Current: On sabbatical leave, 2010-2011

Recent Graduate Seminars

    
Philosophy 9062A: Metaphysics from Leibniz to Kant

Outline: We study some aspects of the evolution of modern metaphysics by examining a central 18th century transition, from the rationalist metaphysics of Leibniz and his school to the critique of metaphysics by Kant. We will begin with Leibniz’s efforts to address the legacy of early modern philosophy, especially the ideas of Descartes, Hobbes, and Spinoza, and to comprehend them within his own logical, epistemological, and metaphysical framework. We then turn to Kant’s early engagement with the Leibnizian tradition, his attempts to reconstruct Leibnizian ideas in light of 18th-century conceptions of natural philosophy, and his gradual conviction that metaphysics could no longer be pursued in the traditional way. The seminar culminates with the beginning of Kant’s Critical philosophy, and seeks a broad comprehension of the significance of this transition for the subsequent history of philosophy. Particular problems to be discussed will include the nature of truth, the connections between natural philosophy and metaphysics, the relation between rational and empirical inquiry, and the relation between theology and philosophy.

Philosophy 538: Space and Time (Department of Philosophy, Princeton University, Spring 2009)

Outline: An examination of the development of theories of space and time from Newtonian physics through general relativity, emphasizing their connections with fundamental issues in metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy of mathematics. Particular questions that will arise include: is motion absolute or relative? Do space and time have any objective status, or are they constituted by idealization or even by convention? What is the epistemological status of non-Euclidean geometry, and what epistemological force is there in our Euclidean spatial “intuitions”?  Readings include works by (among others) Newton, Leibniz, Euler, Kant, Helmholtz, Poincare, Mach, Einstein, Minkowksi, Weyl, Eddington, and selected contemporary philosophers.

Philosophy 842A: Philosophical Foundations of Modern Physics (Fall 2007)

Outline:  The 20th-century revolutions in physics-- relativity and quantum mechanics-- emerged from a theoretical and philosophical background that began to develop in the 17th century. Contrary to the familiar view of a rigid and monolithic "paradigm," this series of philosophical developments had attained a remarkable degree of philosophical sophistication and variety by the end of the 19th century, and in fact was indispensable to the creation of 20th-century physics. This seminar will examine the background to contemporary physics, particularly emphasizing two aspects: the philosophical views of space, time, and matter that were part of classical physics,  and the views of the nature of scientific theory in general-- in particular, of the roles of theory and experience, and the relations between mathematical structure and physical reality-- that informed, and were informed by, developments in physics. Authors to be discussed include Newton, Leibniz, Euler, Kant, Helmholtz, Maxwell,  Poincare, Duhem, Mach, and others.


Philosophy 657A: Theory and Interpretation  (Fall 2006) 

Outline: The interpretation of scientific theories raises (at least) two kinds of philosophical problem. On the one hand, there is the problem of providing an empirical interpretation for basic theoretical terms, particularly in theories that express themselves in abstract mathematical formalism. On the other hand, for theories that have a (more or less) settled intepretation in the first sense, it may be a problem to understand their implications for specific philosophical concerns: metaphysical conceptions of identity, causality, etc, epistemological and methodological principles, and relations to other theories. The first was among the traditional problems of space and time, the second the continuing preoccupation of the philosophy of quantum mechanics We will consider both kinds of problem, through contemporary discussions as well as historical literature, and we will aim for some understanding of the connections between them. In particular we will consider whether the philosophical analysis of geometry, with which much of 20th-century philosophy of science began, has any philosophical lessons for physical theory in general. Specific technical knowledge is not presupposed, but examples from modern physics will be introduced and discussed in detail. Authors to be discussed include Kant, Riemann, Poincaré, Duhem, Einstein, Reichenbach, Carnap, and Quine, as well as contemporary figures.


Recent Undergraduate Courses

Some Past Graduate Seminars

Some Undergraduate Courses I've Taught at UWO