Condensed Matter

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Condensing recent work in metaphysics and the philosophy of science down to what matters. Hosted by Dr Sam Kimpton-Nye, research associate on the MetaScience project (ERC, Horizon 2020, grant agreement No 771509; www.metascience.xyz) at the Unversity of Bristol. Music: NaturesEye from Pixabay. Art: Francesca Smith

Sam Kimpton-Nye

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    • Jun 4, 2024 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 19m AVG DURATION
    • 38 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Condensed Matter

    37: "Why Being Necessary Really Is Not the Same As Being Not Possibly Not", Dana Goswick

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2024 9:23


    Modality (possibility, necessity and related phenomena) is central to philosophy both as a topic of inquiry and as a methodological tool. There are many controversies about the nature of possibility and necessity and about what counts as possible or necessary. But it is generally agreed that possibility and necessity are intimitely related, they are interdefinable: being possible is the same as being not necessarily not. Goswick, however, denies this! Listen to find out why. Click here for the paper. Support the Show.

    36: "The Singularity: A Philosophical Analysis", David Chalmers

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 19, 2023 23:47


    Recently, there has been frenzied interest in artificial intelligence and, in particular, in the issue of AI safety; there have been “open letters” signed by some of the biggest names in the tech business urging us to take seriously the existential threat posed by AI, and the UK government has just announced that it will convene the first global AI safety summit this autumn. But what is the threat here, exactly? There are risks associated with any new technology: fire burns, nuclear energy can be harnessed in bombs and social media algorithms threaten democracy. The so-called AI singularity is supposed to be at least on par with the absolute worst of these threats since, according to some, it has the real potential to wipe out all of humanity. Will there be a singularity? How should we negotiate a singularity and will it necessarily be a bad thing resulting in human extinction? Assuming the singularity doesn't wipe out humanity, how can we integrate into a post-singularity world? Listen to find out!Here is a link to the paper.Support the show

    35: "There is no measurement problem for Humeans", Chris Dorst

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2023 16:21


    The measurement problem highlights a deeply puzzling feature of quantum mechanics: nature seems to obey one law when not measured and a completely different law when measured. But how does nature "recognise" measurement contexts?! What explains these shifts in how nature operates?  For the Humean about laws, i.e., one who maintains that nature unthinkingly acts and the laws describe, these issues lose their bite. So perhaps there just is no measurement problem for Humeans! But if true, does this count for or against Humeanism? Listen and decide!Here's a link to the paperSee also this paper by Hicks and Schaffer for detail on derivative properties featuring in fundamental laws, an idea that features centrally in Dorst's discussion.  Support the show

    34: "The Limits of Modality", Sam Cowling

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 19, 2023 13:45


    This episode is about Sam Cowling's "The Limits of Modality" published in the Philosophical Quarterly in 2011. Are all true propositions either contingent or necessary? Cowling argues that if we want to understand the metaphysics of modality in terms of possible worlds we should maintain that certain true propositions are neither contingent nor necessary but just true simpliciter. Is this conceptually coherent? Have a listen and make up your mind! Here's a link to the paper.Support the show

    33: "Biochemical Functions", Francesca Bellazzi (deep dive featuring the author!)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 22, 2022 37:04


    In the episode, I talk with Francesca Bellazzi about her paper "Biochemical Functions", which is forthcoming in the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. We discuss the distinction between functions and mere accidents, the peculiar puzzle posed by biochemical functions, evolutionary explanations, the relationship between science and philosophy and much more! Click here for the paperClick here for more about Francesca Click here for more about the MetaScience project Support the show

    32: "Substance", Donnchadh O'Conaill (deep dive featuring the author!)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2022 73:59


    In this episode, I ask Donnchadh O'Conaill about themes from his book "Substance" which is forthcoming with Cambridge University Press as part of the Cambridge Elements in Metaphysics series. We cover the roles in metaphysical theorising that substance plays, candidate examples of substance, the methodology of metaphysics and its relationship to science among other things. Click here for more about Donnchadh Click here for the Elements in Metaphysics Support the show

    31: "Biological Individuality and the Foetus Problem", Will Morgan (deep dive featuring the author!)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2022 45:40


    In this episode, I talk to my Bristol MetaScience colleague, Dr Will Morgan, about his recently published paper in which he argues that if we accept the physiological approach to biological individuality, it seems that a foetus never becomes the organism that is present after birth. This then raises the difficult question: what happens to the foetus? We also touch on the relevance of metaphysics to biology and to ethics. You can read the paper hereClick here for more about WillSupport the show

    30: “How Skeptical is Quine's “Modal Skepticism”?”, John Divers

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 5, 2022 14:35


    Was Quine really a modal sceptic--someone who thought that modality was unintelligible or paradoxical? Divers thinks he is better cast as a non-sceptical modal anti-realist. Here's a link to the paper: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/122483/1/how%20Skeptical%3F.pdfSupport the show

    Ep. 29: "Modal Conventionalism", Ross Cameron

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2022 9:26


    The focus of this episode is Ross Cameron's "Modal Conventionalism" published in The Routledge Handbook of Modality in 2021. Here is a link to the paper, but these handbooks are insanely expensive, which I suppose is a good reason to do more episodes based on their chapters! Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Ep. 28: "Panpsychism", Thomas Nagel (CM classic!)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2022 9:25


    The focus of this episode is Thomas Nagel's “Panpsychism”, published by Cambridge University Press in his “Mortal Questions” anthology. This isn't a recent paper, it was first published in 1979. But it is a nice, sober, discussion of panpsychism that makes quite clear a relatively sensible motivation for the view as well as what is involved in its denial. This all makes for a nice change to some of the rather heated public debates of the issue nowadays. So, call this a Condensed Matter classic. Maybe I'll do more of these in future because I definitely think there are plenty of older papers out there that are worth revisiting in this format. Link to the paper: https://philpapers.org/rec/NAGPSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Ep. 27: “Modal dispositionalism and necessary perfect masks”, Barbara Vetter and Ralf Busse

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2022 11:37


    Support the show on Patreon to gain instant access to searchable, comment-on-able PDF scripts of all solo episodes! Your support will help to defray hosting and equipment costs and is very much appreciated. The focus of this episode is “Modal dispositionalism and necessary perfect masks”, by Barbara Vetter and Ralf Busse, forthcoming in Analysis. Link to the paper: https://academic.oup.com/analysis/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/analys/anab061/6511667?redirectedFrom=fulltext You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening!    Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Ep. 26: "An Apology for Naturalized Metaphysics", James Ladyman (deep dive featuring the author!)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2022 49:22


    Support the show on Patreon to gain instant access to searchable, comment-on-able PDF scripts of all solo episodes! Your support will help to defray hosting and equipment costs and is very much appreciated. For this episode, I'm joined by Professor James Ladyman to discuss his paper "An Apology for Naturalized Metaphysics", published in 2017 by Oxford University Press in Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Science edited by Matthew Slater and Zanja Yudell. James is professor of philosophy at the University of Bristol. We discuss the nature of truth, disagreement in metaphysics and in science, conceptual conservatism and innovation, breaking free from the manifest image and much more. Link to the paper: https://philpapers.org/rec/LADAAFMore about James: https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/persons/james-a-c-ladymanIf you enjoyed the show, please rate and review it on your favourite app so more people can find it. You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening!   Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Ep. 25 "The Governing Conception of Laws", Nina Emery (deep dive featuring the author!)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 22, 2021 48:25


    For this episode, I'm joined by Professor Nina Emery to discuss her paper “The Governing Conception of Laws", forthcoming in Ergo. Nina is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Mount Holyoak College. Nina is also the president-elect of the society for the metaphysics of science. Link to the paper: https://philarchive.org/archive/EMETGC More about Nina: http://www.ninaemery.org/The Society for the Metaphysics of Science: https://socmetsci.org/If you enjoyed the show, please rate and review it on your favourite app so more people can find it. You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening!   Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Ep. 24: “Going Beyond the Fundamental: Feminism in Contemporary Metaphysics”, Elizabeth Barnes

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 15, 2021 9:52


     Click here for the article.If you are enjoying Condensed Matter, please consider supporting the show on Patreon. In recognition of your support, you'll get the opportunity to suggest articles and guests for future episodes. You'll also now get access to PDF scripts of the solo episodes! You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening!    Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Ep. 23: "Governing Without a Fundamental Direction of Time", Chen and Goldstein

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2021 11:48


     Click here for the article.If you are enjoying Condensed Matter, please consider supporting the show on Patreon. In recognition of your support, you'll get the opportunity to suggest articles and guests for future episodes. You'll also now get access to PDF scripts of the solo episodes! You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening!   Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Ep. 22: "Aristotelian Supervenience", John Heil

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2021 11:25


     Click here for the article.If you are enjoying Condensed Matter, please consider supporting the show on Patreon. In recognition of your support, you'll get the opportunity to suggest articles and guests for future episodes. You'll also now get access to PDF scripts of the solo episodes! You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening!  Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 21: "Causal Content and Global Laws: Grounding Modality in Experimental Practice", Jenann Ismael

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2021 10:22


     Click here for the article.If you are enjoying Condensed Matter, please consider supporting the show on Patreon. In recognition of your support, you'll get the opportunity to suggest articles and guests for future episodes. You'll also now get access to PDF scripts of the solo episodes! You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening!       Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 20: "Disagreement in Metaphysics", Timothy WIlliamson

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2021 12:24


     Click here for the article.If you are enjoying Condensed Matter, please consider supporting the show on Patreon. In recognition of your support, you'll get the opportunity to suggest articles and guests for future episodes. I'm also thinking about what else I can offer Patreon supporters, so support the show and you'll be first to know!You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening!      Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 19: "Realism Without Parochialism", Phillip Bricker

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 13, 2021 10:53


     Click here for the article.If you are enjoying Condensed Matter, please consider supporting the show on Patreon. In recognition of your support, you'll get the opportunity to suggest articles and guests for future episodes. You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening!       Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 18: "Metaphysics After Carnap: the Ghost Who Walks?", Huw Price

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2021 13:32


     Click here for the article.If you are enjoying Condensed Matter, please consider supporting the show on Patreon. In recognition of your support, you'll get the opportunity to suggest articles and guests for future episodes. You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening!      Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 17: "Social kinds are essentially mind-dependent", Rebecca Mason

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2021 11:05


    Click here for the article.If you are enjoying Condensed Matter, please consider supporting the show on Patreon. In recognition of your support, you'll get the opportunity to suggest articles and guests for future episodes. You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening!     Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 16: "Calculus and counterpossibles in science", Brian McLoone

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2021 11:15


     Click here for the article.If you are enjoying Condensed Matter, please consider supporting the show on Patreon. In recognition of your support, you'll get the opportunity to suggest articles and guests for future episodes. You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening!     Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 15: "The rationality of metaphysics", E.J. Lowe

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2021 12:17


    The focus of this episode is E.J. Lowe's "The rationality of metaphysics", published in  Synthese in 2011.**I have a slip of the tongue in the recording and say that the paper was published in 2021! It was definitely published in 2011. Click here for the article.If you are enjoying Condensed Matter, please consider supporting the show on Patreon. In recognition of your support, you'll get the opportunity to suggest articles and guests for future episodes. You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening!    Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 14: "Where Do You Get Your Protein? Or: Biochemical Realization", Tuomas Tahko (deep dive featuring the author!)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 8, 2021 40:15


     For this episode, I'm joined by Professor Tuomas Tahko to discuss his paper “Where Do You Get Your Protein? Or: Biochemical Realization", published in The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science in 2020. Tuomas is Professor of Metaphysics of Science at the University of Bristol and principal investigator on the ERC funded MetaScience project. Link to the paper: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1093/bjps/axy044More about Tuomas: https://www.ttahko.net/The MetaScience project: https://metascience.xyz/ If you enjoyed the show, please rate and review it on your favourite app so more people can find it. You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening!  Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 13: "Norms and Modality", Amie Thomasson

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2021 9:27


    The focus of this episode is Amie Thomasson's article “Norms and Modality”, published in the Routledge Handbook of Modality in 2021. Link to the article: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315742144-17/norms-modality-amie-thomassonAmie Thomasson: https://philpapers.org/s/Amie%20L.%20Thomasson If you enjoyed the show, please rate and review it on your favourite app so more people can find it. You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening!   Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 12: "What Everyone Should Say about Symmetries (and How Humeans Get to Say It)", Michael Townsen Hicks (deep dive featuring the author!)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2021 54:02


    For this episode, I'm joined by Dr Michael Townsen Hicks to discuss his paper “What Everyone Should Say about Symmetries (and How Humeans Get to Say It)”, published in Philosophy of Science in 2019. Mike is a research fellow on the FramePhys project at the University of Birmingham. Link to the paper: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/705475More about Mike: https://www.townsenhicks.com/The FraMEPhys project: https://framephys.org/ If you enjoyed the show, please rate and review it on your favourite app so more people can find it. You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening! Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 11: “Nomothetic Explanation and Humeanism about Laws of Nature”, Harjit Bhogal

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2021 12:02


    The focus of this episode is Harjit Bhogal's article “Nomothetic Explanation and Humeanism about Laws of Nature”, published in Oxford Studies in Metaphysics in 2020. Link to the paper: https://philarchive.org/rec/BHONEA If you enjoyed the show, please rate and review it on your favourite app so more people can find it. You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening!  Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 10: "Realism and the Absence of Value", Shamik Dasgupta

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2021 14:34


    The focus of this episode is Shamik Dasgupta's article "Realism and the Absence of Value", published in The Philosophical Review in 2018.Link to the article: https://read.dukeupress.edu/the-philosophical-review/article-abstract/127/3/279/135296/Realism-and-the-Absence-of-ValueAlso: http://shamik.net/papers/dasgupta%20realism%20and%20the%20absence%20of%20value.pdfIf you enjoyed the show, please rate and review it on your favourite app so more people can find it. You can carry on the discussion on Twitter and there's even an Instagram page. Thanks for listening! Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 9: "Megarian Variable Actualism", Toby Friend (deep dive featuring the author!)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2021 27:10


    In this episode, Dr Toby Friend and I take a deep dive into his article "Megarian Variable Actualism", published in Synthese in 2021. Link to the paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11229-021-03257-7More on Toby Friend: https://sites.google.com/view/tobyfriendSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 8: "Sideways music", Ned Markosian

    Play Episode Play 16 sec Highlight Listen Later Jul 28, 2021 9:26


    The focus of this episode is Ned Markosian's paper "Sideways music, published in Analysis in 2019.Link to the paper: https://academic.oup.com/analysis/article-abstract/80/1/51/5543488?redirectedFrom=fulltextSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 7: "The Ground Between the Gaps", Jonathan Schaffer

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2021 11:51


    The focus of this episode is Jonathan Schaffer's “The ground between the gaps”, published in Philosophers' Imprint in 2017. Link to the paper: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/phimp/3521354.0017.011/--ground-between-the-gaps?view=imageSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 6: "Conceptualizing causal powers: activity, capacity, essence, necessitation", Ruth Groff

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2021 10:09


    The focus of this episode is Ruth Groff's article: “Conceptualizing causal powers: activity, capacity, essence, necessitation”. Published in Synthese in 2021 as part of the topical collection “New Foundations of Dispositionalism,” edited by Andrea Raimondi and Lorenzo Azzano. Link to the paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11229-021-03229-xSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 0: Introducing Condensed Matter

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2021 2:33


    Welcome to Condensed Matter, condensing recent work in metaphysics and the philosophy of science down to what matters.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 1: "How scientific models can explain", Alisa Bokulich

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2021 10:43


    The focus of this episode is Alisa Bokulich's article "How scientific models can explain", published in Synthese in 2011.   Link to the article: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11229-009-9565-1Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 2: "Fundamental Powers, Evolved Powers, and Mental Powers", Alexander Bird; "Evolved Powers, Artefact Powers, and Dispositional Explanations", Barbara Vetter

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2021 16:13


    This episode a two for one: I'll be discussing an exchange between Alexander Bird and Barbara Vetter that takes the form of two articles, one by each author, published in the proceedings of the Aristotelian Society in 2018.   Bird: https://academic.oup.com/aristoteliansupp/article-abstract/92/1/247/5032734 Vetter: https://academic.oup.com/aristoteliansupp/article-abstract/92/1/277/5032735Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 3: "Ramseyan Humility", David Lewis

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2021 8:50


    The focus of this episode is David Lewis's "Ramseyan Humility" published In David Braddon-Mitchell & Robert Nola's (eds.), Conceptual Analysis and Philosophical Naturalism. MIT Press. 2009. Link: https://philpapers.org/rec/LEWRH Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 4: "Troubles with Theoretical Virtues: Resisting Theoretical Utility Arguments in Metaphysics", Otávio Bueno and Scott Shalkowski

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2021 9:13


    The focus of this episode is Otávio Bueno and Scott Shalkowski's article: Troubles with Theoretical Virtues: Resisting Theoretical Utility Arguments in Metaphysics, published in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research in 2019.  Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/phpr.12597Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

    Episode 5: "There Are No Ahistorical Theories of Function", Justin Garson

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2021 8:36


    The focus of this episode is Justin Garson's article "There Are No Ahistorical Theories of Function" published in Philosophy of Science in 2019.    Link: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/705472 Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter)

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