Graduate Students
Brooke Abounader
Philosophy of Science, History of Condensed-Matter Physics
Tasleen Adatia
Julia Agapitos
My main interest is the interaction between society, technology, and the environment in industrialized societies.
Sebastian Assenza
Although I did my undergraduate degree in Medieval History, I have always had a desire to pursue studies in Biology. To that end, my interests primarily concern the evolutionary sciences and their implications for humanity. I am most interested in Primatology, Ecology, and Ethology, and hope to narrow my field of studies soon.
Hakob Barseghyan
Epistemology:
· How do we compare competing scientific theories?
· Is there a fundamental difference between science and non-science (pseudoscience)?
Metaphysics:
· Are all future states of the universe strictly determined by the previous states?
· Do all levels of organization simply follow the fundamental laws or are there high-level laws?
Meta-epistemology:
· How do we compare competing epistemic theories?
· Is there progress in epistemology?
· How can epistemology and the history of science benefit from each other?
Christopher Belanger
Although I have interests in the general metaphysics and epistemology of science, recently my focus has been more and more on issues in the philosophy of contemporary physics. Topics of particular interest to me include the various interpretations of field theories, notions of causality and determinism, chaos and randomness, nonlocality, and the notion of mass-energy equivalence. My current tentative aim is to begin my investigations with an analysis of the various meanings and interpretations of the "equals" sign in physics.
Agnes Bolinska
I am interested in a wide variety of topics, particularly in the philosophy of science and the history of biology (19th and 20th c.).
Elizabeth Burns
My research focuses on one of Claudius Ptolemy’s minor works, the Planetary Hypotheses. This work, along with the Almagest, played an important role in shaping both Arabic and Medieval European Cosmology. Ptolemy states that the Planetary Hypotheses is written for both the astronomer and the instrument maker; however, the book appears to be written more for the former than the latter. I will take a closer look at the aim of the Planetary Hypotheses, examining what kind of model, if any, Ptolemy intended the instrument maker to construct. Furthermore, Ptolemy addresses several important ideas in the Planetary Hypotheses; some, which he does not discuss anywhere else in his works. For example, Ptolemy introduces the nesting sphere principle, where the spheres of the planets are situated so that a planet’s greatest distance from the Earth is equal to the closet distance of the planet above it and there is no empty space. Finally, I will investigate the many changes to the parameters of the models that Ptolemy makes between the Planetary Hypotheses and his other works, such as the Almagest, the Canobic Inscription and the Handy Tables.
Supervisor: Alexander Jones
Alison Campbell
Janet Chin Fatt
I am interested in general philosophy of science, especially philosophy of physics.
John Christopoulos
Broadly, I study the history of medicine and natural philosophy from the late Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period. I am interested in the relationship between learned medicine, natural philosophy and astrology in the Renaissance. Thus far, my work has focused on the intellectual context of Marsilio Ficino’s medical-astrological thought as expressed in his De vita libri tres (1489). For my dissertation, I will expand the scope of this project by tracing the developments of academic medicine and astrology into the sixteenth century. I am particularly interested in the university system that encouraged this interdisciplinary study and the job market available to practitioners. I am also interested in Renaissance surgery and gynecology, as well as the courtly patronage of science in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.
Michael Cornoyea
michael [dot] cournoyea [at] utoronto [dot] ca
Public trust in science & medicine; philosophy of biology.
Eugene Earnshaw-Whyte
I am examining the concept of natural selection as it is embodied in scientific models. I am particularly interested in attempts to apply the concept of natural selection outside of biology.
Evolutionary Models and the concept of natural selection
Supervisor: Denis Walsh
Curtis Forbes
I wrote my MA thesis on the conflict between scientific realism and constructive empiricism, and attempted to resolve this conflict within the larger framework of the opposed epistemic stances that these two positions result from. It was called "A New Argument for Scientific Realism," which is a much more drool-inducing title than the argument turned out to be. Now I'm just waiting for something new to strike my fancy.
Fermin Fulda
I am interested in the Metaphysical and Epistemological foundations of the Special Sciences. In particular, I am interested in the Naturalistic status of Teleology in Evolutionary Biology and Intentionality in Psychology and whether and how a naturalistic account of the former can ground a naturalistic account of the latter.
A. Gwyndaf Garbutt
My current project relates to the placement of monstrous beings in remote parts of the world during the middle ages particularly in maps. While there is a textual tradition that supports this throughout the majority of the middle ages it continues well after travelers have returned from the lands in question with reasonably accurate reports. I am intending to investigate possibly links between this continued practice and the principles of natural philosophy accepted during the late middle ages.
Delia Gavrus
http://individual.utoronto.ca/deliagavrus/
I am interested in the ways in which medical specialists negotiate the boundaries of their professions, as well as in the cultural processes that lead to a shared identity within medical communities. My dissertation explores these themes in relation to the emergence of neurosurgery as a medical specialty in the first half of the 20th century.
Other interests: the cultural history of 19th and 20th century medicine, the history of neuroscience (especially the notion of mind/brain dualism), the history of psychiatry, scientific representations in popular culture.
Dissertation – "Men of Strong Opinions:' Identity, Self-Representation, and the Construction of Neurosurgery, 1919-1950," supervised by Professor Emeritus Pauline M.H. Mazumdar and Professor Lucia Dacome.
Teri Gee
My current research is centered on the defenses of astrology in Islam and the Latin West. I am specifically examining the works of Abu Ma'shar in 9th cent. Baghdad and Roger Bacon in 13th cent. Paris in order to find out how they defended the practice of a science which was officially banned by their respective religions (although practiced by many in spite of that), what arguments they used, how those arguments related to the Classical Graeco-Roman defenses found in such works as the Tetrabiblos by Ptolemy. Through this, I will be able to begin to define what place astrology had in the hierarchy of the sciences in both civilizations.
Dissertation – "Astrology as a Foreign Science: A Case Study," supervised by Alexander Jones.
Sebastian Gil-Rianó
Race and Science; History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences; Bio-politics; Identity Politics; Historical Ontology
Paul Greenham
I'm interested in science and technology in medieval Europe and the Middle East. Given the highly religious natures of these societies I want to invesitigate how their theological views and religious institutions influenced their scientific and technological development. Part of my interest lies in a comparative study on a civilizational level. I hope to incapsulate such a broad area by looking at the role-set of specific individuals as not only natural philosophers but actors in their societies (and thus illuminating the nature of their respective societies with relation to religion and science). Thus I could compare Roger Bacon and Al-Kindi, for example, not only as medieval "experimentalists", but in their religious capacities, familial roles, as inhabitors of a medieval town/cities, participants in different medieval societies and constrained by the institutions and assumptions (strongly influenced by religion) of those societies.
Ari Gross
I'm presently examining the scientific place played by Feynman diagrams, attempt to grasp the roles they play in particle physics and their interactions with both symbolic mathematics and the physical entities or processes they supposedly represent. In understanding the use of Feynman diagrams as a form of "visual reasoning", we begin to understand the importance of non-linguistic and non-algebraic representations in particle physics in particular, and in science in general. Furthermore, we gain insight into how images, diagrams in particular, continue play a fundamental, and perhaps even formal, role in the mathematical sciences.
Vivien Hamilton
Research interests: the history of 19th and 20th century physics; the relationship between science and technology; interdisciplinary collaboration in science and medicine; gender issues in science; the formation of disciplines, authority and expertise
Dissertation Topic: medical physics in the early 20th century
Supervisor: Chen-Pang Yeang
Jenna Healey
Michelle Hoffman
The broad question that my doctoral research seeks to answer is: What shaped the high school science curriculum in Quebec and Ontario over the course of late nineteenth & early twentieth centuries? The history of the science curriculum - and particularly the high school curriculum, which targets the general population - is a window onto changing views about the role of science in society. Political events, scientific breakthroughs and shifts in the public understanding of science have all contributed to important changes in the Canadian science curriculum. By examining how science content and pedagogical approaches have evolved, we can begin to understand how the curriculum reflects wider social attitudes about why and how science should be taught, who makes these decisions, and how Canadian science education can be situated within the context of international discussions and debates about the purpose and goals of school science.
Supervised by Chen-Pang Yeang and Yves Gingras
Matt Hodgson
Allan Jeffrey Hunt
I am interested in the broad area of the history of medicine from the very earliest of times to the present. I have a particular interest in the development of pathology and other areas of laboratory medicine, tropical medicine (including the West Indies), nautical and military medicine, the coroner’s system, infectious disease, the medical treatment of slaves in the British West Indies and social history of medicine in the British West Indies.
Alex Koo
I am interested in how the general metaphysical and epistemological issues in science are extended to answer fundamental questions in mathematics and physics. In particular, I intend to examine how philosophical positions within mathematics and physics relate and the implications they have upon each other.
Sarah Kriger
I research technologies of illusion on the Victorian stage, including scientific demonstrations; theatrical special effects; and magicians' apparatus. My most recent project explores the significance of British magician J. N. Maskelyne's automaton, Psycho. Psycho, one of the most popular attractions of 19th-century London, was a mechanical man supposedly able to play cards, solve arithmetical problems, and present conjuring tricks. Incorporating the philosophy of dramatic theory along with the methods of history of technology, I analyze how Maskelyne convinced his Victorian audiences to accept Psycho as an intelligent machine while cultivating his own status as both a purveyor of mystery and a man of science.
Anthony Kulic
I completed a BA (Hons.) in philosophy at the University of Victoria, and an MA in philosophy at the University of Waterloo, where I wrote a thesis on linguistic reference in scientific theories. My interests coalesce around the central metaphysical and epistemological problems in the philosophy of science, especially those pertaining to causality, probability and realism. I'm also interested in the history of modern philosophy of science (particularly the work of Carnap) and the peculiar relationship between mathematics and the physical world. Recently I've been wondering whether we should conceive of the fields that feature in some of our best physical theories as real entities--i.e. as genuine components of the world--or whether the equations used to describe their behaviour are just useful devices for generating accurate predictions. When I have a conclusive answer I'll be sure to revise this blurb. I also enjoy playing, writing and listening to music, going to the movies, playing and watching soccer and basketball, and appreciating some art (especially my daughter's finger paintings).
Cory Lewis
I am interested in philosophy of science generally, and scientific explanation in particular. Issues around reduction and emergent explanations have the bulk of my attention currently. I would like to look at how these issues play out in the life sciences (biology, psychology, cognitive science, etc) and particularly to look at how ideas from cognitive psychology can help inform our understanding of scientific explanation. This tangled mess of issues has connections (that I hope to look at) with functional/teleological explanations, as well as the structure of explanations in evolutionary biology.
Patricia Liu
My doctoral research explores the interest surrounding the debate over the protein-only (prion) theory. In particular, I focus on the role of "non-experts” (e.g. science writers) in the controversy over prions, protein infectious agents hypothesized to cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs).
Supervisor: Dr. Pauline Mazumdar
Eleanor Louson
My current research revolves around evolutionary theories describing animal behaviour and how those theories are transmitted and interpreted by the public, with a specific focus on wildlife documentaries. Previous work includes studies of teleology through the history of biology, the intelligent design movement, evolutionary psychology's explanation of religious belief and the history of shell shock treatment during WWI.
Greg Lusk
Janet Martin-Nielsen
http://individual.utoronto.ca/martinnielsen
I study the technical, philosophical and social aspects of the rise of Chomskyan linguistics in the late 1950s and 1960s. More broadly, I am interested in the mathematization of grammars, the pedagogical development of American structural linguistics, and the transmission of technical linguistic apparatus.
Private knowledge, public tensions: theory commitment in postwar American linguistics
Supervisors – Brendan Gillon (IHPST Affiliate, McGill University), Janis Langins, and Mark Solovey
Hanna Martinsen
Boaz Miller
http://individual.utoronto.ca/boaz
My areas of specialization are philosophy of science and social epistemology. I work in the intersection of philosophy of science, analytic epistemology and science and technology studies. I study scientific expertise, the relations between knowledge and consensus, and the relations betwen social values and evidence.
My dissertation title is A Social Theory of Knowledge. My supervisor is Anjan Chakravatty, and my dissertation committee members are James R. Brown and Joseph Berkovitz.
I am also Founding Editor of the online HPS journal Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science.
Rebecca Moore
Andrew K Munro
http://individual.utoronto.ca/amunro/
My PhD dissertation research focuses on the how knowledge flows from basic scientific research to technological invention and innovation. Working from an innovation systems perspective, I am examining the biotechnology cluster in the Toronto Region, and in particular the role of MaRS as an incubator and locus of technology transfer. The biotechnology cluster in Toronto provides a particular case study of the broader issues in regional innovation systems, and necessarily includes a comparative analysis with other regions that have developed or will seek to develop biotechnology clusters.
My focus on biotech and use of the innovation systems approach is representative of a broader interest in how knowledge is embedded in technology and the transmission and diffusion of knowledge.
Dissertation supervisor – David Wolfe
Sylvia Nickerson
http://www.sylvianickerson.ca/
Sylvia Nickerson has undergraduate degrees in both Fine Arts and Mathematics. She is currently studying the history of mathematics, specifically the social history of the logicist and formalist movements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She also has an interest in the history of books and book printing technologies, which she has picked up from her previous work as a book designer and her current work at the Massey College press. Sylvia completed her Masters research project on the origins of Bertrand Russell's first book of mathematical philosophy, "An Essay on the Foundations of Geometry".
Dissertation – "On the Crumbling Edge of Reason: The Promise of Mathematical Logic, 1900-1939," supervised by Craig Fraser.
Robin Nunn
Allan Olley
http://individual.utoronto.ca/fofound/
My main focus of research is in the effect of computers on physics. I am interested in how the introduction of computer methods have changed not only methods but also the goals of research and its understanding. Examples of interests include: changes in frequencies of mathematical methods used, such as the move away from literal solution of differential equations to numerical integration. Also, the development and use of new methods such as Monte Carlo simulations. I am interested in the history of computers more generally, especially in the application of computers to various sciences. In this area I have done some reading and thinking about the controversies around the use of computers in mathematical proof. I am also interested in and try to keep up on the history and philosophy of physics. I also have minor interests and studies in Greek mathematics and exact sciences and the history of economic thought.
Dissertation – The work of Wallace J. Eckert (1902-1971), astronomy professor at Columbia University, employee of IBM, and computer pioneer, especially the impact of the computer on his work in lunar theory. Supervised by Craig Fraser.
Sarah-Jane Patterson
I am presently interested in both the history and philosophy of maps – their commission, their measure, their construction, and their acceptance.
Maps are nexus points in history: They are political tools wielded by those in power, and those attempting to gain power. They can also be critical to specific elements of social consciousness, offering both spatial and cultural delineation. Further, how a map is presented, what it represents and how it was received can provide an insight into the prevailing philosophy of that map’s age. They are the direct product of training, technology and mathematics, but are not simply utilitarian scientific representations. Often, maps are beautiful. As I am just beginning my degree, I am directing my studies towards the areas of the history of the social sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics, while also considering the philosophy behind scientific representation. It is my hope that I will be able to narrow my scope of investigation as I progress throughout the year.
I have two undergraduate degrees: a BFA from Ryerson University in Technical Theatre Production, and a Honours BSc from the University of Toronto which was a joint specialist degree in Mathematics and Philosophy.
I like to read, cook and travel. Everything else is gravy.
Bruce J. Petrie
http://individual.utoronto.ca/brucejpetrie/
My current research has been engaged with concepts of irrationality and transcendence in the 17th to 19th centuries. My investigations have led me to study the work and lives of John Wallis, William Brouncker, Leonhard Euler, Johann Lambert, Joseph Liouville, Charles Hermite, and Ferdinand von Lindemann.
Dissertation – History and Emergence of Transcendental Number Theory, supervised by Craig Fraser.
Brigit Ramsingh
My dissertation topic focuses on international bodies such as the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a joint initiative of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO). This project addresses topics and themes such as: standardization; the history of microbiology (as it relates to food safety); the mitigation of risk and reliance upon evidence-based knowledge in a public health context; and, finally, the implications of all of these areas for health policy and global trade.
Dissertation – "The establishment of Food Safety Standards and the Codex Alimentarius Commission, 1955-1995," supervised by Dr. Pauline M.H. Mazumdar.
Isaac Record
My research interests begin with the central issues in the philosophy of science. In my dissertation, I aim to answer the following question: What roles do instruments play in changing the practice of science? My investigations focus on the particular effect digital electronic computers had on changing standards of evidence and hypotheses about ontology in physics during the twentieth century. Although historically situated, the project is primarily philosophical in nature. I am concerned with what scientists actually use instruments to do, and how those activities fit together with the rest of their practice. I begin with three observations: (1) Computers brought certain means of investigation into the realm of technological possibility. (2) With the adoption of new standards for evidence and explanation comes a broader change to the overall style of reasoning – affecting hypotheses about ontology as well as methodology. (3) An account of how we trust and interpret instruments must begin with the material history of the instrument itself and those marks of history that the instrument retains.
Dissertation – "How Instruments Change Scientific Practice: The Use of Computers in 20th Century Physics," supervised by Anjan Chakravartty.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Nicolas Sanchez-Guerrero
I am interested in the History of Physics in the 20th century, particularly in the history of atomic and nuclear physics.
Eva Sham
Philosophy of Science (mainly Biotechnology and Medicine)
Bradley Shubert
Andre Siegel
The History of Canadian Science, The History of Chemistry; The History of Biotechnology, The History of Medicine.
David Smillie
My area of interest is the history of science communication. I have two particular areas of interest in this field. The first is the changing role of visual representation in the effective communication of science (both between scientists and the public at large). I am interested in what role visual representations have played in communicating scientific facts and discoveries, and how changes in technology have affected this role over time.
The second area of interest is the role played by prominent scientists in communicating scientific discoveries directly to the public. I want to find out how important such public scientists are, and what (if any) price they have paid within their field of study for the time and effort they have devoted to popularization.
Anna Stoklosa
anna [dot] stoklosa [at] utoronto [dot] ca
I am interested in ethical and regulatory issues surrounding the governance of new biotechnologies.
Mike Stuart
I'm interested in the origin and method of science, normativity in language and logic, regularities and patterns in the philosophy of biology, metaphysical implications of quantum mechanics, and paraconsistent logic.
Michael Thicke
I plan to research how philosophers of science employ methods and metaphors from economics to explain and justify the operation of science. Philosophers from C.S. Peirce, to Karl Popper, to Steve Fuller make judicious use of economic metaphors in their descriptions of, and arguments about, science. Most notably, Philip Kitcher and Alvin Goldman have promoted economic models as a way of countering SSK-inspired attacks on the authority of science. What work does economics do in countering this (perceived) attack, and how do critiques of economics affect its force?
Jonathan Turner
http://individual.utoronto.ca/jonathanturner/
Nearly everything Jonathan is interested in occurred in the twentieth century. His current research project is the development of technology and science in Canadian defence establishments, industries and universities during the Cold War. As such, Jonathan’s three main fields of study are the history of technology, the history of physics and Canadian history. As an historian of technology he is engaged primarily in studies of military technology, but he also has a keen interest in the philosophy of technology, which is just one example of his philosophical curiosity. As an historian of physics Jonathan is fascinated by the development of research institutions in the Cold War, as well as the emergence of both relativity and quantum mechanics in the early twentieth century. While the majority of his studies in Canadian history are political, he is keenly interested in both social and economic history as well, and he is familiar with the political, economic and social development of the United States in the same period.
Dissertation topic – The Defence Research Board of Canada, 1947-1974, supervised by Janis Langins, Chen-Pang Yeang and Robert Bothwell.
Felix Tyndel
History of medicine
Charissa S. Varma
History of biology: the history of biological classification, the impact of biological classification on medical and legal reform during the 18th and 19th century, and history of evolutionary biology.
Philosophy of biology: species concept, units of selection debate, problems of reference, definition, natural kinds, and identity in a biological context.
History of logic: logical reform during the 19th century in Britian, the history of philosophical logic, the history of logical positivism.
Philosophy of logic: problems of identity, mereology (the logic of parts and wholes), and set theory.
Dissertation – The relationship between logic and biological systematics in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, supervised by Prof. Mary P. Winsor
Jaipreet Virdi
individual.utoronto.ca/jaivirdi
My research broadly focuses on early nineteenth-century developments in English medicine and biology. In particular, I am interested in how medical communities defined and dealt with disease, and how these definitions had an impact on society. Currently, I am focused on an early nineteenth-century individual, John Harrison Curtis (1778-1860), who was among the first specialists on diseases of the ear. Curtis is a historically intriguing character: on one hand, his medical expertise and treatments contributed tremendously to his society and to the field of otology, and yet on the other hand, his medical and scientific contemporaries hastily labelled him as a “fraud.” I am researching Curtis’ contributions in order to devise a comprehensive understanding of why he was labelled a “fraud” despite his many achievements in the field.
Erich Weidenhammer
I am interested in the relationship of chemistry to medicine in the Enlightenment. In the past I have looked at the English chemist (or perhaps "aerial philosopher") Joseph Priestley's (1733-1804) experimental work as it related to existing medical ideas concerning putrefaction and antiseptic medicine. Now I'm looking at a similar subject: the Edinburgh born physician John Pringle (1707-1782) who was one of Priestley's powerful supporters. In the early 1750s, Pringle proposed a series of influential experiments on fermentation and putrefaction that he interpreted as analogies to bodily processes. I think that his work offers insight into Enlightenment views on hygiene and medical reform as well as into a longer tradition of chemically oriented medical experiment.
Aaron Sidney Wright
www.individual.utoronto.ca/wright
I am broadly interested in the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, and Science and Technology Studies. In the past, I have worked on C19 American astronomy; race and science in the C18 French Atlantic; the arrow of time and thermodynamics; and the transfer of Canadian nuclear technology to India. I am currently focussing on modern physics.
I am interested in the way unobservable (in the physicist's sense) and unobserved theoretical entities get passed from theory to theory. Or: Why are we still theorizing about and looking for magnetic monopoles? In what way is Dirac's vacuum the same as Unruh's? And how is our understanding of these objects constituted by the physicist's methodologies and formalisms?