Annual Lecture Series (in-person)
Lunchtime Talks (in-person)
Conferences (in-person)
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The 2023 meeting of SPP will be held at the University of Pittsburgh on June 20-23. Registration for the conference is here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/society-for-philosophy-and-psychology-annual-meeting-2023-registration-616545753947 Registration includes an option to add a pre-conference, […]
This talk has unfortunately been cancelled. Title: Philosophy of Science comes to California Abstract: The talk describes how 20th Century philosophy of science migrated from Europe to the Los […]
Title: The Model View Meets Quantum Ontology Abstract: What is here called the “model view” of science is a distinct perspective advanced by Ronald Giere and Paul Teller, which places […]
Title: The World Crisis – And What To Do About It Abstract: Humanity faces two fundamental problems of learning: learning about the universe, and learning how to become civilized. We […]
Title: How, in a field rife with controversy, some neuroscientific models become generally accepted as good models? Abstract: There is much disagreement in Neuroscience. Many highly regarded and high-impact findings […]
Title: Mathematics and Society Reunited: The Social Aspects of Brouwer’s Intuitionism Abstract: Brouwer’s philosophy of mathematics is usually regarded as an intra-subjective, even solipsistic approach, which also underlies his mathematical […]
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: Voicing disagreement in science: Missing women Abstract: This paper examines the authorship of post-publication criticisms in the scientific literature, with a focus on gender differences. Bibliometrics from journals in […]
Godel Meets Laplace There’s an understanding of what determinism entails illustrated by the familiar image that Laplace gave us of a demon that can predict everything that will happen in […]
Title: Understanding Integration: Lessons from Integrative Modeling in Structural Biology Abstract: Although the value of integrative research has been widely acknowledged, philosophers have yet to develop a comprehensive understanding of […]
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: Induction as action: resolving the problem of Whewell’s idealism Abstract: William Whewell is a towering and yet ambiguous figure in Victorian science. Together with Herschel and Mill, he sought […]
Title: Coarse-grained Theories of Cooperation and Myxobacteria Abstract: A particular strain of myxobacteria known as Myxococcus xanthus has received attention for its cooperative predation. I examine whether the same explanations proposed […]
Title: From mathematical notations to the applications of mathematics: Studying epistemic accessibility Abstract: This talk is about mathematical notations, and more broadly about mathematical language. My goal is to present, […]
Organizing Committee Members: Michael R. Dietrich, (University of Pittsburgh, History and Philosophy of Science) John Norton (University of Pittsburgh, History and Philosophy of Science) Carol Cleland (University of Colorado Boulder) […]
Title: Transfer of quantum information in teleportation Abstract: The controversial issue of information transfer in quantum teleportation procedure is analyzed in the framework of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. […]
Title: How do Imperatives Motivate? Abstract: (Joint work with Shaun Nichols.) How do we form beliefs on the basis of assertions of declarative sentences? According to the Spinozan theory of […]
Title: Pursuit-Worthy Research in Health: Three Examples and a Proposal Abstract: In the ideal, we might want researchers and institutional reviewers from the populations affected by given research projects. However, […]
Title: Characterizing a Collaboration by Its Communication Structure Abstract: I present first results of my analysis of a collection of about 24,000 email messages from internal mailing lists of a […]
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: Some Conceptual Problems in the IPCC Uncertainty Framework and Where to Go from Here Abstract: Studies of climate change are afflicted by deep uncertainty, the communication of which is […]
Title: Empirical tests of infectious disease models Abstract: Epidemiologists have been developing mathematical and computational models to predict the course of epidemics since at least the 1920s. In this talk […]
Title: The New Physics Behind the Old Biology and the Old Physics Behind the New Biology: A Tale of Two Revolutions (in Three Acts) Abstract: In this talk I tell […]
Title: Are Universal Criteria of Analogical Reasoning Hopeless? Abstract: One of the most common forms of reasoning in science is reasoning by analogy. Roughly speaking, such reasoning involves the transposition […]
Title: A Critique of the Argument from Inductive Risk Abstract: The argument from inductive risk states that scientists should consider the consequences of their hypotheses and methodological choices in the […]
Title: Grasping Observational Facts in Modern Cosmology Abstract: The understanding of the concept of ‘fact’ in modern (post-WWII) cosmology has been fluid. Cosmologists and philosophers’ perspectives have ranged, with some […]
Title: Where counting counts: Supporting a particle interpretation of particle physics Abstract: There is a general consensus among philosophers of physics that quantum field theory (QFT) does not admit of […]
Title: Delusions as Cognitive-Affective Complexes Abstract: Delusions are defined in the DSM-5 as “beliefs that are not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence” (American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and […]
Title: How to build a mind without working memory: a computational approach to cognitive architecture Abstract: I want to argue that there’s something deeply wrong with the dominant thread running […]
Title: The Pragmatism of C.S. Peirce and R.B. Brandom as a Frame for Modeling Entrepreneurship Abstract: The science of entrepreneurship has a surprisingly long history, dating from Richard Cantillon’s Essai […]