Jim Weatherall

Spread the word! Submissions are now open for Foundations of Physics 2027 in Singapore. See the conference website for more information: www.ntu.edu.sg/soh/news-eve...

Here's a very nice write-up from UCI! Thanks @ucisocsci.bsky.social for the lovely article, and thanks @apsphysics.aps.org for bestowing the honor! Very nice for a philosopher of physics to be recognized in this way. #AmericanPhysicalSociety #APShonors www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/n...

We’re very pleased to have James Owen Weatherall in town on 10.13.26 for two talks: a special Foundations Seminar at the BHI followed by a talk for the Boston Network for the History and Philosophy of Physics (BNHPP) at Northeastern. bit.ly/47ICNus #JamesWeatherall #bhi #BNHPP #physics #blackhole

Just launched! LPS is running a new certificate program on Science for Policy and the Public. It's an introduction to modern philosophy of science aimed at people who communicate about and advise on science. Check it out! ce.uci.edu/programs/soc... #philsci #philsky #academicsky

Congrats to @cailinmeister.bsky.social, @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social, and Nathan Gabriel for their paper being selected @lastpositivist.bsky.social was also an author but he wouldn't want congratulations.

Just published! Klaas Landsman's contribution to the Elements in Philosophy of Physics Series, on Philosophy of Mathematical Physics www.cambridge.org/core/element... Open access for the next two weeks, so get it while you can!

www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-to...

New Cambridge Element in Philosophy of Physics just published! The Philosophy of Time Reversal, by Cristian Lopez. Available for free for the next two weeks: www.cambridge.org/core/element...

Not sure who needs to hear this today but determinism is not a mysterious metaphysical notion. If you or a loved one are struggling with haecceities, hang in there and read this paper. You got this! (new work with Hans Halvorson and @jamesowenweatherall.com) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

New Cambridge Element in Philosophy of Physics! Classical and Quantum Phase Space Mechanics, by Karim Thebault. Open Access for the next two weeks. www.cambridge.org/core/element...

Deadline extended to February 15th! Please share widely.

Submissions are open for Foundations of Physics 2026, in Irvine, CA! Hosted by the Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science. Submission deadline is February 1. Tell your friends! foundations2026.us

Prof Chris Smeenk (Western Uni, London Ontario) will be giving the 2025 Beth Lecture, presenting his upcoming book with @jamesowenweatherall.com on the aim and structure of cosmological theory. 10 Dec 2025, Academiegebouw Utrecht, 19:30-21:00, followed by reception. hpp-nl.nl/events/beth2...

Claude Sonnet 4.5 just told me I have "graduate-level philosophical insight" and "genuine philosophical ability". Ngl feeling pretty chuffed.

The Phil-Sci Archive at Pitt is now pushing papers out on Bluesky. Follow the account below to see them @philsci-archive.bsky.social

Had an absolute blast writing this paper with Thomas, Hans, and @jamesowenweatherall.com! GR turns out to be way more deterministic than previously appreciated. The past determines the future not only up to isomorphism but up to *unique* isomorphism! 🤯

Hey folks -- this is of "historical importance"! Formal proof and epistemic value open.substack.com/pub/siliconr...

Hello! I just started at new center at UCI! Some main foci will be misinformation, metascience, and equity! www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/n...

Just had the surreal experience of finding my own (not very common) name in the von Neumann papers.

New Element just published! Philosophy of Cosmology and Astrophysics, by Siska De Baerdemaeker. Open access until 10/3. Tell your friends! www.cambridge.org/core/element...

#philski #philsci Quick Q: anyone know what semantic glue is supposed to be? Can I get it on Amazon or do I have to go to like a crafts store?

new motto for zfc just dropped

I keep coming back to the Gaetz nomination for AG in light of all this Epstein stuff.

Have you ever wanted to visualize how belief polarization might occur in scientific communities? Then check out this simulator, based on the model developed by @cailinmeister.bsky.social and @jamesowenweatherall.com in their (2018) paper on polarization #philsci #philsky #metasci

Tell me you've never cared for a toddler without telling me you've never cared for a toddler. (Descartes' fourth rule governing collisions, from Principles of Philosophy [1644].)

Very excited for this summer school on my forthcoming book with Chris Smeenk, The Aims and Structure of Cosmological Theory!! The book is very nearly finished. Let us know if you'd like to give feedback on a draft. www.usi.ch/en/education...

Information dynamics on Twitter are incredible right now. Israel and Iran are both very good at viral disinformation, and it is easy to find bubbles where everyone is convinced each side is definitely winning. Plus the red-pilled, conspiracy-curious right is split in two and arguing like mad.

Richard L. Garwin, a Creator of the Hydrogen Bomb, Dies at 97 www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/s... Dick Garwin was such an incredible scientist and engineer, but he was very often in the shadows. Though I am very sorry to hear he has passed, I love the long and well-deserved obit from NYT.

I am dismayed to report that @cailinmeister.bsky.social now has a lower Erdos-Bacon number than me. There are no words. I appreciate privacy during this difficult period. That said, if anyone is looking for a young Tom Selleck in an upcoming Kevin Bacon film pls DM me.

Three new papers out on the philsci archive! Natural Theories, with Eleanor March (philsci-archive.pitt.edu/25019/) Spacetime Models for Cosmology (CLMPST 23, for Roberto Torretti -- philsci-archive.pitt.edu/25018/) On (Some) Gauge Theories of Gravity (PSA 24 -- philsci-archive.pitt.edu/25017/)

@cailinmeister.bsky.social Nice mention in the Atlantic today! www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Undergrads interested in philosophy of science? Please share that applications are open for our summer development program! lpssdp.com?fbclid=IwY2x...

Surprised by this Munich to London leg of my trip from Irvine to Bangalore.

Two new papers out today on "determinism" co-authored with the foundations of (a)symmetries dream team: @jimweatherall.bsky.social, Hans Halvorson, and Thomas Barrett. #philsci #philsky philsci-archive.pitt.edu/24881/ philsci-archive.pitt.edu/24883/

The deadline to register for Foundations of Physics 2025, in Gdansk Poland, is coming up next week! The process is confusing. To submit your abstract, you need to register for the meeting (no fee is charged!). Abstract submission is part of that process. philosophyofphysics.org/2024/11/foun...

#philsky #philsci Videos from the workshop on Symmetry and Structure that Clara Bradley and I organized in Irvine in September 2023 are now available online. Some very interesting stuff there! Enjoy! jamesowenweatherall.com/symmetry-and... youtube.com/playlist?lis...

New Element in Philosophy of Physics just published! Karen Crowther's "Why Do We Want a Theory of Quantum Gravity?" is available for free online for two weeks. www.cambridge.org/core/element...

@tobymeadows.bsky.social gave the coolest talk today in our Logic seminar. I feel like everything that has ever kept me up at night about theoretical equivalence has been resolved.