Annual Lecture Series (in-person)
Lunchtime Talks (in-person)
Conferences (in-person)
Online-Only Events
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 […]
Prediction and Punishment: Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Carceral AI Co-Sponsored by The Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh and the Center for Ethics and Policy at Carnegie […]
Title: Perception and Preference in Poetry: Biases Toward AI-Generated Poems Abstract: AI-generated art and text have become increasingly common, and increasingly sophisticated. This talk presents findings showing that AI-generated poems […]
Title: Hodgkin and Huxley’s Use of Singular Compositional Abduction Abstract: One of the most significant achievements of Twentieth-Century physiology was Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley’s development of theory of the […]
Title: Problems and Possibilities: A Theory of Scientific Understanding Abstract: In this talk I will discuss joint work with Soazig Le Bihan on a novel theory of scientific understanding. […]
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, […]
Nicholas Shea (Institute of Philosophy, University of London) and John Krakauer (The Johns Hopkins Hospital Department of Neurology) will participate as our debaters. Abstracts: Nicholas Shea John Krakauer This […]
Title: An Understanding-First view of Explanation Abstract: Jaegwon Kim wrote once that “the idea of explaining something is inseparable from the idea of making it intelligible; to seek an explanation […]
Title: True Believers: The Incredulity Hypothesis and the Enduring Legacy of the Obedience Experiments Abstract: Stanley Milgram’s “obedience experiments” are among the most famous studies in social psychology, and perhaps, […]
Title: Is It the Same Experimental Result? Replication in Physics Abstract: One of the interesting issues in the philosophy of experiment is that of the replicability of experimental results. The […]