Research

Project led by Alan Love (University of Minnesota), C. Kenneth Waters (University of Calgary), Marcel Weber (University of Geneva), and William C. Wimsatt (University of Minnesota); I was a Co-investigator in this project

Please visit the project website here.

Scientific metaphysics is based on the idea that metaphysics — the study of what the world is ultimately like — should be informed by the remarkable success of science. Opponents argue that the continuous rejection of fundamental scientific claims through history undermines the assumption that science can provide a reliable basis for drawing metaphysical conclusions. This project advances a new approach for scientific metaphysics by analyzing successful scientific practices that depend on modest theoretical claims but nevertheless undergird advances across sciences that deal with complexity, especially in biology. This approach probes the metaphysical implications of stable forms of successful practice in situations where local, partial theories of complex phenomena do not yield integrated, comprehensive outlooks across different levels of organization.