primarily with Worrall's ‘epistem…Read more
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40Theories, models and structures: Thirty years onPhilosophy of Science 67 (Supple). 2000.Thirty years after the conference that gave rise to The Structure of Scientific Theories, there is renewed interest in the nature of theories and models. However, certain crucial issues from thirty years ago are reprised in current discussions; specifically: whether the diversity of models in the science can be captured by some unitary account; and whether the temporal dimension of scientific practice can be represented by such an account. After reviewing recent developments we suggest that thes…Read more
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3The Discourse InterviewDiscourse: Learning and Teaching in Philosophical and Religious Studies 6 (1): 107-122. 2006.
Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Areas of Specialization
Metaphysics and Epistemology |
Science, Logic, and Mathematics |