A unified theory of the individual - a central problem in analytical philosophy. This project will further increase Australia's already high profile in analytic philosophy. This will foster an intellectual environment within Australia that will attract highly skilled overseas academics who bring knowledge and funding to Australia, benefiting both Australian researchers and students. This will in turn attract overseas fee-paying students who bring economic and cultural benefits to Australia.
The Structure of Spacetime. This project, is part of a career long program of Critical Scientific Realism, which asserts that the sciences are a valuable guide to the truth, but rejects a ?fundamentalist? attitude towards them as if they were self-interpreting.
This project will make major contributions to our understanding of:
The properties and relations constitutive of Spacetime
Minimal Convexity Theory
Quantum theory and absolute Simultaneity
Stephen Wolfram and Discrete Geomet ....The Structure of Spacetime. This project, is part of a career long program of Critical Scientific Realism, which asserts that the sciences are a valuable guide to the truth, but rejects a ?fundamentalist? attitude towards them as if they were self-interpreting.
This project will make major contributions to our understanding of:
The properties and relations constitutive of Spacetime
Minimal Convexity Theory
Quantum theory and absolute Simultaneity
Stephen Wolfram and Discrete Geometrodynamics
Ways of approximating the discrete by the continuous
The resulting advances in knowledge will be presented in journal articles and a book integrating my work on Space and Time.Read moreRead less
Time and Perspective in the Quantum World. The project deals with topics which, since the early days of quantum theory in the 1920s and 1930s, have generated wide interest among general readers. It is investigating questions to which many Australians, as well as a great many more people internationally, would like to know the answers. It brings to Australia two distinguished young international researchers, thus substantially enhancing Australia's skill base and international reputation in these ....Time and Perspective in the Quantum World. The project deals with topics which, since the early days of quantum theory in the 1920s and 1930s, have generated wide interest among general readers. It is investigating questions to which many Australians, as well as a great many more people internationally, would like to know the answers. It brings to Australia two distinguished young international researchers, thus substantially enhancing Australia's skill base and international reputation in these fundamental fields. The project's core research team will also act as a catalyst for further international collaborations.Read moreRead less
Fundamental Ways the World Could Be: Challenging Metaphysical Orthodoxy. This project strengthens Australia's fine reputation in metaphysics through disseminating cutting-edge research. It will build relationships with leading researchers and bring their knowledge to Australia, fostering an intellectual environment that strengthens Australia as a destination for tertiary study and international researchers. It will offer explicit training in research skills and provide wide-ranging knowledge for ....Fundamental Ways the World Could Be: Challenging Metaphysical Orthodoxy. This project strengthens Australia's fine reputation in metaphysics through disseminating cutting-edge research. It will build relationships with leading researchers and bring their knowledge to Australia, fostering an intellectual environment that strengthens Australia as a destination for tertiary study and international researchers. It will offer explicit training in research skills and provide wide-ranging knowledge for a postgraduate student. In clarifying and answering key fundamental metaphysical questions that have wide ramifications, it will provide a sound basis and the conceptual resources for both ethicists, philosophers of science and scientists to theorise about us as agents in the world, and about the nature of our world.Read moreRead less
Time-asymmetry and the Bohmian view of the quantum world. Australia is among the world leaders in research on decoherence and time asymmetry. This research will make significant and innovative contributions to a unified understanding of these two areas by determining their connections and mutual implications. It will thus play an important role in further expanding Australia's role in fundamental research on the boundary between philosophy and physics. Results from this research will also be rel ....Time-asymmetry and the Bohmian view of the quantum world. Australia is among the world leaders in research on decoherence and time asymmetry. This research will make significant and innovative contributions to a unified understanding of these two areas by determining their connections and mutual implications. It will thus play an important role in further expanding Australia's role in fundamental research on the boundary between philosophy and physics. Results from this research will also be relevant to the theoretical and conceptual basis of next-generation quantum technologies.
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The Role of Naturalism in Ontology and Scientific Methodology. Naturalism is the philosophical doctrine perhaps best described as a respect for the methods of the natural sciences. Although most contemporary philosophers would describe themselves as naturalists, exactly how this important doctrine is spelled out is a matter of much controversy. What is more, many substantial issues in both philosophy of science and in metaphysics depend crucially on how we understand naturalism. This project ....The Role of Naturalism in Ontology and Scientific Methodology. Naturalism is the philosophical doctrine perhaps best described as a respect for the methods of the natural sciences. Although most contemporary philosophers would describe themselves as naturalists, exactly how this important doctrine is spelled out is a matter of much controversy. What is more, many substantial issues in both philosophy of science and in metaphysics depend crucially on how we understand naturalism. This project will investigate the various conceptions of naturalism, looking at both their motivations and their implications for philosophy and scientific and mathematical methodology.Read moreRead less
A Practical Theory of Factual Information: Fundamentals and Applications in Philosophy and Physics. The project will provide answers to questions of fundamental significance to all Australians. By developing a new philosophical theory of factual information, it will yield new insights into one of the basic things that makes us human. By applying the new theory to central contemporary problems in philosophy and physics, it will provide a new understanding of the role and significance of causal re ....A Practical Theory of Factual Information: Fundamentals and Applications in Philosophy and Physics. The project will provide answers to questions of fundamental significance to all Australians. By developing a new philosophical theory of factual information, it will yield new insights into one of the basic things that makes us human. By applying the new theory to central contemporary problems in philosophy and physics, it will provide a new understanding of the role and significance of causal reasoning, and of the nature of the quantum world. The project will add greatly to the growth of Australia's research capital, attracting some of the world's best young researchers and students to work and study in this country, and adding further to Australia's international prominence, in a field in which we are already very strong.Read moreRead less
Personal Identity, Consciousness and Agency. If I lose my memory, am I the same person I used to be? If much of my body or brain is replaced, do I remain the same person? What if my beliefs and attitudes are altered: does this affect who I am? These are questions of personal identity, and they have enormous bearing on questions of public ethics, especially in the light of biomedical changes. Our inter-disciplinary solutions will add both nuance and insight to the difficult decisions the communit ....Personal Identity, Consciousness and Agency. If I lose my memory, am I the same person I used to be? If much of my body or brain is replaced, do I remain the same person? What if my beliefs and attitudes are altered: does this affect who I am? These are questions of personal identity, and they have enormous bearing on questions of public ethics, especially in the light of biomedical changes. Our inter-disciplinary solutions will add both nuance and insight to the difficult decisions the community will face in this area. The project brings to Australia two leading young researchers from the United States, thus substantially enhancing Australia's skill base and international profile.Read moreRead less
Closing the Future: New Foundations for the Physics of Possibility. The distinction between a fixed and an open future is deeply embedded in human thought, and also central to some of the most profound puzzles in contemporary physics. By revealing the human origins of out fundamental concepts of possibility in time, this project will enhance our understanding of one of the most basic features of our experience of the world, lay foundations for a new treatment of time and possibility in foundame ....Closing the Future: New Foundations for the Physics of Possibility. The distinction between a fixed and an open future is deeply embedded in human thought, and also central to some of the most profound puzzles in contemporary physics. By revealing the human origins of out fundamental concepts of possibility in time, this project will enhance our understanding of one of the most basic features of our experience of the world, lay foundations for a new treatment of time and possibility in foundamental physics, and throw important new light on the mysteries of the quantum world.Read moreRead less
Belief singular versus beliefs plural. Research on the brain and how it represents the environment has the potential to reconfigure our ordinary conceptions of belief and rationality. This project explores the impact of the changes and their implications.