Annual Lecture Series (in-person)
Lunchtime Talks (in-person)
Conferences (in-person)
Online-Only Events
Title: “The field framework in physics (and beyond)” Abstract: Over the past century, analogies between particle physics and condensed matter physics have successfully guided theoretical developments in both domains. Prominent […]
Title: A Metaphysical Mapping Problem for Race Theorists and Human Population Geneticists Abstract. In this talk, I identify and clarify a mapping phenomenon that’s almost twenty years old. The phenomenon […]
Title: Heterodox scientists: A sliver of hope for our increasingly conformist times? Abstract: Nowadays we all face tremendous pressures to conform to domineering narratives. This holds for science as much […]
Title: The RCT is dead. Long live the RCT. Abstract: First introduced in the 1940s, the randomized clinical trial, or RCT, revolutionized medicine. Today, all new therapies must show efficacy […]
Friday 3/24 3:30PM - 5:30PM CL 1008 Title: Starting Points in Ohio: A pragmatist account of the asymmetry of explanation Abstract: Recent discussions around explanation have concerned the issue of […]
Title: Epistemic Diversity, Ethics, and the Optimal Timing of Clinical Trials Abstract: Ethically acceptable research with human participants should satisfy at least two ethical criteria: it should produce sufficient social […]
Title: Why Natural Social Contracts are Not Fair Abstract: Many theorists have employed game theory to model the emergence of stable social norms, or natural “social contracts”. One branch of […]
Title: The Biological Trait Concept and Character Identity Mechanisms Abstract: Biologists frequently talk about characters, traits, features, phenotypes, and parts to pick out those aspects of cells, organisms, and populations […]
Title: Myth-Busting or Meaning-Making? Public Science Communications and the Infodemic Abstract: A growth area of public-facing science communications during the COVID years has been the counter-offence against misinformation, that is, […]
Title: Field notes on the second law of thermodynamics from a quantum physicist Abstract: Thermodynamics reigns as queen of the physical theories, governing everything from biophysics to cosmology. The second […]
This talk will also be our 2023-24 Adolf Grünbaum Memorial Lecture. Title: Causal Abstraction and Computational Explanation Abstract: A familiar idea in cognitive science is that it can be useful […]