2025 Annual Philosophy of Physics Conferences

25 May 2025 - 28 May 2025

Empiricism and the Methodology of Modern Physics

May 25-26
The structure of theories and how they represent the natural world, through introducing basic principles and asserting the existence of unobserved entities, have been central questions in philosophy of science over the last century. Bill Demopoulos, George Smith, and Howard Stein all developed sophisticated versions of empiricism to address these questions, inspired in part by careful analysis of scientific practice.  All three acknowledged the centrality of measurement in evidential reasoning in physics, and argued that understanding this role properly requires moving past earlier accounts of methodology — such as the method of hypotheses, inference to the best explanation, partial interpretation, and structural isomorphism.  This conference will focus on work that considers the methodology of physics from a similar perspective, with an eye towards the development of a more satisfactory account of the structure and interpretation of physical theories.

Mike Cuffaro (MCMP)
Molly Kao (U de Montreal)
James Mattingly (Georgetown)
Michael Miller (Toronto)
Miguel Ohnesorge (Cambridge / Boston University)
Lydia Patton (Virginia Tech)
Chris Pincock (Ohio State)
Simon Saunders (Oxford)
Jim Weatherall (UC Irvine)

Coming soon!

For individuals traveling to London for the conference, we offer the following suggestions & general information:

Accommodations

Hotels close to campus include:

Transportation

Our local airport code is YXU (London, Ontario, Canada). It can sometimes be less expensive to fly into either Toronto or Detroit, then take an airport shuttle van (Robert Q) or bus (Flixbus) into London.

The London Transit Commission has several bus routes (2, 6, 9C, 10, 13, 31, 32, 33 and 34) that drop off somewhere on or near the university. Buses tend to run every 15 to 30 minutes (depending on the line, and day of the week). Visit the London Transit Commission website for bus routes and estimated bus arrival times.

Conference Location & Parking

Details coming soon!

Logic, Mathematics, and Physics Graduate Conference

May 27-28

The Logic, Mathematics, and Physics (LMP) Graduate Conference at Western University is an annual event that aims to foster collaboration and critical engagement among graduate students researching the philosophies of physics, mathematics, and logic. The conference includes presentations from graduate students who have not yet defended their PhD theses, providing them with an opportunity to share their research and engage in discussions with peers and experts in the field and to obtain feedback. This year, the conference welcomes keynote speaker Steven Weinstein, Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo and Affiliate of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. His research focuses on the foundations of physics, the nature of time, and interpretations of quantum mechanics.

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