Research
I have (some) competence in two areas of analytic philosophy. One is contemporary philosophy of science, broadly understood. I work in philosophy of mathematics and philosophy of physics, and very often address issues at their boundary. I also venture into metaphysics and epistemology (especially when they are scientifically relevant), philosophy of logic and history of science and mathematics. Another area in which I have longstanding interests is the history of analytic philosophy: Quine and especially later Wittgenstein. I am involved in the activities of the Wittgenstein Archives Bergen and a co-editor of the open access journal Nordic Wittgenstein Review. (More details on my personal webpage)
I'm currently in charge of the Research Group in Philosophy of Science.
Grants/Awards (selection)
- Research grant awarded in Dec. 2018 by Research Council of Norway (RCN) for Aug. 2019 - Aug. 2024. Budget ca. 15 mil. NOK, out of which ca. 10 mil from RCN (1.1 mil. €) Title: Mathematics with a Human Face. Set Theory within a Naturalized Wittgensteinean Framework. Collaborator K. Cahill (Univ. of Bergen)
- Visiting Fellow at Wadham College, Univ. of Oxford for Trinity Term 2022 (21 April - 18 June)
- Visiting Fellowship at Institute Vienna Circle (14 Nov. - 14 Dec. 2022)
Talks (selection of recent invited presentations)
- Wittgenstein on the Infinite and Cantor's Diagonal Proof. Invited talk at UNED Univ. Madrid, 4 March 2025.
- Wittgenstein on assimilationism, scientism and mathematics. Key-note speaker at 1st Conference of the Young Network for Wittgensteinean Philosophy. October 2024, Universitat de les Illes Balears.
- mrc2024: Models, Representation, and Computation Conference Paris, 15 June 2024.
- Boston University, Philosophy and mathematics conference. Organized by Juliet Floyd. 22 April 2024.
- Institute Vienna Circle, Univ. of Vienna. Organizer Georg Schiemer. April 2024
- Mathematics in Physics Conference, Univ. of Oslo. Organizer Øystein Linnebo. June 2023.
- Key-note speaker at Wittgenstein and the Philosophy of Mathematical Practice, workshop in Brussels, March 2023.
- Morrison Memorial Philosophy of Science Conference, Univ. of Toronto, Nov. 2022.
- Two dualisms in later Wittgenstein's writings on mathematics Philosophy of mathematics seminar, Oxford Univ. 3 May 2021
- Formalist explanations in physics Ernst Mach Workshop IX: Non-causal explanations in physics Prague, Sept. 2020 (keynote)
- Fictions in scientific explanation. Southern California Philosophy of Physics Group UC Irvine LPS 27 April 2019
- Later Wittgenstein on mathematical necessity. Wittgenstein in the 21st Century Conf. UC Berkeley 6 April 2019 video
- Getting real about words and numbers Workshop, Antwerp. 29-31 Oct. 2018 (keynote)
Professional service (selection)
- Organizer of Annual Bergen Philosophy of Science Workshop 2013-present
- Program committee member British Society for the Philosophy of Science Annual Meeting Kent. Univ. July 2020
- Co-organizer (with K. Cahill) of Wittgenstein: Naturalism and Necessity Univ. of Bergen 21-22 Nov. 2019 Video
- Program committee member European Philosophy of Science Association Meeting, Univ. of Exeter Sept. 2017
- Program committee member Explanation Beyond Causation, LMU Munich (MCMP) 23-24 October 2014
Administrative academic work
- MA studies coordinator Dept. of Phil. 2020
- Co-representative in the Philosophy PhD Network including Univ. of Uppsala, Bologna, Bucharest, Helsinki and Bielefeld
- External reviewer for US National Science Foundation (NSF) grants 2018
Professional organizations
- Editorial Board Nordic Wittgenstein Studies (Springer)
- Editor of Phil Papers Philosophy of Mathematics, Misc. (section including Applicability of Mathematics, Mathematical Practice, Mathematical Explanation)
Teaching
For teaching materials see mitt uib
Postdoctoral supervision:
- Jeffrey Schatz (PhD Univ. of Calif. Irvine 2019) Co-supervision with Kevin Cahill in the project Mathematics with a Human Face: Set Theory within a Naturalized Wittgensteinean Framework. Aug. 2020-Aug. 2023.
PhD students:
- Martin Sætre (Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Mathematics) Co-supervision with Kevin Cahill in the project Mathematics with a Human Face: Set Theory within a Naturalized Wittgensteinean Framework. Defense Fall 2023.
- Ragnhild Jordahl (Metaphysics, Necessity, Laws of Nature. Defended 23 April 2020) Co-supervision with Ole Hjortland
- Mark Young (Hist. and Phil. of Science. Defended 26 April 2019) Currently postdoctoral researcher at the Dept. of Values, Technology and Innovation, TU Delft. From Jan 2021, Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at Univ. of Vienna
MA students:
- Olav Sem (Against free will. Fall 2023)
- Luca Caiti (Skepticism and IBE. Fall 2022-Spring 2023)
- Steffen Haakonsen (Scientific Realism. 2017)
- Carl-Fredrik Bassøe (Causation and Digraphs. 2016) Co-supervision with Uwe Wolter, Comp. Science Dept.
- Sindre Søderstrøm (The Normative force of Logic. 2016) Co-supervision with Ole Hjortland
Recent courses
- Introduction to Theoretical Philosophy FIL 125 (undergraduate)
- Philosophy of Science FIL 219/319 (und. & grad.)
- Graduate proseminar FIL 342 (grad.)
- Metaphysics FIL 220/320 (und. & grad.)
- Epistemology FIL 237/337 (und. & grad.)
For Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Univ. of Bergen:
- Science in Today's World MNF 201
- Examenum Philosophicum Seminars
Before coming to Univ. of Bergen I taught at Univ. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2010-2012), Univ. of Cambridge (2008-2010), Univ. of Western Ontario (2007) and Univ. of Toronto (2005-2006). For more information see my personal webpage.
Publications
BOOKS:
- Philosophy of Mathematics After Wittgenstein
- Forthcoming. Cambridge Univ. Press. Ca. 250 pp.
- Naturalizing Logico-Mathematical Knowledge: Approaches from Philosophy, Psychology and Cognitive Science. Routledge, 2018
- Edited collection of essays, 306 p.
- Publisher presentation and table of contents
- Reviews: Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, Philosophical Quarterly
- The Applicability of Mathematics in Science: Indispensability and Ontology. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012
- Monograph, 252 p.
- Commissioned for the series New Directions in the Philosophy of Science
- Table of contents and Introduction
- Reviews: Philosophia Mathematica (critical notice), International Studies in Philosophy of Science, Metascience
JOURNAL SPECIAL ISSUES:
- The Explanatory and Heuristic Power of Mathematics. Synthese, 2023. Topical collection. Co-editors: Marianna Antonutti-Marfori and Emiliano Ippoliti.
Models, Representation, and Computation. Synthese. In preparation (2025?). Topic collection. Co-edited w/ Cyrille Imbert and Vincent Ardourel.
SELECTED PAPERS (complete list and downloadable versions on my personal webpage)
Journals
- Wittgenstein on Proof and Concept-Formation. Philosophical Quarterly. open access
- Mind the gap: Noncausal Explanations of Dual Properties. Philosophical Studies. open access
- Finite-Size Scaling Theory: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches to Critical Phenomena. Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science 100: 99-106 (2023) Co-author: Vincent Ardourel. link
- Mathematical Explanations of Physical Phenomena. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 99.4: 669–82 (2021) link
- The Appearance of Skepticism: Possibility, Conceivability and Infinite Ascent. Canadian Journal of Philosophy 51:2, 94-107 (2021) open access
- Hard and Blind: On Wittgenstein’s Genealogical View of Logical Necessity. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. 102(2): 439-458 (2021) open access
- Discontinuities and Singularities, Data and Phenomena: For Referentialism. Synthese 196: 1919–1937 (2019) link
- The 'Miracle' of Applicability? The Curious Case of the Simple Harmonic Oscillator. (Co-author Robert Moir) Foundations of Physics 48(5): 507-525 (2018) link
- Scientific Explanation and Understanding: Unificationism Reconsidered. European Journal for Philosophy of Science 7(1): 103-126 (2017) link
- Numerical Methods, Complexity and Epistemic Hierarchies. (Co-author Nicholas Fillion) Philosophy of Science 82.5: 941-955 (2015) link
- Indispensability and Explanation. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 64(2): 255-277 (2013) link
- On the Role of Bridge Laws in Inter-theoretic Relations. Philosophy of Science 78(5): 1108-1119 (2011) link
- On Bertrand's Paradox. Analysis 70: 30-35 (2010) link
- Understanding Thermodynamic Singularities. Phase transitions, Data and Phenomena. Philosophy of Science 76.4: 488-505 (2009) link
- Reifying Mathematics? Prediction and Symmetry Classification. Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 39.2: 239-58 (2008) link
- Inference to the Best Explanation and Mathematical Realism. Synthese 160: 13-20 (2008) link
- Steiner on the Applicability of Mathematics and Naturalism. Philosophia Mathematica (3)14: 26-43 (2006) link
Collections
- On the Grammar of Mathematical Propositions. In Contributions/Beiträge to International Wittgenstein Symposium 2023: 100 Years of Tractatus LogicoPhilosophicus — 70 Years after Wittgenstein’s Death. A Critical Assessment 6. - 12. Aug 2023. Pp. 29-37. (2023) Eds. A. Pichler; E. Heinrich-Ramharter; F. Stadler. Kirchberg am Wechsel [OA]
- Factivism in Historical Perspective. Understanding the Gravitational Deflection of Light. Ch. 6 (pp. 62-77) in Scientific Understanding and Representation: Mathematical Modeling in the Life and Physical Sciences. Eds. I. Lawler, K. Khalifa, E. Shech. Routledge, 2022. link
- Phase Transitions. Chapter 36 in The Routledge Companion to the Philosophy of Physics. Edited by Eleanor Knox and Alastair Wilson. Pp. 512-523. Routledge (2021) link
- Later Wittgenstein and the Genealogy of Mathematical Necessity. In Wittgenstein and Naturalism. K. Cahill and T. Raleigh. (eds.) Pp. 151-173. Routledge (2018) link
- Symmetry. In The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Physics. R. Batterman. (ed.) Pp. 287-313. Oxford Univ. Press (2013) link
Book reviews, symposium contributions
- [Critical notice] Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Mathematics by Juliet Floyd. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2021 (Cambridge Elements in Philosophy of Mathematics). In Philosophia Mathematica 30(1): 103-110 (2022). Co-author Jeffrey Schatz.
- Marc Lange Because Without Cause (Oxford Univ. Press, 2017) British Journal for Philosophy of Science. BJPS Review of Books. (2017) link
- Peter Vickers Understanding Inconsistent Science (Oxford Univ. Press, 2013) Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. (2014) link
- Structures, Fictions, and the Explanatory Epistemology of Mathematics in Science. Metascience 22(2): 247-273 (2013) Invited contribution to a symposium on Christopher Pincock's Mathematics and Scientific Representation, Oxford Univ. Press, 2012. Co-symposiasts: M. Balaguer and E. Landry. Responses by C. Pincock. link
Projects
- Research grant FRIPRO-FRIHUMSAM awarded by the Research Council of Norway (RCN) in Dec. 2018. Title: Mathematics with a Human Face. Set Theory within a Naturalized Wittgensteinean Framework, period 2019-2024. Budget ca. 15 mil. NOK, out of which ca. 10 mil from RCN (1.1 mil. €) from RCN. Collaborator Kevin Cahill (Univ. of Bergen)
- Annual Bergen Philosophy of Science Workshop (BPSW)