Craig
Callender
Professor
of Philosophy
Philosophy
Department, 0119
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0119
Office
phone: 858-822-4911
Office:
8077
Email:
ccallenderREMOVE@ucsd.REMOVEedu
I've been a
member of the UCSD Philosophy
Department since Jan 2001. From
1996-2000 I was Lecturer and then Senior Lecturer in the Department of
Philosophy, Logic & Scientific Method at the London School of
Economics. I
obtained my PhD from
Rutgers University in 1997.
My main areas
of research are:
•
Philosophy of Science
• Philosophy of
Physics
• Metaphysics
I also have teaching interests in environmental ethics. I’ve published in philosophy, physics and law journals--a (probably out-of-date) CV can be found by clicking here. I’m particularly interested in the intersection of time and modern science, the interpretation of quantum mechanics (especially Bohm’s theory), the foundations of statistical mechanics, Humean metaphysics, and various issues about spacetime. Lately I’ve been working on (a) the difference between time and space, (b) the psycho-physics of time perception and the metaphysics of time, (c) laws of nature and natural kinds, and (d) the relation between thermodynamics and gravity.
This year I'll be on sabbatical in Fall 08 and Winter 09. In Spring 09 I'll teach two classes, the Philosophical Methods Seminar (Phil 115) on the topic of Happiness and Environmental Issues: Social Science (ENVR 130).
I'm an active participant in the Southern California Philosophy of Physics Reading Group, the UCSD Philosophy of Physics Research Group and the UCSD Philosophy of Science Reading Group.
each other. Epistemology without contact with science becomes an empty scheme. Science without
epistemology is—insofar as it is thinkable at all—primitive and muddled." Einstein
Publications/Preprints
- "The Common Now" forthcoming in Philosophical Issues.
- "Interview on Philosophy of Physics" forthcoming, Philosophy and Foundations of Physics, Interviews.
- "The Emergence and Interpretation of Probability in Bohmian Mechanics" Studies in the History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 38, 2007, 351-370.
- “On
Finding ‘Real’ Time in Quantum Mechanics”
(draft) Absolute Simultaneity.
(Eds) W.L. Craig and Q. Smith. NY: OxfordUniversity Press, 2007.
- “There is No Special Problem of Scientific Representation” with Jonathan Cohen, special issue on scientific representation, Theoria, 2006.
- “An
Answer
in Search of a Question: ‘Proofs’ of the
Tri-Dimensionality of Space” (draft) Studies in
History & Philosophy of
Modern Physics,
36, 1, March 2005, 113-136.
- “Time
in Physics” Encyclopedia of Philosophy,
(draft) 2nd
edition.
- “Realist Ennui and Base Rates” Philosophy of Science, 71(3): 320-338. July 2004, with P.D. Magnus.
- “Measures, Explanation and the Past: Should ‘Special’ Initial Conditions Be Explained?” British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 2004, 55, 195-217.
- “Is There is a Puzzle about the Low Entropy Past?” in Hitchcock, C. (ed.) Contemporary Debates in the Philosophy of Science, chapter 12, Blackwell, 2003.
- “Who’s Afraid of Maxwell’s Demon-and Which One?”Quantum Limits to the Second Law, edited by D. Sheehan, American Institute of Physics, December 2002, pp. 399-407. Reprinted as “A Collision Between Dynamics and Thermodynamics” in Entropy2004, 6, 11-20.
- “Taking Thermodynamics (Too) Seriously” Studies in the History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 32, 4, 2001, 539-53.
- “Thermodynamic Time Asymmetry” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2001 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)
- "Why Quantize the Gravitational Field (or any other Field for that Matter)?Philosophy of Science, 68 (Proceedings), 2001, S382-S394, with Nick Huggett
- "Humean Supervenience and Rotating Homogeneous Matter" Mind, 110, Jan. 2000, 25-43.
- “Shedding Light on Time” Philosophy of Science (Proceedings), 67, 2000, S587-S599.
- "Is Time 'Handed' in a Quantum World?"Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, June, 2000, 247-269.
- “Introduction” Studies in the History & Philosophy of Modern Physics; 2000, 31B, 2, 129-134.
- "Topology Change and the Unity of Space" Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 31B, 2, 2000, 227-246, with R.Weingard.
- “Reducing Thermodynamics to Statistical Mechanics: The Case of Entropy” Journal of Philosophy, XCVI, July 1999, 348-373.
- “Nonlocality in the Expanding Infinite Well” Foundations of Physics Letters 11, 1998, No. 5, 495-98, with R. Weingard.
- “The View From No-when” British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 49, 1998, 135-159.
- "What is ‘The Problem of the Direction of Time’”? Philosophy of Science (Supplement), 63, v.2, 1997, 223-34.
- "Trouble in
Paradise? Problems for Bohm’s
Theory” Monist, 1997, 80, 1, 24-43, with
R. Weingard.
- "Time, Bohm's Theory and Quantum Cosmology” Philosophy of Science, 1996, 63, 470-74, with R. Weingard
- "Answer to Question #22" [“Is there a gravitational force or not?,”] American Journal of Physics, 1996, 64,5, 528, with R. Weingard.
- "An Introduction to Topology" Monist, 1996, 79, No. 1, 21-33, with R. Weingard.
- "Bohmian Cosmology and the Quantum Smearing of the Initial Singularity” Physics Letters A 208, 1995, 59-61, with R. Weingard.
- "The Metaphysics of Time Reversal: Hutchison on Classical Mechanics”British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 1995, 46, No. 3, 331.
- "Answer to Question #15 [What space scales participate in cosmic expansion?]" American Journal of Physics, 1995, 63,9, 780, with R. Weingard.
- "Wilful Ignorance, Knowledge, and the “Equal Culpability” Thesis: A Study of the Deeper Significance of the Principle of Legality” Wisconsin Law Review, 1994, 1, 29-69, with D. Husak.
- “A Bohmian Model of Quantum Cosmology” Proceedings of the Philosophy of Science Association 1994, 1, 228-237, with R.Weingard.
- "Function, Contemplation, and Eudaimonia” Dialogue (Phi Sigma Tau) 1990, 32, 2/3, 33-9.
Chapters/Entries in Books:
- “Physics Meets Philosophy at the Planck Length: Introduction” Physics Meets Philosophy at the Planck Length, CUP 2001, with Nick Huggett, 1-32.
- “Chapter 8: Philosophy of Space-time Physics” in Blackwell Guide to Philosophy of Science, edited by Peter Machamer and Michael Silberstein, (Basil Blackwell, 2002), with Carl Hoefer, pp. 173-198.
- "Time" (for kids!) in World Book Encyclopedia
Book Reviews
- “Review of M. Jammer's Concepts of Simultaneity" Isis, forthcoming.
- "Not So Cool", Metascience, 2007, 16, 147-151.
- "Review of J. Butterfield’s Arguments of Time”, Philosophy of Science, July 2005.
- “Review ofC. Liu and G. Emch’s Logic of Thermo-Statistical Physics”, Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, Sept., 2004, 35, 541-544.
- “Review of D. Albert’s Time and Chance” Metascience, 2002, 11, 1, 43-46.
- “Review of P. Smith’s Explaining Chaos” Mind, 2001, 439, 839-844.
- “Review of J. Earman’s Bangs, Crunches, Whimpers and Shrieks”Philosophical Review, 1998, 107, 142-146.
- “Review of J. Cushing, A. Fine and S.Goldstein (eds). Bohmian Mechanics and Quantum Theory: An Appraisal” British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 1998, 49, 332-337.
- “Review of H. Price’s Time’s Arrow and Archimedes’ Point”Metascience, roundtable review, 1997, 11, 68-71.
- "Review of M. Dorato's Time and Reality" British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 1997, 48, 117-20.
- "Review of S. Savitt's Time's Arrow Today" Canadian Philosophical Reviews, 16, 1, 1996, 59-61.
Other:
- “Why I Eat Vegetarian Burritos” ppt slides for my Nov 2005 talk at the annual Muir College “Burritos Lecture”, sponsored by Don Carlos Burrito. It presents the overwhelming case for being vegetarian. (Most of the pics come from the PETA website.)
Work
in Progress
(please do not cite/quote without permission, though
comments are welcome)
- “Time’s Ontic Voltage”
- “Time is the Simplest (and Strongest) Thing” (extremely rough draft)
- "A Better Best System Theory of Laws" (with Jonathan Cohen)
Books
Time, Reality & Experience, CUP, 2002
Introducing Time, 2001,2004, Totem Books, (Croatian edition, 2003; French edition, Flammarion 2004)
Oxford Handbook on Time, in preparation
Teaching
Below are some
of the courses I have taught
or will teach. Links lead to class webpages, where available:
- Philosophy 14: Introduction to Philosophy: Metaphysics (Winter 2008)
- Environmental Studies 102 with Naomi Oreskes (Winter 2008)
- Philosophy 131: Topics in Metaphysics
- Philosophy 146: Philosophy of Physics (Spring 2003: Foundations of Spacetime Physics
- Philosophy 146: Philosophy of Physics (Fall 2004: Quantum Mechanics)
- Freshman Seminar 87: Geometry, Philosophy & the Fourth Dimension (Spring 2003)
- Freshman Seminar 87: The Nature of Time (Spring 2004)
- Philosophy 245: The Metaphysics of the Quantum World (Spring 2004)
- Philosophy 148: Philosophy and the Environment (Fall 2003)
- Philosophy 87: Philosophy Through Science Fiction (Fall 2005)
- Philosophy 146: Philosophy of Physics (Fall 2005: Foundations of Spacetime Physics)
- Philosophy 245: The Fundamental Structure of the World (Spring 2006)
- Phil 146: Philosophy of Physics Fall 2006: Locality and Determinism in Classical and Quantum Physics
- Philosophy 115: Philosophical Methods Seminar: Happiness (Fall 2007)
- Heat, Time and Roulette Wheels, with Chris Wuthrich (Spring 2008)
Some of the topics on which I have given graduate seminars include: Direction of Time, Philosophy of Physics, the First Year Pro-Seminar, Scientific Realism and the Value of Knowledge, The Metaphysics of the Quantum World, and Humean Supervenience.
Conferences
Society
for Exact Philosophy Annual Conference: UCSD, May 18-21,
2006, organized
with Jonathan Cohen.
Philosophy
of Science Workshop: UCSD,
June 6-7, 2003 Click here.