Pub Date : 2025-07-08DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.004
Ali Barzegar , Emilia Margoni , Daniele Oriti
We adopt an approach to agency aimed at developing a minimalist, scalable and naturalized account of it. After providing a general definition, we explore possible extensions and refinements, domain of applicability, as well as a comparison with other recent accounts, finally tackling potential objections. With respect to what we classify as strong (such as Tononi’s) and weak (such as Rovelli’s) characterizations, our notion of agency situates itself in a middle position — our intent being precisely that of spelling out the advantages of this median account within a variety of contexts, such as the interpretation of quantum mechanics, the debate on the nature of physical laws and bayesianism.
{"title":"A minimalist account of agency in physics","authors":"Ali Barzegar , Emilia Margoni , Daniele Oriti","doi":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We adopt an approach to agency aimed at developing a minimalist, scalable and naturalized account of it. After providing a general definition, we explore possible extensions and refinements, domain of applicability, as well as a comparison with other recent accounts, finally tackling potential objections. With respect to what we classify as strong (such as Tononi’s) and weak (such as Rovelli’s) characterizations, our notion of agency situates itself in a middle position — our intent being precisely that of spelling out the advantages of this median account within a variety of contexts, such as the interpretation of quantum mechanics, the debate on the nature of physical laws and bayesianism.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49467,"journal":{"name":"Studies in History and Philosophy of Science","volume":"112 ","pages":"Pages 112-122"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144580585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-03DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.011
Rajeswari S. Raina , Helen Longino
{"title":"Community-led institutional innovation: Groundwater sharing, values and relationships in India’s rainfed farming systems","authors":"Rajeswari S. Raina , Helen Longino","doi":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.011","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49467,"journal":{"name":"Studies in History and Philosophy of Science","volume":"112 ","pages":"Pages 102-111"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144534237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-01DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.003
Alisa Bokulich , Wendy S. Parker
Scientific data without uncertainty estimates are increasingly seen as incomplete. Recent discussions in the philosophy of data, however, have given little attention to the nature of uncertainty estimation. We begin to redress this gap by, first, discussing the concepts and practices of uncertainty estimation in metrology and showing how they can be adapted for scientific data more broadly; and second, advancing five philosophical theses about uncertainty estimates for data: they are substantive epistemic products; they are fallible; they can be iteratively improved; they should be judged in terms of their adequacy-for-purpose; and these estimates, in turn, are essential for judging data adequacy. We illustrate these five theses using the example of the GISTEMP global temperature dataset. Our discussion introduces a novel adequacy-for-purpose view of uncertainty estimation, addresses a weakness in a recent philosophical account of data, and provides a new perspective on the “safety” versus “precision” debate in metrology.
{"title":"Understanding data uncertainty","authors":"Alisa Bokulich , Wendy S. Parker","doi":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Scientific data without uncertainty estimates are increasingly seen as incomplete. Recent discussions in the philosophy of data, however, have given little attention to the nature of uncertainty estimation. We begin to redress this gap by, first, discussing the concepts and practices of uncertainty estimation in metrology and showing how they can be adapted for scientific data more broadly; and second, advancing five philosophical theses about uncertainty estimates for data: they are substantive epistemic products; they are fallible; they can be iteratively improved; they should be judged in terms of their adequacy-for-purpose; and these estimates, in turn, are essential for judging data adequacy. We illustrate these five theses using the example of the GISTEMP global temperature dataset. Our discussion introduces a novel adequacy-for-purpose view of uncertainty estimation, addresses a weakness in a recent philosophical account of data, and provides a new perspective on the “safety” versus “precision” debate in metrology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49467,"journal":{"name":"Studies in History and Philosophy of Science","volume":"112 ","pages":"Pages 90-101"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144522034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-26DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.008
Alistair M.C. Isaac
{"title":"Metrological legitimacy and the human sciences","authors":"Alistair M.C. Isaac","doi":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.008","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49467,"journal":{"name":"Studies in History and Philosophy of Science","volume":"112 ","pages":"Pages 79-89"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144489491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-25DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.002
Miguel Agustín Aguilar Sandoval
In this paper, I analyze Pierre Duhem's rejection of Albert Einstein's special relativity. Duhem published his most influential contributions to the philosophy of science during the same years that Einstein published the theory we now call special relativity. There are numerous coincidences in the conceptions of both authors about scientific methodology to the point that it has been stated that Einstein's philosophy is supported by Duhem's. It is surprising to discover that Duhem nevertheless rejected special relativity completely. Analyzing this rejection sheds light on aspects of Duhem's philosophy of science that have not been clearly recognized, namely how he conceived of the continuity between common sense concepts, scientific concepts, and measurement.
{"title":"Pierre Duhem's rejection of special relativity","authors":"Miguel Agustín Aguilar Sandoval","doi":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this paper, I analyze Pierre Duhem's rejection of Albert Einstein's special relativity. Duhem published his most influential contributions to the philosophy of science during the same years that Einstein published the theory we now call special relativity. There are numerous coincidences in the conceptions of both authors about scientific methodology to the point that it has been stated that Einstein's philosophy is supported by Duhem's. It is surprising to discover that Duhem nevertheless rejected special relativity completely. Analyzing this rejection sheds light on aspects of Duhem's philosophy of science that have not been clearly recognized, namely how he conceived of the continuity between common sense concepts, scientific concepts, and measurement.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49467,"journal":{"name":"Studies in History and Philosophy of Science","volume":"112 ","pages":"Pages 70-78"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144471818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-24DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.007
Harrison Payne
This paper conducts a study of the published responses to a key process – quantum evolution – in G.G. Simpson's paleontological masterpiece Tempo and Mode in Evolution (1944), with the primary goal of revealing the reasons for Simpson's changed views, as indicated in his next book Major Features of Evolution (1953), on the importance of quantum evolution. I argue that the primary force that drove this change was not pressure from other leading synthesis thinkers like Mayr and Dobzhansky but rather empirical paleontological considerations. I consider the implications this has for the supposed hardening of the synthesis as defended by Stephen Jay Gould and for our understanding of the status of paleontology in the post-synthesis period. I claim that paleontology's secondary status in the immediate post-synthesis period resulted from the internal workings of paleontology and not merely pressures from allied biological disciplines.
本文对G.G.辛普森（G.G. Simpson）的古生物学巨著《进化的节奏与模式》（1944）中对量子进化这一关键过程的回应进行了研究，主要目的是揭示辛普森在其下一本书《进化的主要特征》（1953）中关于量子进化重要性的观点发生变化的原因。我认为，推动这种变化的主要力量不是来自其他领先的综合思想家（如迈尔和多布赞斯基）的压力，而是来自经验主义古生物学的考虑。我认为这对斯蒂芬·杰伊·古尔德（Stephen Jay Gould）所捍卫的所谓的综合硬化以及我们对后综合时期古生物学地位的理解所产生的影响。我认为，古生物学在合成后时期的次要地位是由于古生物学的内部运作，而不仅仅是来自相关生物学学科的压力。
{"title":"G.G. Simpson's changing attitude towards quantum evolution","authors":"Harrison Payne","doi":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper conducts a study of the published responses to a key process – quantum evolution – in G.G. Simpson's paleontological masterpiece <em>Tempo and Mode in Evolution</em> (1944), with the primary goal of revealing the reasons for Simpson's changed views, as indicated in his next book <em>Major Features of Evolution</em> (1953), on the importance of quantum evolution. I argue that the primary force that drove this change was not pressure from other leading synthesis thinkers like Mayr and Dobzhansky but rather empirical paleontological considerations. I consider the implications this has for the supposed hardening of the synthesis as defended by Stephen Jay Gould and for our understanding of the status of paleontology in the post-synthesis period. I claim that paleontology's secondary status in the immediate post-synthesis period resulted from the internal workings of paleontology and not merely pressures from allied biological disciplines.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49467,"journal":{"name":"Studies in History and Philosophy of Science","volume":"112 ","pages":"Pages 60-69"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144366889","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-22DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.05.010
María Jesús Santesmases
{"title":"On gender genealogies","authors":"María Jesús Santesmases","doi":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.05.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.05.010","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49467,"journal":{"name":"Studies in History and Philosophy of Science","volume":"112 ","pages":"Pages 57-59"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144335822","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-21DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.005
Florian Laguens
Arthur S. Eddington (1882–1944) is known as one of the most influential astronomers of the interwar period, and a promoter of Einstein's theory of general relativity. This article focuses on two of his books, namely Space, Time and Gravitation (1920) and The Mathematical Theory of Relativity (1923). The first section claims that Eddington intended both to be textbooks, the role and content of which is detailed as well as Eddington pedagogical views. This then leads to instantiate the porosity and plasticity of the textbook genre, and to draw attention to a less studied aspect of relativistic textbooks, namely their philosophical scope. The closing section comments, for the first time, on Eddington's courses on Einstein's theory, based on archival sources.
阿瑟·s·爱丁顿（Arthur S. Eddington, 1882-1944）是两次世界大战之间最有影响力的天文学家之一，也是爱因斯坦广义相对论的推动者。本文重点介绍他的两本书，即《空间、时间和引力》（1920）和《数学相对论》（1923）。第一部分论述了爱丁顿既打算成为教科书，又详细阐述了教科书的作用和内容，以及爱丁顿的教学观点。这就导致了教科书类型的多孔性和可塑性的实例化，并引起人们对相对论教科书中较少研究的方面的关注，即它们的哲学范围。结束语部分第一次根据档案资料对爱丁顿关于爱因斯坦理论的课程进行了评论。
{"title":"Eddington teacher of general relativity another tale of two textbooks","authors":"Florian Laguens","doi":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.06.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Arthur S. Eddington (1882–1944) is known as one of the most influential astronomers of the interwar period, and a promoter of Einstein's theory of general relativity. This article focuses on two of his books, namely <em>Space, Time and Gravitation</em> (1920) and <em>The Mathematical Theory of Relativity</em> (1923). The first section claims that Eddington intended both to be textbooks, the role and content of which is detailed as well as Eddington pedagogical views. This then leads to instantiate the porosity and plasticity of the textbook genre, and to draw attention to a less studied aspect of relativistic textbooks, namely their philosophical scope. The closing section comments, for the first time, on Eddington's courses on Einstein's theory, based on archival sources.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49467,"journal":{"name":"Studies in History and Philosophy of Science","volume":"112 ","pages":"Pages 47-56"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144330828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-14DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.05.007
Alice Dreger
{"title":"","authors":"Alice Dreger","doi":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.05.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.05.007","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49467,"journal":{"name":"Studies in History and Philosophy of Science","volume":"112 ","pages":"Pages 44-46"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144288714","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-13DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.05.002
Arezoo Islami , Harald A. Wiltsche
In his book, A Phenomenological Approach to Quantum Mechanics: Cutting the Chain of Correlations, Steven French argues that quantum mechanics, understood through the phenomenological lens of London and Bauer, turns physics into a “genuine science”, and thus completes the project Edmund Husserl had started in his last major publication, The Crisis of European Sciences. What makes quantum mechanics a genuine science, according to French, is that it is fully grounded in the “lifeworld and transcendental subjectivity”, just as Husserl dreamt. While we agree with French that London and Bauer’s reading of quantum mechanics is inspired by and thus makes a step towards Husserl’s phenomenology, we argue that a more encompassing phenomenological investigation is still needed if we are to avoid another crisis. More specifically, our claim is that French underestimates the “constitutional history” of the kinds of mathematical idealities that underlie quantum mechanics.
{"title":"The French crisis: Rethinking the phenomenology of quantum mechanics","authors":"Arezoo Islami , Harald A. Wiltsche","doi":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.05.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.shpsa.2025.05.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In his book, <em>A Phenomenological Approach to Quantum Mechanics: Cutting the Chain of Correlations</em>, Steven French argues that quantum mechanics, understood through the phenomenological lens of London and Bauer, turns physics into a “genuine science”, and thus completes the project Edmund Husserl had started in his last major publication, <em>The Crisis of European Sciences</em>. What makes quantum mechanics a genuine science, according to French, is that it is fully grounded in the “lifeworld and transcendental subjectivity”, just as Husserl dreamt. While we agree with French that London and Bauer’s reading of quantum mechanics is inspired by and thus makes a step towards Husserl’s phenomenology, we argue that a more encompassing phenomenological investigation is still needed if we are to avoid another crisis. More specifically, our claim is that French underestimates the “constitutional history” of the kinds of mathematical idealities that underlie quantum mechanics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49467,"journal":{"name":"Studies in History and Philosophy of Science","volume":"112 ","pages":"Pages 33-43"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144272014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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