Workshop on the Naturalized Metaphysics of Physics
\nOctober 24 @ 8:30 am - 5:30 pm EDT
\nVenue and Date: Center for Philosophy of Science\, University of Pittsburgh - October 24\, 2026
\nIn light of radical ontological revision demanded by relativity and quantum mechanics\, naturalized metaphysics of physics seeks to develop metaphysical accounts by taking the content\, practice\, and empirical successes of contemporary physical theories as the primary evidence and constraint. It rejects approaches that rely primarily on a priori reasoning or intuitions disconnected from scientific practice\, while recognizing the study of the topics traditionally under the purview of metaphysics (ontology\, fundamentality\, laws\, space and time\, etc.) as critical for understanding of the picture of the world entailed by our best physical theories.
\nSpeakers will share research exploring questions related to the following key themes.
\n1. \; The analysis of the fundamental properties of putative entities and the laws of nature governing their behavior\, especially within the particularly conceptually fraught areas of quantum field theory. While most of the established literature has focused on axiomatic quantum field theory\, newer approaches are paying more attention to the intricacies of actual model building practices in theoretical particle physics. How do the usual lines of debate regarding particle and field interpretation change in light of these modeling practices\, over and above the mathematical foundations? For both particle and field interpretations\, what do these higher order modeling practices entail for our understanding of the fundamental properties and law-like behavior of these entities?
\n2. \; The nature of scale-dependent\, non-fundamental ontologies and their relationship to putative fundamental ones: Do the various the complexities of current physical theories and their modeling practices problematize or mesh with traditional notions of reduction\, emergence\, levels and composition? Can we accept the possibility of the study of scientific ontology\, without the need for a complete final theory in hand? If so\, what precautionary steps are fitting to the ontology of effective\, non-final theories? Does structural realism provide sufficient precautions? How do the finer details of specific mathematical structures (from the algebraic structure of fundamental interactions\, to the group representation structures for matter degrees of freedom) advance or stymie the project of structural realism? \;
\nOrganizing Committee
\n\nAssistant Professor\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science\, University of Pittsburgh
\n\nGraduate Student\, Philosophy
\nSpeakers
\n\nProfessor of Philosophy\, Duke University
\n\nAssociate Professor of Philosophy\, Affiliated Faculty of Halicioglu Data Science Institute\, Affiliated Faculty of Chinese Studies\, University of California\, San Diego\, Fellow\, John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics
\n\nStuart Professor of Philosophy\, Princeton University
\n\nAssociate Professor of Philosophy\, UC San Diego
\nProgram: \; \;https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/event/workshop-on-the-naturalized-metaphysics-of-physics/
ORGANIZER;CN=Marian J. R. Gilton;CN=Edouard Machery: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20261024T023628Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261027T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261027T130000 SUMMARY:Nick Huggett - The Highs and Lows of Particle Physics (work with Mike Schneider) UID:20261027T151908Z-iCalPlugin-Grails@philevents-web-8d97778f4-j59r7 TZID:America/New_York LOCATION: University of Pittsburgh\, 4200 Fifth Avenue\, Pittsburgh\, United States\, 15260 DESCRIPTION:The Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh invites you to join us for our Lunch Time Talk. Attend in person at 1117 Cathedral of Learning or visit our live stream on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
\n\nLTT: \; \;Nick Huggett
\n\nTuesday\, October 27th @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EST
\n\nTitle: \; \;The Highs and Lows of Particle Physics (work with Mike Schneider)
\n\nAbstract:
\nRecent work on the philosophy of high-energy physics experiments has considerably advanced our understanding of their epistemology\, for instance\, concerning measurements by the ATLAS collaboration at the large hadron collider (Beauchemin 2017). In this talk I aim to highlight and analyze complementary low energy &lsquo\;tabletop&rsquo\; experiments in particle (and other kinds of fundamental) physics. In particular\, I contrast ATLAS measurements with high precision measurements of the electron magnetic moment. We find\, for instance\, that the simplicity of the latter experiment allows for uncertainties to be minimized materially\, in the very construction of the apparatus\; it promises to probe new &lsquo\;regimes&rsquo\; of physics found in &lsquo\;increased significant figures&rsquo\; rather than higher energies. We finally suggest that a better appreciation of the capacities of such comparatively &lsquo\;frugal&rsquo\; experiments broadens our conception of &lsquo\;cutting edge&rsquo\; physics\, and ultimately helps to inform value judgments about possible research programs in the field.
\nThis talk will also be available live streamed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
ORGANIZER;CN=Edouard Machery: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20261024T023628Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261030T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261030T130000 SUMMARY:Alfredo Vernazzani - Perceptual Discrimination and Necessary Laws of Appearance UID:20261027T151909Z-iCalPlugin-Grails@philevents-web-8d97778f4-j59r7 TZID:America/New_York LOCATION: University of Pittsburgh\, 4200 Fifth Avenue\, Pittsburgh\, United States\, 15260 DESCRIPTION:The Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh invites you to join us for our Lunch Time Talk. Attend in person at 1117 Cathedral of Learning or visit our live stream on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
\n\nLTT: \; \;Alfredo Vernazzani
\n\nFriday\, October 30th @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EST
\n\nTitle: \; \;Perceptual Discrimination and Necessary Laws of Appearance
\n\nAbstract:
\nPerceptual experience varies dramatically across sensory modalities and species. Humans\, sharks\, butterflies\, and countless other animals inhabit perceptual worlds structured by radically different sensory capacities. Does this diversity imply that the ways things appear are governed entirely by contingent laws? I argue that it does not. Beneath the contingent diversity of perceptual modalities lie metaphysically necessary laws governing appearance itself. I ground this claim in the operations of perceptual discrimination. First\, I argue that the exercise of perceptual discrimination capacities is necessary for things to appear. I then advance three necessary laws of appearance grounded in those operations. These laws identify aspects of appearance that remain invariant across differences in sensory modality and species\, distinguishing necessary constraints from the contingent forms appearance takes in particular perceptual systems. I illustrate this proposal by turning to non-human perception\, focusing on sharks&rsquo\; and rays&rsquo\; electroception. This case shows how the proposed laws can apply to sensory modalities radically alien to human experience while not depending on any particular sensory mechanism. I conclude by situating this account within the recent debate over whether all laws of appearance are contingent.
\nThis talk will also be available live streamed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
ORGANIZER;CN=Edouard Machery: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20261024T023628Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261106T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261106T130000 SUMMARY:Caterina Del Sordo - Was Early Carnap a Machian Neutral Monist? UID:20261027T151910Z-iCalPlugin-Grails@philevents-web-8d97778f4-j59r7 TZID:America/New_York LOCATION: University of Pittsburgh\, 4200 Fifth Avenue\, Pittsburgh\, United States\, 15260 DESCRIPTION:The Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh invites you to join us for our Lunch Time Talk. Attend in person at 1117 Cathedral of Learning or visit our live stream on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
\n\nLTT: \; \;Caterina Del Sordo
\n\nFriday\, November 6th @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EST
\n\nTitle: \; \;Was Early Carnap a Machian Neutral Monist?
\n\nAbstract:
\nIn this talk\, I defend the thesis that early Carnap is a Machian neutral monist. To support this thesis\, I mediate between two opposing readings of the relation between Mach and early Carnap: Textor (2021)\, who advances a neutral monistic reading of Carnap&rsquo\;s Aufbau\, and Banks (2003\, 2014)\, who regards Carnap&rsquo\;s Aufbau and Mach&rsquo\;s neutral monism as divergent projects. I argue that the Aufbau does not satisfy the main conditions of Machian neutral monism and that the comparison between Mach and early Carnap with respect to ontological neutrality remains largely underdetermined. I further argue that Carnap&rsquo\;s pre-Aufbau works satisfy the main conditions of Machian neutral monism and support a reading according to which Mach and early Carnap are aligned in their account of ontological neutrality.
\nThis talk will also be available live streamed on \;
\nYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
ORGANIZER;CN=Edouard Machery: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20261024T023628Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261110T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261110T130000 SUMMARY:Michel Janssen - Einstein gaining a foothold in the quantum world\, 1905–1925 UID:20261027T151911Z-iCalPlugin-Grails@philevents-web-8d97778f4-j59r7 TZID:America/New_York LOCATION: University of Pittsburgh\, 4200 Fifth Avenue\, Pittsburgh\, United States\, 15260 DESCRIPTION:The Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh invites you to join us for our Lunch Time Talk. Attend in person at 1117 Cathedral of Learning or visit our live stream on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
\n\nLTT: \; \;Michel Janssen
\n\nTuesday\, November 10th @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EST
\n\nTitle: \; \;Einstein gaining a foothold in the quantum world\, 1905&ndash\;1925
\n\nAbstract:
\nIn his early work on quantum theory\, Einstein found a number of constraints on a new theory of radiation that would account for various phenomena classical theory could not account for. He found most of these constraints by making sure the thermal behavior of radiation was in accordance with general results in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. Similar considerations led him to his quantum theory of the ideal gas\, which helped pave the way for Schrö\;dinger&rsquo\;s wave mechanics.
\nThis talk will also be available YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
ORGANIZER;CN=Edouard Machery: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20261024T023628Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261113T153000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261113T163000 SUMMARY: Annual Lecture Series – John Morrison - Do neural networks understand what they are doing? UID:20261027T151912Z-iCalPlugin-Grails@philevents-web-8d97778f4-j59r7 TZID:America/New_York LOCATION: University of Pittsburgh\, 4200 Fifth Avenue\, Pittsburgh\, United States\, 15260 DESCRIPTION:The Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh invites you to join us for our 67th Annual Lecture Series Talk. Attend in person in room 1008 in the Cathedral of Learning (10th Floor) \; or visit our live stream on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
\nThe Annual Lecture Series\, the Center&rsquo\;s oldest program\, was established in 1960\, the year when Adolf Grü\;nbaum founded the Center. Each year the series consists of six to eight lectures\, about three quarters of which are given by philosophers\, historians\, and scientists from other universities.
\n\nAnnual Leture Series &ndash\;John Morrison
\n\nFriday\, November 13th @ 3:30 pm - 5:30pm EDT
\n\n1008 Cathedral of Learning \;
\n\nTitle: \; \;Do neural networks understand what they are doing?
\n\nAbstract: \;
\nIt is often claimed that neural networks construct models of the world (&ldquo\;world models&rdquo\;) and do not merely exploit heuristics. In this sense\, they are said to understand their tasks. But it is not always clear what having a world model amounts to\, or what should count as evidence for or against. In the first half of the talk\, I propose a minimal notion of a world model: a single\, unified representation of a task that preserves its structural relations. I explain how this notion sits within a hierarchy of stronger ones\, and argue that many disputes about world models are merely verbal. In the second half of the talk\, I reassess the standard example of a network using a world model: Othello-GPT\, a transformer widely taken to use a model of the Othello board. I argue that the existing evidence is ambiguous once we adopt the right baselines and the right metrics. I then introduce another kind of evidence that favors the heuristic interpretation: how quickly the network learns variants of Othello that extend rather than scramble the board&rsquo\;s geometry. I end by drawing general lessons for attributing world models to neural networks\, and by describing similar approaches for attributing algorithms and probabilistic inference.
\n\nCan&rsquo\;t make it in-person? This talk will available online through
\nYouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
\n\nA reception with light refreshments will follow in The Center on the 11th floor from 5-6pm.
\n\n ORGANIZER;CN=Edouard Machery: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20261024T023628Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261117T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261117T130000 SUMMARY:Alexander Paseau - Is Historical Mathematics Largely True? UID:20261027T151913Z-iCalPlugin-Grails@philevents-web-8d97778f4-j59r7 TZID:America/New_York LOCATION: University of Pittsburgh\, 4200 Fifth Avenue\, Pittsburgh\, United States\, 15260 DESCRIPTION:The Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh invites you to join us for our Lunch Time Talk. Attend in person at 1117 Cathedral of Learning or visit our live stream on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
\n\nLTT: \; \;Alexander Paseau
\n\nTuesday\, November 17th @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EST
\n\nTitle: \; \;Is Historical Mathematics Largely True?
\n\nAbstract:
\nHistorical mathematics is widely regarded as a repository of truths. It would seem unusually sceptical to deny that\, say\, ancient mathematical cultures established many truths about numbers and shapes\, such as Pythagoras&rsquo\; Theorem or instances of it for specific right-angled triangles.
\nMy talk will list some of the ways in which this assumption might be tested. I&rsquo\;ll then focus on two case studies\, both involving extra-mathematical beliefs that apparently &lsquo\;infect&rsquo\;\, or in some way threaten\, the truth of older mathematics. The first concerns 19th-century matricial algebra and the second 18th-century geometry.
\nThis talk will also be available live streamed on:
\nYouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
ORGANIZER;CN=Edouard Machery: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20261024T023628Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20270227T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20270228T170000 SUMMARY:Workshop on the Foundations of Mathematics - Pittsburgh UID:20261027T151914Z-iCalPlugin-Grails@philevents-web-8d97778f4-j59r7 TZID:America/New_York LOCATION: University of Pittsburgh\, 4200 Fifth Avenue\, Pittsburgh\, United States\, 15260 DESCRIPTION:Workshop on the Foundations of Mathematics
\nFebruary 27\, 2027 - February 28\, 2027
\n\;Center for Philosophy of Science\, University of Pittsburgh \;
\nQuestions about the nature of mathematics have long inspired both mathematical innovation and philosophical reflection. This conference brings together early-career researchers in mathematics and philosophy to discuss issues surrounding mathematical truth\, computability\, proof\, infinity\, and mathematical knowledge. Through a series of invited lectures\, participants will engage with both technical developments and conceptual challenges\, contributing to a tradition of inquiry that lies at the heart of the foundations of mathematics.
\nSpeakers
\n\nAssistant Professor\, Dept of Mathematics
\nUC Berkeley
\nResearch Associate
\nDartmouth
\nAssociate Professor in Philosophy
\nUniversity of Rochester
\nNSF Postdoc
\nCarnegie Mellon University
\nAssistant Professor
\nUniversity of Michigan
\nAssistant Professor of Philosophy
\nNYU
\nAssistant Professor of Philosophy
\nUC Berkeley
\nPostdoctoral Fellow in Mathematics
\nUniversity of Toronto
\nProfessor of Mathematics
\nMiami University
\nFrancesca Zaffora Blando \; \; \;By Zoom
\nAssistant Professor of Philosophy
\nCarnegie Mellon University
\nOrganizers
\n\nAssistant Professor of Philosophy
\nUniversity of Pittsburgh
\nAssistant Professor of Philosophy
\nUniversity of Pittsburgh
\nAssistant Professor of Philosophy
\nUniversity of Pittsburgh
\nAssociate Professor of Philosophy and Director of Graduate Studies
\nUniversity of Pittsburgh
\n\n ORGANIZER;CN="Douglas Blue";CN=Sven Neth;CN=Kate Stanton;CN=Porter Williams;CN=Edouard Machery: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR