Annual Lecture Series (in-person)
Lunchtime Talks (in-person)
Conferences (in-person)
Online-Only Events
Title: Stating structural realism: mathematics-first approaches to physics and metaphysics Abstract: I respond to the frequent objection that structural realism fails to sharply state an alternative to the standard predicate-logic, object / property / relation, way of doing metaphysics. The approach I propose is based on what I call a `math-first' approach to physical theories […]
Title: Philosophy of the Cosmological Constant Abstract: The (re)introduction of lambda into cosmology has spurred debates that touch on central questions in philosophy of science, as well as the foundations of general relativity and particle physics. We provide a systematic assessment of the often implicit philosophical assumptions guiding the methodology of precision cosmology in relation […]
The Center for the Philosophy of Science is organizing a workshop to celebrate the distinguished career of Professor James W. Woodward on November 4th and 5th 2022. This is the weekend before PSA2022 being held in Pittsburgh as well. Jim Woodward was Professor at Cal Tech for many years and moved to Pittsburgh in 2010. […]
This event is hosted by the department of HPS. For more information please visit: https://www.hps.pitt.edu/events/wesley-c-salmon-memorial-lecture-peter-godfrey-smith-univ-sydney .
Talk titles and schedule to follow.
Title: Measurement in a network approach to psychopathology Abstract: In psychology, the standard model for measurement is the latent variable model. In a latent variable model of depression, the correlations between depression symptoms are explained through these symptoms all being manifestations of depression. However, it seems implausible that symptoms such as “insomnia” and “concentration problems” […]
Title: Fringe theories and epistemic tolerance Abstract: In this talk, I push the upward bound of our epistemic tolerance in science to its reasonable limit. In particular, I support the unpopular position that we should actively cultivate a receptive attitude towards even the wildest fringe theories. First, I unpack the concepts of ‘fringe’ and ‘mainstream’ […]
Title: Functionalism in physics and inter-theoretic relations Abstract: Philosophers of physics appeal to functionalism in a variety of contexts. This talk will explore what kind of functionalism they should be appealing to and what it might have to do with inter-theoretic relations. This talk will also be available live streamed on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
Approximating Bayes? On The Role of Approximations in Bayesian Cognitive Science The Bayesian framework is prominent in contemporary cognitive science. Its key tenet is that many aspects of cognition can be modeled as a one form or another of Bayesian inference. Early work within the framework applied this idea in a fairly direct manner. But, […]
Title: A Unified Theory of Probability Abstract: I defend a partial entailment/degree-of-support interpretation of probability as a unified theory of both physical and epistemic probability. On this interpretation, probabilities are necessary and a priori relations between propositions, and measure the degree to which one proposition supports, or “partially entails”, another. I begin by providing a […]
Title: “Control Problems.” Abstract: The concept of control plays a prominent role in pure and applied science. And it features prominently in ethics too. The paper’s issue is how these things fit together. This talk will also be available live streamed on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
Title: Are the problems of neuroscience just like everyone else's? And what should philosophers do about them? Abstract: Lately, there have been many papers criticizing various methods in neuroscience as failing to yield results that can support the desired conclusions. Specifically, while neuroscientific results identify correlations and causal relations, scientists often aim to draw conclusions […]
Title: Richard Lewontin and the Complications of Linkage Abstract: During the 1960s and 1970s population geneticists pushed beyond models of single genes to grapple with the effect on evolution of multiple genes associated by linkage. The resulting models of multiple interacting loci suggested that blocks of genes, maybe even entire chromosomes or the genome itself, should be […]
An Author Meets Critics Symposium on Bob Batterman's new book, A Middle Way: A Non-Fundamental Approach to Many-Body Physics. "Robert W. Batterman's monograph examines a ubiquitous methodology in physics and the science of materials that has virtually been ignored in the philosophical literature. This method focuses on mesoscale structures as a means for investigating complex […]
Title: Gricean inferentialism about scientific representation: A framework and two applications. Abstract: Traditional views of scientific representation are “referentialist.” They argue that a representation’s meaning is determined by a substantive relation (canonically, similarity or isomorphism) to what it represents. These views face well known problems in accounting for idealization and the “problem of style” – […]
Title: People Prefer Moral Discretion to Algorithms: Algorithm Aversion Beyond Intransparency Abstract: We explore aversion to the use of algorithms in moral decision-making. So far, this aversion has been explained mainly by the fear of opaque decisions that are potentially biased. Using incentivized experiments, we study which role the desire for human discretion in moral […]
Title: Quantum Nanowires: A case study on reproducibility in natural sciences Abstract: Three years ago, I and a friend found major problems in a Nature paper in my field. The paper has since been retracted, along with another Nature paper. Several more are recommended for retraction, are under expressions of concern or pending corrections. I […]
Title: How much are large language models narrowing the gap to human intelligence? Abstract: ChatGPT was released in late October 2022. It is a public interface to GPT-3, an artificial neural network with 175 billion parameters trained on terabytes of text from the internet. It is paradigmatic of the class of Large Language Models (LLMs) […]
Title: "A quantitative field theoretical for spontaneous collapse" Abstract: Any model of spontaneous collapse of the wave function in quantum mechanics must involve alterations of the standard Schrödinger equation to allow non-unitary dynamics. In the past two years I have developed a model for a change to the quantum field theory for fermions to allow […]
Title: From Epistemology to Quantum Mechanics: A Phenomenological Proposal Abstract: Contemporary epistemology is dominated by externalist approaches. In this picture, evidence is not constituted by our experiences but by facts and the epistemic status of our beliefs is not determined by what is internally accessible to us but by external factors such as reliability. This […]
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 in an RCT to gain regulatory approval, fueling a clinical trials industry of over $50 billion per year. Although deemed essential, RCTs have considerable statistical, […]
Title: The Sense of Commitment in Joint Action: Towards a Comparative Perspective Abstract: Recent research provides evidence that, in the context of joint action, individuals’ sense of commitment sustains their motivation to persist in performing actions which their joint action partners are expecting and may be relying on them to perform. I will provide an […]
Title: Inductive Risk and Value Freedom, Revisited Abstract: Work on the role of values in science has grown and diversified dramatically in the 21st century. But there is a near-consensus on one basic point, namely the value-ladeness – that is, ladeness with social, moral and political values – of all aspects of the scientific process, […]
The 22nd Annual Pitt-CMU Graduate Student Philosophy Conference will occur Saturday, March 4th at the Cathedral of Learning. Please see the attached flyer for information about the speakers and schedule. All are welcome to attend, registration is preferred. This year's Keynote Speaker is the William H. Miller III Professor of Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University, Jenann Ismael. Register Here: 2023 Pitt-CMU Grad […]
Title: The Wordly Infrastructure of Causation Abstract: This talk is based on joint work with Naftali Weinberger and Porter Williams. It will describe an alternative to currently dominant philosophical approaches to the metaphysics of causation. It is motivated by the gap that currently exists between metaphysical accounts and recent epistemological research on causal reasoning and […]
Title: Replacing STEM with Natural Philosophy: Reconfiguring the Science/Philosophy Relationship Abstract: The idea of this project is to seek to replace the current notions of STEM with the classical ideal of natural philosophy and to see if a contemporary form of natural philosophy could be evolved in our present-day teaching and research contexts. The broad […]
Title: Spacetime, functionalism, and inertial frames Abstract: I advocate a form of spacetime functionalism that identifies spacetime with whatever picks out a structure of inertial frames. In this talk, I’ll defend the spacetime-inertia connection against some challenges. Be sure to check out Eleanor's upcoming Conference: Spacetime Functionalism! This talk will also be available […]
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 asymmetry, an issue dating back at least to the well-known example of the shadow of a flagpole. What is the source of the directionality in […]
Title: A Novel Perspective on Pluralism in Climate Modeling Abstract: Modeling the mass-extinction event at the Permian Triassic Boundary (PTB), which is believed to have followed a warming event triggered by significant increase in CO2 levels, has become an important area of research in climate science. However, to model conditions at the PTB, scientists must choose between […]
Title: Renormalization group explanations in particle physics Abstract: Despite the highly analogous forms that renormalization group methods take in particle physics and condensed matter physics, there are key modal differences between these domains. This leads to different types of explanatory aims in particle physics. Rather than explaining universality, the renormalization group is used to explain […]