The Society for Philosophy of Science is delighted to host a talk by Dr. Laura Ruetsche of the University of Michigan.
Date: Fri 28 March 2025
Reception: 2:45 pm - 3:45 pm, University Hall third floor faculty lounge (near Gluck library)
Talk: 4:15 pm - 6:15 pm, UH 014 (basement)
Title: That's Entertainment: Pragmatism and the Interpretation of Physical Theories
Abstract: I articulate and defend a broadly pragmatist way of thinking about science---Hermeneutic Empiricism--- that's for interpretations understood as representational, but resists the idea that the sole, or even the primary, point of interpretation is successful representation. I aim as well to to characterize what's at stake in the choice between Hermeneutic Empiricism and other approaches (Scientific realism, Constructive empiricism) on offer---and to argue that we should choose Hermeneutic Empiricism on the grounds that it makes better sense of science and scientific than the others.
Bio: Laura Ruetsche's research focuses on the foundations of physical theories, particularly quantum theories. Her book Interpreting Quantum Theories (Oxford), published in May 2011, was a co-winner of the 2013 Lakatos Award in philosophy of science. The book aims to use peculiar features of quantum field theories to challenge entrenched accounts of what a quantum theory is and how a physical theory comes to be associated with a collection of worlds that are by its lights possible. Laura is also interested in the question of what gender (and similar sorts of social locatedness) might have to do with the epistemic dimension of scientific inquiry. Laura has held tenure-track appointments at the University of Pittsburgh and Middlebury College, visiting appointments at Cornell and Rutgers, and fellowships from the ACLS (the Charles Ryskamp fellowship) and the Center for Advanced Study of the Behavioral Sciences.
