Category Theory in Philosophy of Science
Final Report Abstract
This project concerned the use of category theory in understanding the foundations of scientific theories, and brought together a network of researchers from universities in Germany, Austria, the UK, the USA, and Australia. Under the aegis of the project, we held four workshops. The themes included the use of category theory to analyse equivalence and reduction in scientific theories, how foundational questions in category theory bear on its use in philosophy of science, and what category theory might imply for our understanding of scientific representation. In addition to the network members, each workshop featured guest speakers from around the world, including the USA, Hungary, Canada, and the UK. These workshops were an excellent opportunity to facilitate discussion on this topic of growing importance to the philosophy of science, and to bring together researchers with interest in these questions. We are still exploring the questions and problematics raised at these events, in both individual and collaborative projects. There is no doubt much more to be said about how category theory can bear on the philosophy of science.
Publications
- (2021). There Are No Such Things as Theories, by Steven French. Mind
Dewar, N.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/fzab003) - Why not categorical equivalence? In Madarász, J., & Székely, G. (Eds.). (2021). Hajnal Andréka and István Németi on Unity of Science: From Computing to Relativity Theory Through Algebraic Logic. Springer International Publishing. pp. 427–451
Weatherall, James Owen
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64187-0_18)
