Visiting Speaker Series

The Distinguished Speaker Series invites distinguished scholars to present their work in the history and philosophy of science. The Allan Franklin New Ideas Speaker Series invites scholars to present their new and exciting work in the history and philosophy of science. It is named in honor of Allan Franklin, for his decades of unparalleled contributions to the history and philosophy of science. Dr. Franklin is best known for his work on the methods of physics.

Upcoming Schedule for AY 25/26:

  • Friday, February 6th, 3:30pm: Distinguished Speaker, (Stanford), TBA
  • Wednesday, February 25th, 4:00pm: New Ideas Speaker, (Rotman Institute), "Transcendental conditions for the successful use of effective field theories"
    • Abstract: Effective field theories (EFTs) form the basis of our most successful theories of matter, both in particle physics and in condensed matter physics. But the structure of EFTs poses a challenge to many standard philosophical accounts of theory structure and content. In particular, the inability to cast EFTs in terms of exact mathematical objects defined at all scales suggests that philosophical accounts of theory interpretation ought to be modified to deal with approximate, scale-relative ontologies. In this talk, I take some preliminary steps toward an alternative approach to theory interpretation, suitable to EFTs as well as other mathematized theories. Starting from the assumption that EFTs currently allow us to successfully learn about the world, I explicate some features the world must have for that to be true.
  • Friday, February 27th, 3:30pm: New Ideas Speaker, (Northeastern), TBA
  • March 6th, 3:30pm: Distinguished Speaker, (UC, San Diego), TBAÂ