History & Philosophy of Science
What Does It Mean
to Take Science Seriously?
A decade spent thinking carefully about what science tells us — and what it doesn't
Research Focus
My doctoral research examined the long-standing stalemate between scientific realists and anti-realists — a debate that has defined philosophy of science for decades.
Rather than adjudicating the debate on purely epistemic grounds, I explored the pragmatic motivations for adopting either position. What does it mean for working scientists — and for society — when we commit to one view over another?
Scientific Realism — The view that our best scientific theories describe reality as it actually is
Anti-Realism — Skepticism about whether theories reveal truth, or merely "save the phenomena"
Pragmatic Turn — Shifting focus from epistemics to the practical consequences of our commitments
"What hangs on taking science literally? And what do we lose when we don't?"
Academic Credentials
Doctorate
PhD, History & Philosophy of Science
University of Toronto
Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
Thesis: "A Pragmatic, Existentialist Approach to the Scientific Realism Debate"
Supervisor: James Robert Brown • Defended 2017
Undergraduate
BA with Distinction, Philosophy
University of Alberta
Minor in Sociology
2006
Selected Publications
"The pragmatic turn in the scientific realism debate"
Synthese (2024) • with S.C. Boucher
"The future of the scientific realism debate"
Spontaneous Generations (2018)
"A Pragmatic, Existentialist Approach to the Scientific Realism Debate"
Synthese (2017)
"Anti-Realist Empiricism's Failures of Systematicity"
Conversations in Philosophy: Knowledge and Freedom (2015)
"Editor's Introduction: Science and Public Controversy"
Spontaneous Generations (Editor) (2011)
Teaching Experience
Courses taught at the undergraduate and graduate level
This background shapes how I think about everything else.
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