Christopher Pincock
Curriculum Vitae
Department of Philosophy
47907-2098
Office: (765) 494-4280, Fax: (765) 496-1616
E-mail: pincock@purdue.edu, Web page: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~cpincock/
Education
Ph.D.
B.A. (Honors)
Academic Employment
2007 – present Associate
Professor, Philosophy,
2002 – 2007 Assistant Professor, Philosophy,
Areas of
Specialization
Philosophy of Science; Philosophy of Mathematics; History of Analytic Philosophy; Philosophy of Logic
Areas of Competence
Logic (Deductive and Inductive); History of Early Modern Philosophy; Philosophy of Language
Dissertation
Title: “A Structuralist Approach to Applying Mathematics”
Committee: Prof. Paolo Mancosu (chair); Prof. Hans Sluga; Prof. Jack Silver
Publications
Refereed Articles
(12) “The Value of Mathematics for Scientific Confirmation”, Philosophy of Science (Symposium Proceedings), forthcoming.
(11) “Modeling Reality”, Synthese, forthcoming in special issue on Models and Simulations 2.
(10) “From Sunspots to the Southern Oscillation: Confirming Models of Large-Scale Phenomena in Meteorology”, Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science 40 (2009): 45-56.
(9) “Russell’s Last (and Best) Multiple-Relation Theory of Judgment”, Mind 117 (2008): 107-139.
(8) “Mathematical Idealization”, Philosophy of Science (Proceedings) 74 (2007): 957-967.
(7) “A Role for Mathematics in the Physical Sciences”, Nous 41 (2007): 253-275.
(6)“Richard Semon and Russell’s Analysis of Mind”, Russell 26 (2006): 101-125.
(5) “Overextending Partial Structures: Idealization and Abstraction”, Philosophy of Science (Proceedings) 72 (2005): 1248-1259.
(4) “A Reserved Reading of Carnap’s Aufbau”, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 86 (2005): 518-543.
(3) “A New Perspective on the Problem of Applying Mathematics”, Philosophia Mathematica 12 (2004): 135-161.
(2) “A Revealing Flaw in Colyvan’s Indispensability Argument”, Philosophy of Science 71 (2004): 61-79.
(1) “Russell’s Influence on Carnap’s Aufbau”, Synthese 131 (2002): 1-37.
Invited Articles
(8) “Carnap’s Logical Structure of the World”, Philosophy Compass, forthcoming.
(7) “Towards a Philosophy of Applied Mathematics”, in O. Bueno & Ø. Linnebo (eds.), New Waves in Philosophy of Mathematics, Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming.
(6) “Mathematical Structural Realism”, in A. Bokulich & P. Bokulich (eds.), Scientific Structuralism, Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Springer, forthcoming.
(5) “Carnap, Russell and the External World”, in M. Friedman & R. Creath (eds.), Cambridge Companion to Carnap, Cambridge University Press, 2008, 106-128.
(4) “The Limits of the Relative A Priori”, Soochow Journal of Philosophical Studies
(
(3) “Accounting for the Unity of Experience in Dilthey, Rickert, Bradley and Ward”, in U. Feest (ed.), Historical Perspectives on Erklären and Verstehen, Archimedes, Vol. 21, Springer, forthcoming. (Also available in Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Preprint Series, Vol. 324, 2007, 175-192.)
(2) “Conditions on the Use of the One-dimensional Heat Equation”, in G. Sica (ed.), Essays on the Foundations of Mathematics and Logic, Vol. 2, Polimetrica, 2005, 67-79.
(1) “Carnap and the Unity of Science: 1921-1928”, in T. Bonk (ed.), Language, Truth and Knowledge: Contributions to the Philosophy of Rudolf Carnap, Vienna Circle Institute Library, Volume 2, Kluwer, 2003, 87-96.
Critical Notices, Reviews and Discussions
(18) Critical Notice: “Mark Wilson, Wandering Significance: An Essay on Conceptual Behavior”, Philosophia Mathematica, forthcoming.
(17) “B. Gold & R. A. Simons (ed.), Proof and Other Dilemmas: Mathematics and Philosophy”, Association for Computing Machinery SIGACT News, forthcoming.
(16) “D. Reed, The Origins of Analytic Philosophy: Kant and Frege”, History and Philosophy of Logic 30 (2009): 308-309.
(15) “J. Lützen, Mechanistic Images in Geometric Form: Heinrich Hertz’s Principles of Mechanics”, Philosophia Mathematica 16 (2008): 140-144.
(14) “
(13) “
(12) “Rejoinder to Soames”,
(11) “M. Frápolli (ed.), F. P. Ramsey: Critical Reassessments”, History and Philosophy of Logic 27 (2006): 81-82.
(10) “S. Soames, Philosophical Analysis in the Twentieth Century (2 vols.)”, Russell 25 (2006): 167-171.
(9) “D. Corfield, Towards a Philosophy of Real Mathematics”, Philosophy of Science 72 (2005): 632-634.
(8) “Awodey and Klein (eds.), Carnap Brought Home: The
View from
(7) Critical Notice: “T. Wilholt, Zahl und Wirklichkeit [Number and Reality]”, Philosophia Mathematica 13 (2005): 329-337.
(6) “Comments on Liebers’s ‘
(5) “
(4) “Wittgenstein and Waismann, The Voices of Wittgenstein: The
(3) “Parrini, Salmon and Salmon (eds.), Logical Empiricism: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives”, in
F. Stadler (ed.), Induction and Deduction
in the Sciences, Vienna Circle Institute
Yearbook 11, Kluwer, 2004, pp. 331-334.
(2) “M. Ostrow, Wittgenstein’s Tractatus: A Dialectical Interpretation”, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 2003.01.14.
(1) “E. Reck (ed.), From Frege to Wittgenstein: Perspectives on Early Analytic Philosophy”, History and Philosophy of Logic 23 (2002): 297-300.
Work in Progress
(6) “Abstract Representations and Confirmation”, under review.
(5) “Applicability of Mathematics”, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, under review.
(4) “Philosophy of Mathematics”, J. Saatsi & S. French (eds.), Companion to the Philosophy of Science, Continuum, under review.
(3) “How to Avoid Inconsistent Idealizations”, P. Vickers & O. Bueno (eds.), Is Science Inconsistent?, special issue of Synthese.
(2) “Mathematics and Scientific Failure”
(1) Mathematics and Scientific Representation, book project.
Presentations
Papers
(32) “Mathematics and Scientific Failure”, University of Pennsylvania Philosophy Colloquium, Philadelphia, PA, October 2009.
(31) “Discerning the Truth in Fiction”, presented to (i) Models and Fiction Workshop, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, UK, March 2009, (ii) Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Athens, Athens, Greece, March 2009, (iii) Faculty Speaker, 11th Annual Pitt-CMU Graduate Student Philosophy Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, March 2009, (iv) Logic and Language Workshop, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, May 2009.
(30) “The Case for Multiscale Modeling”, Models and Simulations 3, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, March 2009.
(29) “How to Avoid Inconsistent Idealizations”, presented to (i) Society for Realist/Antirealist Discussion (Group Session), Central Division American Philosophical Association Meeting, Chicago, IL, February 2009, (ii) Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Athens, Athens, Greece, March 2009.
(28) “The Value of Mathematics for Scientific Confirmation”, Symposium contribution, Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, Pittsburgh, PA, November 2008.
(27) “Abstract Representations and Confirmation”, presented to (i) Pittsburgh Center for the Philosophy of Science Lunchtime Colloquium, September 2008, (ii) University of Missouri Philosophy Colloquium, Columbia, MO, February 2009, (iii) Logic, Language and Science Series, The Ohio State University Philosophy Department, Columbus, OH, April 2009.
(26) “Towards a Philosophy of Applied Mathematics”, New
Waves in Philosophy of Mathematics,
(25) “Russell’s Propositional Functions and the Metaphysical Basis of Logic”, presented to (i) Annual Meeting of the Association for Symbolic Logic, Irvine, CA, March 2008, (ii) Early Analytic Philosophy Conference, Iowa City, IA, April 2008.
(24) “The Possession Conditions of Arithmetical Concepts”, presented to (i) Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne Philosophy Club, Fort Wayne, IN, November 2006, (ii) Edelstein Center, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, December 2007, (iii) Eastern Division American Philosophical Association Meeting, Baltimore, MD, December 2007.
(23) “A Priori Contributions to Scientific Knowledge”,
Bar-Hillel Colloquium for the History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science,
Cohn Institute,
(22) “Modeling Reality”, Models and Simulations 2, Center
for Logic and Philosophy of Science,
(21) “The Limits of the Relative A Priori”, Soochow
International Conference on Analytic Philosophy,
(20) “From Sunspots to the Southern Oscillation: Confirming
Models of Large-Scale Phenomena in Meteorology”, Confirmation, Induction and
Science,
(19) “Mathematical Idealization”, presented to (i) Wayne
State Philosophy of Mathematics Working Group, February 2006 and (ii) Biennial
Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association,
(18) “The Geisteswissenschaften Debate in
(17) “The Scientific Basis for Russell’s External World Program”, presented to (i) Bertrand Russell Society Meeting, Iowa City, IA, May 2006 and (ii) Sixth Biennial Congress of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science, Paris, June 2006.
(16) “An Overlapping Consensus Model of the Origins of
Analytic Philosophy”, History of Early Analytic Philosophy Society (Group
Session), Eastern Division American Philosophical Association Meeting,
(15) “The Derivation and Application Conditions of the
One-dimensional Heat Equation”, 33rd Annual Meeting of the Society
for Exact Philosophy,
(14) “Dispensing With ‘Mixed’ Mathematical Facts”, presented to (i) Fifth Annual Midwest PhilMath Workshop, Notre Dame, IN, November 2004 and (ii) Society for Realist/Antirealist Discussion (Group Session), Eastern Division American Philosophical Association Meeting, Boston, MA, December 2004.
(13) “Overextending Partial Structures: Idealization and Abstraction”, presented to (i) Wayne State Philosophy of Mathematics Working Group, March 2004 and (ii) Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, Austin, TX, November 2004.
(12) “From Philosophy to Psychology and Back: The Role of Richard Semon in Russell’s Analysis of Mind”, Fifth Biennial Congress of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science, San Francisco, CA, June 2004.
(11) “Mathematics Makes a Difference”, Central Division
American Philosophical Association Meeting,
(10) “Russell’s Changing Beliefs”, presented to (i)
(9) “Russell-Carnap and Analytic Philosophy”,
(8) “Ideal Fluids and Complex Analysis: A Case Study in
‘Unreasonable’ Effectiveness”,
(7) “A Reserved Reading of Carnap’s Aufbau”, History and Philosophy of Science Colloquium Series,
(6) “Carnap’s Physical Construction System”, Fourth Biennial Congress of the History of Philosophy of Science Working Group, Montreal, June 2002.
(5) “The Structure of Indispensability Arguments”, 2002
Annual Meeting of the Association for Symbolic Logic,
(4) “A New Perspective on Applying Mathematics”, presented
to (i) Logic and Philosophy of Science Department,
(3) “Carnap and the Unity of Science: 1921-1928”, The
(2) “Russell’s Influence on Carnap’s Aufbau”,
Townsend Center Working Group in History and Philosophy of Logic,
(1) “Carnap’s Engagement with Russell: 1921-1928”, Vienna
Circle Institute,
Comments
(10) “Prasanta Bandyopadhyay’s ‘The Duhem-Quine Thesis’”,
Central Division American Philosophical Association Meeting,
(9) “Ranpal Dosanjh’s ‘Real Laws Don’t Have Demonstrative
Content’”, Central Division American Philosophical Association Meeting,
(8) “Otávio Bueno’s ‘How Structuralism Can Solve the Access
Problem’”, Central Division American Philosophical Association Meeting,
(7) “Paul Pojman’s ‘From Mach to Carnap: A Tale of
Confusion’”, History of Early Analytic Philosophy Society (Group Session),
Central Division American Philosophical Association Meeting,
(6) “Scott Soames, Philosophical Analysis in the Twentieth Century, vol. 1”, Author Meets Critics, Pacific Division American Philosophical Association Meeting, Portland, OR, March 2006.
(5) “Uljana Feest’s ‘Meaningful Structures: Placing the Aufbau in the Context of Holistic
Science’”, History of Early Analytic Philosophy Society (Group Session),
Eastern Division American Philosophical Association Meeting,
(4) “Joongol Kim’s ‘Are Numbers Objects?’”, Eastern Division
American Philosophical Association Meeting,
(3) “Wade Savage’s ‘Carnap’s Aufbau Rehabilitated’”, Central Division American Philosophical
Association Meeting,
(2) “Yoichi Kaniike’s ‘Carnap and Quine on Logical Truth’”,
Pacific Division American Philosophical Association Meeting,
(1) “Alison Simmons’ ‘Sensible Ends: Latent Teleology in
Descartes’ Account of Sensations’”,
Other Presentations
(3) “Did the
(2) “Bertrand Russell: Logician, Philosopher and Activist”,
(1) “When Does a Mathematical Question Become a
Philosophical Question?”, Invited Speaker, 22nd Annual Rose-Hulman
Undergraduate Mathematics Conference,
Honors and Awards
External
(3) National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, “The Value of Mathematics for Scientific Representation”, 2008-2009.
(2) Visiting Fellow,
(1) National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend, “Grasping El Niño: Isolating the Constraints on Large-Scale Mathematical Modeling”, Summer 2005.
Internal
(7) Purdue College of Liberal Arts International Travel Grant, Spring 2007.
(6) Purdue Research Foundation Summer Faculty Grant, “Mathematics and the Interpretation of Scientific Theories”, Summer 2006.
(5) Purdue Research Foundation International Travel Grant, Summer 2006.
(4) Purdue Research Foundation Summer Faculty Grant, “Mathematical Models and Idealization”, Summer 2003.
(3) Academic Senate’s Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, U.C. Berkeley, Spring 2001.
(2) Two Humanities Research Grants, U.C. Berkeley, 1998-1999 & 2000-2001.
(1) Ralph W. Church Scholarship, U.C. Berkeley, Fall 1996.
Teaching
Instructor
Logic
672: Philosophy of Logic Spring 2007
450: Symbolic Logic Fall 2007, Fall 2005, Fall 2004
150: Principles of Logic Fall 2006, Fall 2004
12a: Introduction to Logic Summer 1999
History
545: Recent Analytic Philosophy Fall 2006
515: History of Analytic Philosophy II Spring 2008, Spring 2006
514: History of Analytic Philosophy I Fall 2007, Fall 2005, Spring 2004
25b: Early Modern Philosophy Summer 2001
Mathematics
and Science
490: Philosophy of Mathematics Spring 2005
421: Philosophy of Science Spring 2005, Spring 2003
350: Inductive Logic & Probability Spring 2007, Spring 2004, Spring 2003
5: Introduction to Philosophy of Science Summer 2000
Introductory
120: Critical Thinking Fall 2002
110: Introduction to Philosophy Spring 2006, Summer 2004, Fall 2002
“Introduction to the History of Analytic Philosophy”, four-week intensive course, Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan, May 2009.
Independent Study Supervision: “Wittgenstein and Rule-Following”, Spring 2007. “Probability”, Spring 2007. “Logic and the Foundations of Mathematics”, Spring 2005. Dean’s Scholars Program, “Introduction to the Philosophy of Mathematics”, Spring 2003.
Graduate Student Instructor: Ten different courses at U. C. Berkeley (1997-2002)
Administrative
Activities
Director of Graduate Admissions, Recruitment and Funding, 2007-2008.
Chair, Undergraduate Committee, 2006-2007.
Professional
Activities
Editorial Board, The
Southern Journal of Philosophy
Referee
Journals
British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, Dialectica, Erkenntnis, History and Philosophy of Logic, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Journal of Philosophical Logic, Journal of Philosophical Research, Mind, Philosophia Mathematica, Philosophical Psychology, Philosophy of Science, Review of Symbolic Logic, Synthese.
Other
Internet Encyclopedia
of
Invited reviewer, Mathematical Reviews and Zentralblatt Math.
Organizer, “Applied Mathematics and the Philosophy of Science”, Symposium, Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, Pittsburgh, PA, November 2008.
Chair of Session
“Symposium: Schlick, Einstein, and
the Early History of Logical Empiricism”, Fifth Biennial Congress of the
International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science,
“Colloquium: Philosophy of
Science”, Central Division American Philosophical Association Meeting,
“Colloquium: Metaphysics”, Pacific
Division American Philosophical Association Meeting,
Organizer, Third Annual Early Analytic Philosophy
Conference,
Professional
Societies
American Philosophical Association, Association for Symbolic Logic, Bertrand Russell Society, History of Early Analytic Philosophy Society, Indiana Philosophical Association, International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Science Association, Society for Exact Philosophy, Vienna Circle Institute
Languages
French (reading) and German (reading)