CV
This is a shortened version. A list of teaching experience can be found on a separate page. If you would like the full CV, please contact me.
Current Employment
Associate professor in the Philosophy Department at Simon Fraser University (2015- )
Previously: Assistant professor, Simon Fraser University (2009-2015)
Education
(2009) University of Pittsburgh: History and Philosophy of Science, Ph.D.
Dissertation: The Causal Structure of Conscious Agency
(2008) University of Pittsburgh (concurrent with HPS degree): Philosophy Department, M.A.
(2001) London School of Economics: M.Sc. with Distinction, Philosophy of Science,
(1999) Montana State University: B.Sc. with Honors in Physics, second major in Philosophy, minor in Mathematics
Appointments
(current) Program Chair, 2022 Philosophy of Science Association biennial meeting
(since 2020) Editorial Board, Philosophy of Medicine journal
(since 2014) Editorial Board, Palgrave Macmillan series New Directions in the Philosophy of Science
(since 2010) Research Associate of the SFU Cognitive Science program
(2018-2020) Board of Directors, SFU Community Association, UniverCity Trust (elected)
(2016-2019) Simon Fraser University Faculty Senate (elected)
Edited Volumes
The Pragmatist Challenge, Oxford University Press, with co-editor Sandra D. Mitchell (forthcoming, February 2023)
Special issues of Philosophy of Science: Contributed Papers PSA 2022 (December 2023); Symposia Papers PSA 2022 (December 2024).
Research Grants
(2020) Foundational Questions Institute (FQXi) Large Grant, “Temporal Structure in the Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness,” CA$56,500.
(2011) Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Development grant, “Causation in Complex Systems,” CA$37,500.
Journal articles
(forthcoming) “Running Causation Aground,” The Monist.
(forthcoming) Critical review of Causation with a Human Face by J. Woodward, for Philosophy of Science.
(forthcoming) Critical review of Leveraging Distortions: Explanation, Idealization, and Universality in Science by C. Rice, for Philosophical Review.
(2022) “Hodgson on the relations between Philosophy, Science, and Time,” British Journal for the History of Philosophy, https://doi.org/10.1080/09608788.2022.2046544
(2019) "Taking the long view on Science, Metaphysics, and Philosophy of Science," Analysis.
(2018) Critical Discussion of M. Lange, Because Without Cause, Mind, 127(506): 593-602. https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/fzx036
(2018) "A Pragmatist Challenge to Constraint Laws," Metascience, 27(1) 19-25.
(2017) “Patterns, Information, and Causation,” Journal of Philosophy 14(11): 592-622. DOI: 10.5840/jphil20171141142
(2017) “Complements, not competitors: causal and mathematical explanations,” British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 69(2):485-508.
(2016) with Alexander Reutlinger (Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy), "Causal Versus Abstract Explanations?" International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 30 (2):129-146.
(2016) with Maya Gislason (SFU Health Sciences), "The interacting axes of environmental, health, and social justice cumulative impacts: A case study of the Blueberry River First Nations," Healthcare 4(4), 78; doi:10.3390/healthcare4040078.
(2014) “A field guide to mechanisms: Part I,” Philosophy Compass 9(4): 274-283.
(2014) “A field guide to mechanisms: Part II,” Philosophy Compass 9(4): 284-293.
(2013) “When to expect violations of causal faithfulness and why it matters,” Philosophy of Science S(5): 672-683.
(2012) “Mechanisms: what are they evidence for in evidence-based medicine,” Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice 18(5): 992-999.
(2012) “The Case for Regularity in Mechanistic Causal Explanation,” Synthese 189(3): 415-432.
(2011) “Mechanisms, Laws, and Regularities,” Philosophy of Science 78(2): 325-331.
(2009) with Rick Grush, “A Brief History of Time Consciousness: Historical Precursors to James and Husserl,” Journal of the History of Philosophy 47(2): 277-307.
Book chapters
(forthcoming) “Trueing,” in The Pragmatist Challenge, edited by H.K. Andersen and S.D. Mitchell, Oxford University Press.
(forthcoming) with S.D. Mitchell, "Pragmatism for Philosophy of Science," in The Pragmatist Challenge, edited by H.K. Andersen and S.D. Mitchell, Oxford University Press.
(2022) “Causal Modeling and the Efficacy of Action,” in Mental Action and the Conscious Mind, edited by M. Brent and L. Miracchi Titus, Routledge Press.
(2017) “The Hodgsonian account of temporal experience” for Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Temporal Experience, edited by Adrian Bardon.
(2017) “What would Hume say? Regularities, laws, and mechanisms,” for Routledge Handbook of Mechanisms and Mechanical Philosophy, edited by Stuart Glennan and Phyllis Ilari.
(2016) “Reductionism in the Biomedical Sciences,” for Routledge Companion to the Philosophy of Medicine, edited by Miriam Solomon, Jeremy Simon, and Harold Kincaid [due Spring 2015].
(2015) “Mental Causation,” for Handbook of Neuroethics, edited by Jens Clausen and Neil Levy, in “Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience” section, edited by Gualtiero Piccinini, Springer Press.
(2014) “The Development of the ‘Specious Present’ and James’ Views on Temporal Experience,” in Subjective Time: the Philosophy, Psychology, and Neuroscience of Temporality, edited by Dan Lloyd and Valtteri Arstila, MIT Press.
(2013) “The Representation of Time in Agency,” in Blackwell Companion to the Philosophy of Time, edited by Adrian Bardon and Heather Dyke, Wiley-Blackwell.
Shorter items
(2010) Review of Mental Causation: The Mind-Body Problem by Anthony Dardis, Metaphilosophy, 41 (3): 450-455. [refereed]
(2008) “Specious Present,” Encyclopedia of American Philosophy, Routledge: 730-732. [refereed]
(2008) “Unlocking the Philosophy of Science,” Review, Metascience, 17 (3): 407-410. [refereed]
Presentations (invited unless otherwise noted)
(upcoming: summer 2023) Speaker on laws and regularities, Summer Seminar, SET Foundations (organized by Meghan Page and Jennifer Jhun)
(upcoming: spring 2023) Speaker, Annual Lecture Series at the Center for the Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh.
(2022) Discussant at workshop on Laws of Nature, Explanation, and Understanding, North Carolina State University.
(2022) "Mathematizing Temporal Experience", conference on experience of time at University of Geneva.
(2022) Critic for the Author Meets Critic symposium on Woodward’s Causation with a Human Face, Pacific APA.
(2022) Talk on Patterns and the Density of Causal Structure, Santa Fe Institute Workshop on Patterns, https://www.santafe.edu/events/real-patterns-science-and-cognition.
(2021) APA Panel on Applying for Ph.D. Programs in Philosophy.
(2021) "Distinctness and Extensional Independence," Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting. [refereed]
(2021) “Hodgson on time as an object of scientific investigation,” Workshop on “Invention of Time at the Turn of the 20th Century”, organized by E. Thomas and M. Moravec, Durham.
(2021) “Causation is to Information as Work is to Energy”, talk for Harvard Mini-Workshops on Foundations of Thermodynamics, session on Information.
(2020) Talk on sports team names, word meaning, race and exploitation in college sports, Siena Heights University.
(2020) Colloquium and discussion with Metaphysics of Modality research group, University of Birminghan, Al Wilson.
(2020) "Lebesgue Necessity," Workshop on Modality, Laws, and Causation, organized by J. Wang and H.K. Andersen, Simon Fraser University.
(2020; Cancelled due to COVID, will be rescheduled) Focused workshop on Information and Abstraction in Causal Modelling, Santa Fe Institute, with D. Kinney, F. Eberhardt, N. Weinberger, J. Burston, and S. Beckers.
(2019) Session on “Unculturable Organisms in the Era of Big Data,” with Anders K. Krabberød and Kathleen Creel, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB), Oslo. [refereed]
(2019) Talk at Science Studies Colloquium Series, "Patterns and the Data-Phenomena Distinction," University of Oslo.
(2019) Symposium on Causation with J. Woodward, L. Ross, and F. Eberhardt, American Philosophical Association Pacific Division meeting.
(2019) Keynote speaker, Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology Annual Research day, Simon Fraser University.
(2019) "Nonconservation of causation as transfer of conserved quantities," Balter Distinguished Lecture, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.
(2018) “Defining Patterns,” Colloquium Talk, University of Toronto.
(2018) Talk on patterns and pattern recognition, University of British Columbia Workshop on Causation and Counterfactuals.
(2018) "Defining and Finding Patterns," Leibniz University, Hannover.
(2018) Commentary on Bernstein's "Might a Middle Level be Fundamental?" Workshop on the Principle of Sufficient Reason, Simon Fraser University.
(2018) “The Agential Present,” session on temporal experience and neurophilosophy, Science of Consciousness conference, Arizona.
(2018) Colloquium talk at Reed College, Portland, Oregon.
(2018) "Who gets to decide what words mean? SFU's Clan: History, Intent, and Meaning in Sports Teams Names." Black History Month Speaker series, Kwantlen Polytechnic.
(2018) “Using Patterns and information for Causal Modelling,” Colloquium talk at Simon Fraser University Cognitive Science Interdisciplinary Program.
(2017) “A Pragmatist Challenge to Constraints and Humeanism,” Workshop on Causal and Noncausal Explanation, Paris. Organized by Phillipe Huneman and Daniel Kostic.
(2017) Third PragMaPS workshop, University of Pittsburgh Center for Philosophy of Science.
(2017) University of Pittsburgh History and Philosophy of Science Annual Alumni Lecture, Center for Philosophy of Science.
(2017) “The Agential Present,” Invited Symposium on Ancient and Contemporary Notions of Time, Central APA. With Ned Markosian, Barbara Sattler, and Sarah Brodie.
(2016) “Causation, Information, and Laplace’s Pattern,” Colloquium talk, University of Pennsylvania.
(2016) "Patterns, Information, and Causation," Contributed paper talk, Philosophy of Science Association, Atlanta, Georgia, Nov. 2-4, 2016. [refereed]
(2016) “The Agential Present”, Workshop on temporal awareness in thought and perception, Thought and Sense project, organized by Sebastian Watzl, University of Oslo.
(2016) “A new place for action explanation in scientific causal explanation,” Plenary keynote speaker, Causality in the Sciences conference, University of Aarhus.
(2016) “Local knowledge and mechanisms in land management,” Bay area Academy of the Sciences monthly meeting.
(2015) “The Last British Empiricist: Shadworth Hodgson and temporal experience” Pacific Regional History and Philosophy of Science Workshop, University of Washington.
(2015) “Managing Mechanisms: Ecosystems, land management, and grafting mechanisms,” International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB), Montreal, Canada.
(2015) “Opening the door to the Metaphysics room: a philosophy of science take on Sider’s Writing the Book of the World,” for PragMaPS workshop, University of Oslo, organized by H.K. Andersen and S.D. Mitchell.
(2015) “Causation as a set of relationships between patterns in the causal nexus,” Colloquium talk at the University of Victoria, Dept. of Philosophy.
(2014) “Causal versus noncausal explanations: competitors or complements?” Symposium on Noncausal Explanation with Alexander Reutlinger, Lawrence Shapiro, and Marc Lange. Philosophy of Science Association biennial meeting, Chicago. [refereed]
(2014) “Information as a tool to model causal complexity,” Causality and Complexity in the Sciences, University of Koln. [refereed]
(2014) “Why pragmatism can offer philosophers of science what we wanted from logical empiricism,” Workshop on New Directions in Pragmatic Metaphysics for Philosophy of Science, SFU Harbour Centre, Vancouver.
(2014) “Patterns, Information, Causation,” Colloquium talk, University of British Columbia.
(2013) “A metaphysics for causation, and why we should be talking about causal metaphysics,” Working group on Causation, organized by Frederick Eberhardt, Carnegie Mellon University.
(2013) “Patterns, Information, Causation,” American Philosophical Association, Pacific division annual meeting, Metaphysics of Science society session organized by Cory Wright, San Francisco.
(2012) “When to expect violations of causal faithfulness and why it matters,” Philosophy of Science Association biennial meeting, San Diego [refereed].
(2012) “Violations of Causal Faithfulness,” Invited talk, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota.
(2012) with Kathleen Creel, “Is Integrated Information Enough?” at Western Canadian Philosophical Association annual meeting, Victoria, BC. [refereed]
(2011) “Why we should be more worried about violations of Causal Faithfulness,” Causality in the Sciences, University of Ghent, Belgium. [refereed]
(2011) “The Case for Regularity in Mechanistic Causal Explanation,” Mechanisms: Les Mécaniciens: Salon des Refusés conference, University of Pittsburgh Center for Philosophy of Science.
(2010) “Mechanisms and Evidence-Based Medicine: An Epistemic Quandary,” Causality in the Biomedical and Social Sciences, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands. [refereed]
(2010) “The Role of Regularity in Mechanistic Causation,” Joint Philosophy of Science Seminar workshop, organized by M. Schabas, University of British Columbia.
(2009) “The Micromanagement Model of Conscious Agency,” given at Georgetown University; Tufts University; University of California, Santa Cruz; Montana State University; Simon Fraser University; Centre for the Study of Mind in Nature, Oslo.
(2008) “Causation and the Awareness of Agency,” Philosophy of Science Association biennial meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/00004246/) [refereed]
(2008) “How to make mechanistic explanation work for Psychology,” [poster] Society for Philosophy and Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. [refereed]
(2007) “Contemporary Human Automatism,” International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, Exeter, UK. [refereed]
(2007) “The Reification of ‘Volition’: A Rylean interpretation of the significance of Libet’s experiment,” [poster] Society for Philosophy and Psychology, York University, Toronto. [refereed]
(2006) “Two Causal Mistakes in Wegner’s Illusion of Conscious Will,” Philosophy of Science Association biennial meeting, Vancouver, British Columbia. (http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/00003008/) [refereed]
(2005) “De-pathologizing Bipolar Disorder,” interdisciplinary conference ‘Beyond Dichotomies, Across the Boundaries’, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. [refereed]
Selected Awards, Small Grants, and Fellowships
(2021) Recipient of SFU Philosophy Research Assistantship for pedagogical development of demonstration materials to be used for in-class recreations for Introduction to Philosophy of Science (Phil 144)
(2018-2019) Recipient of SFU Philosophy RAW workshop funding for Greater Cascadia History and Philosophy of Science workshop, $CA 8000.
(2017) Recipient of FASS Grant support for Greater Cascadia History and Philosophy of Science workshop, $CA 2000.
(2016) Recipient of Canadian Journal of Philosophy grant for the Greater Cascadia History and Philosophy of Science workshop, $CA 2500.
(2009, 2010) Visiting Scholar, with supporting fellowship, Center for the Study of Mind in Nature, University in Oslo
(2008-2009) Provost Development Fund Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh
(2006-2007) Mellon Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh
(2002-2003) Arts and Sciences Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh
(2001) Lakatos Prize for best M.Sc. thesis on a philosophical subject, London School of Economics
Selected Media Engagement
(2022) CBC Radio Weekend Morning Show, Alberta, discussion on experience of time during the pandemic
(2021) CBC Radio As It Happens, British Columbia, discussion on the experience of time and agency for New Year’s
(2021) On conscience rights clauses for Canadian healthcare workers: https://www.healthing.ca/policy/conservative-party-conscience-rights
(2020) On the perception of time during the pandemic, CBC Radio: http://trk.cp20.com/click/bvcv-2bk5sx-stein4-6mxihk67/
(2020) On the drive to change SFU’s Sports Team name [and it worked!]: a number of radio and print interviews, example here: http://www.sfu.ca/philosophy/events/news/2020news/whatsinaname.html?fbclid=IwAR1jTneTeFZk6YhN7nw5yH6CjA2JiIGQ698jnG7IdLBDY7DW9TvdngE3F4k
(2019) CBC interview for print and radio on philosophical questions about time: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/time-faster-new-year-1.5403143
(2017) The start of the drive to change SFU’s Sports Team name [it took a while, after this]: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sfu-prof-launches-petition-to-change-clan-team-name-1.4303942
(2015) Ask the Experts: How does brain science affect our responsibility for actions? New Scientist, July 18, 2015, issue 3030.
(2010) “Blame it on the Brain,” Review of My Brain Made Me Do It by Eliezer Sternberg, New Scientist, March 27, 2010: p. 46.
Selected Additional Supervision and Mentorship
(2021) Participated in an APA Panel on Applying to PhD programs in Philosophy
(2019-2020) Development by 7 MA students of a "How To TA" document (available on request) specific to SFU courses and general to students new to TAing
(2018) Supervised a TA-affiliated experiment for alternative discussion formats outside of usual class hours for Phil 144
(2018-2022) Organized SFU get-together dinners at the Philosophy of Science Association meetings and at the Pacific APA, for current and former students, new faculty, and other SFU affiliated philosophers
(2017-2022) Ran the “Applying to PhD programs” session for MA students at SFU [handout available on request]
Selected Service to SFU and the Philosophy Department
(2017 – 2022) Graduate Chair, Philosophy
(2018-2020) Board of Directors, SFU UniverCity Trust
(2016-2019) University Senate, Faculty Member At-Large Representative
(2009 – 2021, except for sabbatical and parental leave) Philosophy Department Graduate Committee
(2011, 2016) Committee for Philosophy teaching evaluation tool question development (lead)
(2019-2021; 2016-2017; 2012; 2009-2011;) Tenure and Promotion Committee
(2016, 2015) Interim Graduate Chair
(years beginning 2021; 2019; 2018; 2017; 2016; 2014; 2012; 2010) Search committees
(2013-2015) Steering Committee, SFU President’s Dream Colloquium on Civil Disobedience and Global Climate Change.
(2011-2013) Department Colloquium organizer.
(2012) SFU Bicker and Banter Series: “What is time?”.
(2012) Steering Committee, President’s Dream Colloquium on Life and Complexity, SFU.
(2011) Organizer, Joint Seminar in Philosophy of Science, with University of British Columbia and University of Washington, Halpern Centre, SFU.
(2011, 2010) Mentor for incoming SFU students during Orientation
Selected Major Service to the Profession and Conference/Workshop Organizing
(2021 - ongoing) Program Chair for the 2022 Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association
(2020-2021) Program Committee Member for 2021 European Philosophy of Science Association Meeting
(2019-2020) Program Committee Member for 2020/2021 Philosophy of Science Association biennial meeting
(2019-2020) Organizer, with Jenn Wang, of Modality, Laws, and Causation workshop, Simon Fraser University.
(2016-2019) American Philosophical Association Committee on Lectures, Publication, and Research. Included subcommittee work for Sanders Book Prize; APA Book Prize; and Romanell Lectures.
(2018-2019) Organizer of Greater Cascadia History and Philosophy of Science Workshop, held at SFU Harbour Centre, 2019.
(2016-2017) Nominating Committee, Philosophy of Science Association (elected governance position).
(2015-2017) Program committee, Pacific division, American Philosophical Association.
(2014-2016) Program Committee for Philosophy of Science Association 2014 biennial meeting.
(2015) Organizer of “PragMaPS: Pragmatism at the intersection of Metaphysics and Philosophy of Science”, follow-up workshop, Center for the Study of Mind in Nature, University in Oslo.
(2016) Program Committee, IEEE International Symposium on Ethics in Engineering, Science, and Technology: Ethics. Vancouver.
(2014, 2012) Adjudication Committee for biennial PSA Women’s Caucus Prize in Feminist Philosophy of Science.
(2014) Organizer, “New directions in Pragmatic Metaphysics for Philosophy of Science” intensive workshop, April 25-26, SFU Harbour Centre.
(2014) Program Committee, Conference on Explanation Beyond Causation, Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy.
(2013) Organizer, Workshop on the Applicability of Mathematics, Simon Fraser University.
(2010-2014) Junior co-chair of Women’s Caucus, Philosophy of Science Association.
Professional Development
(2019-2021) Online courses for background competency maintenance: (completion certificates available on request)
MITx: Introduction to Differential Equations
MITx: 2x2 systems of Differential Equations
MITx: Multivariable Calculus: Vectors and Derivatives
MITx: Calculus 1A: Differentiation; Calculus 1B: Integration; Calculus 1C: Coordinate Systems and Infinite Series
MichiganX: Getting Started with Python
(2018) Emerging Thought Leaders intensive workshop on media training, with Informed Opinions at SFU. One term course involving five day-long workshops, with required preparation, on interviewing with and producing for print, radio, television, and social media formats