Asymptotic Philosophers

A philosophy of science blog

All posts in Method Matters

Who cares about Haag’s theorem?

Posted on Author Chris MitschPosted in Authors' corners, Method Matters, Philosophy of ScienceLeave a Reply
Chris Mitsch
Chris Mitsch
Chris studies the history and philosophy of science and mathematics. He is currently translating several works by Hilbert, Nordheim, and von Neumann as part of a project on the philosophy of mathematics that informed early quantum mechanics formalisms. He is also interested in: historical method and how this should inform general philosophy of science; the cognitive foundations of mathematics; and the construction of identity in (especially American) politics. Chris posts under the banner "Method Matters".
Chris Mitsch
Latest posts by Chris Mitsch (see all)

Just wanted to say a few quick things about Haag’s theorem, now that Marian (Gilton), David (Freeborn), and I have finished our first paper on it (hopefully! it was conditionally accepted prior to this most recent revision). 1 I’ve heard quite a few folks react to our interest in Haag’s theorem as an instance of…

Read

The Book Report Problem

Posted on Author Chris MitschPosted in Authors' corners, Method Matters, Philosophy of ScienceLeave a Reply
Chris Mitsch
Chris Mitsch
Chris studies the history and philosophy of science and mathematics. He is currently translating several works by Hilbert, Nordheim, and von Neumann as part of a project on the philosophy of mathematics that informed early quantum mechanics formalisms. He is also interested in: historical method and how this should inform general philosophy of science; the cognitive foundations of mathematics; and the construction of identity in (especially American) politics. Chris posts under the banner "Method Matters".
Chris Mitsch
Latest posts by Chris Mitsch (see all)

I’m currently sick and having trouble thinking through actual work, so instead I’m going to scratch an itch I’ve had for a while now. Many philosophers of science take close engagement with the relevant science to be necessary to their work. But, what does (should) this engagement look like?   I’m going to sneak up…

Read

Announcing the PSA DEI Caucus Affinity Group for Philosophy of Physics

Posted on Author Chris MitschPosted in For reference, Method Matters
Chris Mitsch
Chris Mitsch
Chris studies the history and philosophy of science and mathematics. He is currently translating several works by Hilbert, Nordheim, and von Neumann as part of a project on the philosophy of mathematics that informed early quantum mechanics formalisms. He is also interested in: historical method and how this should inform general philosophy of science; the cognitive foundations of mathematics; and the construction of identity in (especially American) politics. Chris posts under the banner "Method Matters".
Chris Mitsch
Latest posts by Chris Mitsch (see all)

The purpose of this post is to provide some information about a group I started early this year, dedicated to DEI in philosophy of physics, as part of the Philosophy of Science Association’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Caucus (formerly the Women’s Caucus). So far, the group has existed in name only, so you’ve not missed…

Read

A quick heads up about spam email

Posted on Author Chris MitschPosted in Life in Academia, Method Matters
Chris Mitsch
Chris Mitsch
Chris studies the history and philosophy of science and mathematics. He is currently translating several works by Hilbert, Nordheim, and von Neumann as part of a project on the philosophy of mathematics that informed early quantum mechanics formalisms. He is also interested in: historical method and how this should inform general philosophy of science; the cognitive foundations of mathematics; and the construction of identity in (especially American) politics. Chris posts under the banner "Method Matters".
Chris Mitsch
Latest posts by Chris Mitsch (see all)

I am currently trapped under two cats–hence unable to move for the foreseeable future–so why not write a quick blog post on something annoying about academia? Get ready for the spam email. Doubly so if you are in philosophy of physics. I get (almost) daily spam messages, now that I have publications. These come in…

Read

Habit-forming in early career

Posted on Author Chris MitschPosted in Life in Academia, Method Matters
Chris Mitsch
Chris Mitsch
Chris studies the history and philosophy of science and mathematics. He is currently translating several works by Hilbert, Nordheim, and von Neumann as part of a project on the philosophy of mathematics that informed early quantum mechanics formalisms. He is also interested in: historical method and how this should inform general philosophy of science; the cognitive foundations of mathematics; and the construction of identity in (especially American) politics. Chris posts under the banner "Method Matters".
Chris Mitsch
Latest posts by Chris Mitsch (see all)

It has become increasingly clear to me that I developed some bad habits in graduate school. These come in many forms, but a lot of those I’m noticing now relate to work-life balance. I was struggling with undiagnosed ADHD, so your mileage may vary here. But that said, I think this is a fairly common…

Read

How we give feedback

Posted on Author Chris MitschPosted in Life in Academia, Method Matters
Chris Mitsch
Chris Mitsch
Chris studies the history and philosophy of science and mathematics. He is currently translating several works by Hilbert, Nordheim, and von Neumann as part of a project on the philosophy of mathematics that informed early quantum mechanics formalisms. He is also interested in: historical method and how this should inform general philosophy of science; the cognitive foundations of mathematics; and the construction of identity in (especially American) politics. Chris posts under the banner "Method Matters".
Chris Mitsch
Latest posts by Chris Mitsch (see all)

Recently I’ve been thinking about giving feedback, partly spurred by Kino’s post. I’ve spent a lot of my time over the years thinking (and reading) about what feedback should do and should look like, as well as what it (typically) does do and does look like. This is for a lot of reasons: my own…

Read

Inexpert Reactions: “American Nations” and Insurrection

Posted on Author Chris MitschPosted in Method Matters
Chris Mitsch
Chris Mitsch
Chris studies the history and philosophy of science and mathematics. He is currently translating several works by Hilbert, Nordheim, and von Neumann as part of a project on the philosophy of mathematics that informed early quantum mechanics formalisms. He is also interested in: historical method and how this should inform general philosophy of science; the cognitive foundations of mathematics; and the construction of identity in (especially American) politics. Chris posts under the banner "Method Matters".
Chris Mitsch
Latest posts by Chris Mitsch (see all)

Hey, it’s been a while! Now that I’ve defended my dissertation and gotten through most of this year’s job applications, I figured I’d dip my toes back into blogging with some book “reviews.” (Like Kino–in fact, inspired by Kino–I listen to a lot of audiobooks when I’m not working, so I “read” a lot.) Note…

Read

Course Idea: Historical Method in Philosophy and Science

Posted on Author Chris MitschPosted in For reference, Method Matters2 Replies
Chris Mitsch
Chris Mitsch
Chris studies the history and philosophy of science and mathematics. He is currently translating several works by Hilbert, Nordheim, and von Neumann as part of a project on the philosophy of mathematics that informed early quantum mechanics formalisms. He is also interested in: historical method and how this should inform general philosophy of science; the cognitive foundations of mathematics; and the construction of identity in (especially American) politics. Chris posts under the banner "Method Matters".
Chris Mitsch
Latest posts by Chris Mitsch (see all)

I think a lot about how and why philosophers of science do historical research. I am working on a series of papers about the relationship between the hows and whys of a particular kind of philosopher of science–those who want (something like) a theory of scientific methodology so as to guide to contemporary practice. However, this…

Read

Multi-Disciplinary Mindset and Cross-Disciplinary Claiming

Posted on Author Chris MitschPosted in Method Matters
Chris Mitsch
Chris Mitsch
Chris studies the history and philosophy of science and mathematics. He is currently translating several works by Hilbert, Nordheim, and von Neumann as part of a project on the philosophy of mathematics that informed early quantum mechanics formalisms. He is also interested in: historical method and how this should inform general philosophy of science; the cognitive foundations of mathematics; and the construction of identity in (especially American) politics. Chris posts under the banner "Method Matters".
Chris Mitsch
Latest posts by Chris Mitsch (see all)

I’ve been doing a bad job posting regularly. Part of this is due, I think, to expecting too much of my blog posts, so to counteract this I will be writing only short posts for a while (<300 words). I’ve been reading a lot about interdisciplinarity recently, which has forced me to think more carefully…

Read

19th Century Kant Commentary

Posted on Author Chris MitschPosted in Method Matters
Chris Mitsch
Chris Mitsch
Chris studies the history and philosophy of science and mathematics. He is currently translating several works by Hilbert, Nordheim, and von Neumann as part of a project on the philosophy of mathematics that informed early quantum mechanics formalisms. He is also interested in: historical method and how this should inform general philosophy of science; the cognitive foundations of mathematics; and the construction of identity in (especially American) politics. Chris posts under the banner "Method Matters".
Chris Mitsch
Latest posts by Chris Mitsch (see all)

This week, I’ve been digging into the history of Kant commentary, and I’ve been struck by one thing: I can’t find much in the philosophy of science literature on the more “naturalist” commentators on Kant in the 19th Century. There’s plenty on the major schools of neo-Kantianism (Marburg and Southwest), but I can only find…

Read