HPS graduate seminars 2026-2027
DW, 12-12-2025
This is provisional and subject to change. [H] indicates an elective seminar satisfying the History requirement.
Fall 2026
Mike Dietrich: HPS 2269 Omics and Data in Biology [H]
The genome projects of the 1990s transformed biology by drawing together biological research with computer automation and a deluge of new data. This seminar will examine historical and philosophical issues surrounding "data-centric" biology, including changes in scientific practice that move it away from experimentation, the rise of model organisms, the explosion of a variety of -omics approaches, the reinscription of identity in genomic terms, and the ownership, regulation, and control of biological data.
Jon Fuller: HPS 2730 / PHIL 2636 Philosophy of Medicine
This seminar course provides a graduate level introduction to the philosophy of medicine. We will explore both classic and recent work. In line with the orientation of the field, we will examine metaphysical/conceptual and epistemic questions in medicine and medical research rather than the kinds of questions traditionally asked in the field of bioethics. Also following the contemporary focus of philosophy of medicine, readings are situated in the philosophy of science.
Marian Gilton: The Principia (HPS 2522 Special Topics in History of Science) [H]
This seminar will be an extended study of the Principia. It will cover the mathematical apparatus of Books I and II, as well as the application of these mathematical results in the "system of the world" developed in Book III. Special attention will be given to the status of Newton's laws of motion as axioms, his rules of reasoning for natural philosophy, the argument for universal gravitation, and the question of whether a book with zero experiments can still be rightly thought of as a crowning achievement within Newton's program of "experimental philosophy.
Sandy Mitchell: HPS 2164 Pragmatism and Scientific Practice.
The details of this seminar will be fixed closer to the date. There is some possibility this seminar will be moved to Spring 2027.
John Norton: HPS 2101 / PHIL 2603 Philosophy of Science Core
This seminar is an intensive and advanced introduction to some of the main themes and problems in philosophy of science including the nature of evidence, theory comparison, and the theory-observation distinction, the meaning of theoretical terms, scientific explanation and scientific change.
Porter Williams: HPS 2667 / PHIL 2627 Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics
This course provides an introduction to the philosophical problems of quantum theory. Topics covered may include: the quantum measurement problem; non-locality, EPR, and Bell's inequality; the no-go results of Bell/Kochen/Specker, Gleason, and PBR; alternatives to quantum mechanics (such as dynamical-collapse theories and the de Broglie-Bohm theory); the Everett (many-worlds) interpretation and the role of decoherence; operationalist and psi-epistemic approaches to quantum theory. (Not all topics will be covered in all years.)
Spring 2027
Marian Gilton: HPS 2102 History of Science Core
This is a core seminar for History and Philosophy of Science graduate students, surveying the historical development of scientific thought and providing a background in the methodology of history of science.
Paolo Palmieri: Pragmatic Humanism (HPS 2522 Special Topics in History of Science) [H]
What if the liberal arts— the sciences based on mathematics and on language—were not just disciplines to master, but tools to wield, interconnected engines of human empowerment? This seminar explores Pragmatic Humanism, the Renaissance vision that fused the liberal arts with civic action, reimagining it for era dominated by AI, algorithmic surveillance, educational impoverishment, and the erosion of memory. Pragmatic humanism does not reject technology but positions it as liberal servant. The framework insists on human sovereignty over judgment, on action as the organ of thought, and on esthetics as the ultimate measure of the human.
Raphael Scholl: History and Philosophy of Molecular Biology (HPS 2290 Special Topics in History and Philosophy of Biology) [H]
This course will examine the field of molecular biology from an integrated historical and philosophical perspective. As we study the major episodes in the field's history, we will pay particular attention to the rich philosophical literature on the conceptual frameworks and empirical strategies that molecular biologists used to elucidate fundamental biological processes.
David Wallace: HPS 2830 / PHIL 2637 Philosophy of Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
This course covers foundational issues in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. Topics covered may include: the interpretation of the Laws of Thermodynamics, and of central concepts in thermodynamics like equilibrium and reversibility; the Boltzmannian and Gibbsian approaches to statistical mechanics; the relation between thermodynamics and statistical mechanics; the origin of time-asymmetry and irreversibility; Maxwell's demon. (Not all topics will be covered in all years.)
Wayne Wu: Perception (HPS 2634 Special Topics in Philosophy of Neuroscience and Cognitive Science)
We will survey recent approaches to philosophical problems in perception that draw substantively one empirical work. An important goal will be to understand how empirical work should be leveraged to address philosophical problems.