Bulletins

for Physics and Philosophy  undergraduates

 

 

 

5/10/05

 

For PP students new to Oxford:

 

Welcome to Oxford! And come to the introductory meeting, this Friday, 10 Merton St, 5.00 pm.

 

For PP students entering the 2nd year:

 

  • From this year on, PP students will be doing philosophy of science (lectures and tutorials) in YEAR 3, not year 2 as hitherto. Your tutor may be unfamiliar with the change.
  • There are, unfortunately, no undergraduate lectures for Knowledge and Reality this term.  But you are welcome to try your hand at a graduate class on relevant topics, run by Antony Eagle, titled “Causation and Explanation”, Tuesdays, 4.30-6.30, at 10 Merton St. He has explicitly invited you to attend!

 

 

For PP students entering the 3rd year:

 

  • The first Oxford-Princeton exchange is in place this year. Those interested in going to Princeton in 2006-7 should start to think about their proposed plan of study at Princeton - choice of department, thesis topic, lecture courses - now. Your application should be in by the end of Hilarty Term 2005. Forms will be downloadable from the 4th year at Princeton webpage.
  • There are two options for additional philosophy of science teaching this term:  you are welcome to join the B.PHIL CLASS in Philosophy of Science (run by Jeremy Butterfield, All Souls, Wed. 5.00 pm), and to come to the  RESEARCH SEMINAR in philosophy of science, running this term at 10 Merton St. (Th. 4.30 pm). 

 

 

18/10/04

 

For PP students entering the 3rd year:

  • New regulations are now in force for M degree: see the Handbook.
  • The Oxford-Princeton exchange is off to its first year in 2005-6. If you are in the 3rd year you are eligible. Those interested should start to think about their proposed plan of study at Princeton - choice of department, thesis topic, lecture courses - now. Your application should be in by the end of Hilarty Term 2005. Forms will be downloadable from the 4th year at Princeton webpage.

 

 

26/10/04

 

No Philosophy of Physics research seminar will be run this Michaelmas Term

 

The visiting speakers series will continue in Hilary and Trinity Term of 2005.

 

26/10/04

 

Welcome the new PP undergraduate society presidents:

 

anna.lewis@balliol.ox.ac.uk and james.robinson@balliol.ox.ac.uk

 

Welcome also the new PP joint committee student representative

 

melissa.gibson@seh.ox.ac.uk

 

 

 

 

21/1/02
 
Check the Advanced Philosophy of Physics webpages  – you can now download readings and lecture hand-outs.

 

12/1/02

------------------For PP Undergraduates too---------------

 

Metaphysics of Physics 

 

Dr J  Butterfield and Mr D. Wallace,

Weds.5, All Souls College (Wharton Room)

 

Each week we will discuss about two articles or book chapters. We propose

the following readings on Kant's philosophy of geometry for the first

meeting; and more tentatively, other readings about space and time for the

second and third meetings. We also expect to turn to metaphysical

questions about quantum physics in the second half of term. But when we

first meet, we can discuss topics, and even adjust the proposals for the

second and third meetings, in the light of people's interests. As the

choice of readings below indicates, we expect to focus firmly on

metaphysical questions---not presupposing a knowledge of physics. (There

are copies of these readings at the Philosophy Library desk.)

 

1) Week 1 = 16 Jan: Kant's Philosophy of Geometry

J Hopkins, 'Visual geometry', Philosophical Review 82, 1973, 3-34; and in

Kant on Pure Reason (OUP Readings) ed R Walker.

M Friedman, Kant and the Exact Sciences (Harvard UP 1992), Chap. 1,

'Geometry; an improvement of his article 'Kant's Philosophy of Geometry',

Philosophical Review 94, 1985, 455-506.

 

2) Week 2 = 23 Jan: Philosophy of Geometry in the light of Relativity

A. Eddington, Preface and Prologue from Space Time Gravitation (CUP,

1920); 1-16. Easy reading!

Norton 'Philosophy of Space and Time' in M. Salmon et al Introduction to

Philosophy of Science (Prentice-Hall 1992); 179-232; reprinted in

Spacetime, ed. Butterfield, Belot and Hogarth.

 

3) Week 3 = 30 Jan: Relationism about Space and Time

J Barbour, 'Relational Concepts of about Space and Time', Brit Journal of

Philosophy of Science 33, 251-274; reprinted in Spacetime, ed.

Butterfield, Belot and Hogarth.

J Butterfield, 'The End of Time?', forthcoming in BJPS; also at the Los

Alamos and Pittsburgh archives at: gr-qc/0103055; PITT-PHIL-SCI00000104