
Professor James Ladyman
M.Sc.(Lond.), B.A.(York), Ph.D.(Leeds)
Current positions
Professor
Department of Philosophy
Contact
Press and media
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Research interests
I am interested in most areas of philosophy, but my work is primarily in general philosophy of science, philosophy of physics, history and philosophy of chemistry, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of computation and artficial intelligence, and the relationship between biology and physics. My best known work is on structural realism (I made the distinction in my 1998 paper between epistemic and ontic forms of structural realism and I have defended the latter), and on complex systems. I am also interested in the imnpact agenda and science policy, and in understanding the epistemological and broader implications of AI and big data technologies for science and society.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Human Computers as Instruments
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Department of PhilosophyDates
01/09/2023 to 30/06/2026
The Foundations of Structuralism
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of ArtsDates
01/10/2009 to 01/10/2012
Thesis supervisions
A working scientific demarcation
Supervisors
What the heck is logic?
Supervisors
Universality and Particularity of Aristotelian Substances
Supervisors
Has Metaphysics Done Its Time?
Supervisors
The interplay between quantum foundations and quantum technologies
Supervisors
A Philosophical Analysis of the Relation between Chemistry and Quantum Mechanics
Supervisors
1YQ5MEG
Supervisors
Empiricism in the philosophy of science
Supervisors
Functional Reduction in the Physical Sciences
Supervisors
The problem of hyperbolic discounting
Supervisors
Publications
Recent publications
31/10/2024Patterns all the way up
Real Patterns
Is the dynamical quantum Cheshire cat detectable?
New Journal of Physics
Effective Ontic Structural Realism
British Journal for the Philosophy of Science
Weak values and the past of a quantum particle
Physical Review Research
Reply to "Comment on 'Weak values and the past of a quantum particle'"
Physical Review Research