Kevin Davey
Kevin Davey received his Ph. D from the University of Pittsburgh in 2003, and also has Masters degrees in both physics and mathematics. His main area of interest is philosophy of science, and more specifically, philosophy of physics. Much of his current research revolves around statistical mechanics and the arrow of time. He also has interests in philosophy of mathematics and philosophy of religion.
CV (DOC)
Contact
office: Stuart Hall, Room 205
office phone: 773/702-7737
email: kjdavey@uchicago.edu
Selected Publications
- Debating Design (review) (PDF)
- Aristotle, Zeno and the Stadium Paradox (PDF)
- Is Mathematical Rigour Necessary in Physics
The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 2003 54(3):439-463 (Link) - Insufficient reason in the ‘new cosmological argument’
Religious Studies (2001), 37: 485-490 Cambridge University Press (Link) - Obligation and the Conditional in Stit Theory
Studia Logica Volume 72, Number 3 / December, 2002 (Link) - Closed systems, explanations, and the cosmological argument
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion Volume 62, Number 2 / October, 2007 (Link)
Please see my CV (DOC) for a complete list of publications.
Recent Courses
20100/30000. Elementary Logic
Open to college and grad students. Course not for field credit. An introduction to the concepts and principles of symbolic logic: valid and invalid argument, logical relations among sentences and their basis in structural features of those sentences, formal languages and their use in analyzing statements and arguments of ordinary discourse (especially the analysis of reasoning involving truth-functions and quantifiers), and systems for logical deduction. Throughout, we are attentive to both general normative principles of valid reasoning and the application of these principles to particular problems. Time permitting, the course ends with a brief consideration of set theory. Autumn 2007.
22000/32000. Introduction to the Philosophy of Science
Open to college and grad students. This course will serve as an introduction to philosophical questions about the epistemology and methodology of science. The central goal of the course will be to try and understand in what sense it is right for us to think of science as a rational response to our observations. To this end, we will look at historical figures such as Popper and Kuhn, and will examine such topics as the problem of induction, confirmation theory, and whether or not our observations underdetermine our theories. (B) Autumn 2006.
22100/32100. Space and Time
Open to college and grad students. This course is an introduction to some traditional philosophical problems about space and time. The course will begin with a discussion of Zeno's paradoxes. We will then look at the debate between Newton and Leibniz concerning the ontological status of space and time, and will examine reactions to this debate by thinkers such as Mach and Poincare. Finally, we will discuss the question of what sense is to be made of the claim that space is curved, looking at the writings of Poincare, Eddington, Einstein, Grunbaum, and others. Students will be introduced to the basics of the special and general theories of relativity, at a qualitative level. (B) Winter 2007.
23105/33105. Philosophy of Mathematics
Open to college and grad students. We will look at some traditional and modern conceptions of mathematics, including Platonism, logicism, formalism, intuitionism, fictionalism, and structuralism. We will also discuss the concept of 'impredicativity', and examine the role it plays in motivating (or criticizing) various strains of the views just listed. Spring 2008.
29000/39700. Intermediate Logic - II: Incompleteness
Open to college and grad students. Prerequisites: Intermediate Logic - I or equivalent.. The focus of this course will be Godel's Incompleteness Theorems. We will prove these theorems in detail, and also discuss their broader philosophical implications. (B) Spring 2007.
50210. Philosophy of Science: Induction
Open to grad students. Autumn 2007.