Staff profile
Professor Peter Vickers
Professor / Director PG Research / Co-Director CHESS
BSc, MA, PhD

Affiliation | Room number | Telephone |
---|---|---|
Professor / Director PG Research / Co-Director CHESS in the Department of Philosophy | ||
Co-Director in the Centre for Humanities Engaging Science and Society (CHESS) |
Biography
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OFFICE: Room 207 in the Philosophy Department
My office hours:
Tuesdays: 10-11 and 1-3
In 2003 I received a BSc in Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of York, followed by an MA (2005) in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Leeds. This led to a PhD in history and philosophy of science (2009), also at Leeds, supervised by Prof. Steven French. The starting point was certain difficulties concerning the representation and reconstruction of inconsistent scientific theories. Gradually I developed a new methodology for analysing debates about inconsistencies in science which I called ‘theory eliminativism’. This was the major focus during my year as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh, USA (2010-11). I received a contract from Oxford University Press to develop my PhD thesis into a book, entitled Understanding Inconsistent Science, and this was published in 2013. I started as a lecturer at Durham University in 2011. Philosophy aside, I am a keen runner.
Supervision
I am happy to supervise dissertations on any of the topics listed under 'Research Interests', and on closely related topics. Some examples of specific topics I would be happy to supervise are as follows:
'Expecting the unexpected in the search for alien life'
'How do we identify future-proof science?'
'Theory and evidence in light of the dynamics of the scientific community'
'When (if ever) is an inconsistency in science a serious problem?'
'Is it possible to be a scientific realist about quantum mechanics?'
'What is a biosignature?'
'How can we measure the strength of a scientific consensus?'
'When does a scientific theory turn into a fact?'
Works in Progress
Monograph (2022/23): The World Delusion: Nothing is as it seems (An alternative introduction to science and philosophy)
Postgraduate Teaching
- Philosophical Issues in Science and Medicine (PISM)
Undergraduate Teaching
Administrative Duties
- IT officer 2011-2015
- Seminar and RIP lecture organiser 2011-14
- Admissions Tutor 2014-2018
- Secretary of the Research Committee 2012-14
- Deputy Director of Research 2013-14
- Ethics rep 2012-14
- Science, Medicine, and Society research cluster coordinator 2017-18
- Director of postgraduate research, from October 2018
Research Groups
- EURiCA Leverhulme project research group (philosophy of astrobiology)
- Science, Medicine, and Society Research Cluster
Research interests
- Philosophy of astrobiology
- Social epistemology
- Exoplanet science
- Scientific realism/anti-realism
- Evidence
- Inconsistency in science
- The relationship between history of science and philosophy of science
- Eliminativism and pluralism about concepts
Related Links
- 'Expecting the unexpected in the search for extraterrestrial life'
- Are enough high risk, high rewards project/missions being funded in space science and astrobiology?
- Chapter 1 of my new book Identifying Future-Proof Science
- Follow Peter Vickers at Academia.edu
- Information on all of my publications at Google Scholar:
- Oxford University Press blog post on inconsistencies in science
- Podcast: 'Science, Truth, and Astrobiology'
- Presentation of my new book Identifying Future-Proof Science, Sept 2021, Pittsburgh
- Review of my book Understanding Inconsistent Science
- Short presentation of my new book Identifying Future-Proof Science, at the Durham Book Festival 2021
- The relationship between science and philosophy
Esteem Indicators
- 2023: CLMPST invited speaker: I am an invited speaker at the ;17th edition of the International Congress on Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science and Technology, with the theme 'Science and Values in an Uncertain World'.
- 2022: Associate Editor of the BJPS: In 2022 I took up the role of Associate Editor at the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.
- 2022: Invited plenary address in Poland: Invited plenary address, at ‘Philosophical Perspectives on Sciences’, an international conference celebrating the 550th anniversary of the birth of Nicolaus Copernicus, at the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland. ;
- 2022: Invited presentation at The Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge: I presented at an event series entitled 'The Role of Uncertainty in Mathematical Modelling of Pandemics'
- 2022: Keynote speaker in Israel: I am a keynote speaker at 'The Future of the Past', a conference at the Sidney M. Edelstein Center for the History and Philosophy of Science, Technology and Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, Israel. - 2021: Invited presentation at the Center for Philosophy of Science, Pittsburgh: Invited presentation at the Center for Philosophy of Science, Pittsburgh, USA: 'Identifying Future-Proof Science'.
- 2021: Leverhulme Research Project grant: From 2021-24 I am leading a Leverhulme-funded project entitled ;Exploring Uncertainty and Risk in Contemporary Astrobiology, or ‘EURiCA’.
- 2019: British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship: I held a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship from 2019-21, with the project 'Can We Identify Future-Proof Science?'
- 2019: Talk at NASA: Invitation to speak at NASA Goddard on the topic 'Expecting the unexpected in the search for alien life'.
- 2018: Associate Editor of Studies: I was Associate Editor of the journal ;Studies in History and Philosophy of Science ;from 2018-2022.
- 2017: Invitation to UNAM, Mexico: In February 2017 I was invited to UNAM, Mexico City, to deliver two graduate seminars and two research presentations, with a focus on my book ;Understanding Inconsistent Science.
- 2017: Keynote lecture in Nottingham: I was invited to deliver a keynote lecture at the 13th Annual UK Integrated History and Philosophy of Science Workshop, held in Nottingham 20th-22nd June 2017.
- 2014: AHRC Research Grant: In 2014 I was awarded an AHRC Research Grant for a 42 month project (ending 31st January 2018) entitled 'Contemporary Scientific Realism and the Challenge from the History of Science'. This major project follows on directly from the success of the pilot project conducted in 2012, and builds directly on the issues explored in my 2013 paper 'A Confrontation of Convergent Realism'. The project is a collaboration with (Co-I) Timothy Lyons, based at Indiana University-Purdue University Indiansapolis (IUPUI), in the United States. Several international events are planned over the next few years as part of the project.
- 2012: AHRC Exploratory Award: In 2012 I received an AHRC Science in Culture Scheme Exploratory Award for a six-month project exploring the possibility that there are currently many episodes in the history of science which bear on contemporary scientific realism. The project was entitled 'Evaluating Scientific Realism: A New Generation of Historical Case Studies', and it ;led directly to my paper 'A Confrontation of Convergent Realism' (2013).
Publications
Authored book
- Vickers, P. (2022). Identifying Future-Proof Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Vickers, P. (2013). Understanding Inconsistent Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Chapter in book
- Vickers, P. (2017). Historical Challenges to Realism. In The Routledge Handbook of Scientific Realism. Saatsi, J. Routledge. 48-59.
- Vickers, P (2016). Why Kirchhoff's Approximation Works. In Gustav Robert Kirchhoff's Treatise “On the Theory of Light Rays” (1882). Klaus Hentschel & Ning Yan Zhu World Scientific.
- Vickers, P. (2012). Theory Flexibility and Inconsistency in Science. In Is Science Inconsistent?. Special Issue of Synthese.
- Vickers, P. & Bueno, O. (2012). Introduction. In Is Science Inconsistent?.
- Vickers, P. (2011). A Brief Chronology of the Philosophy of Science. In The Continuum Companion to the Philosophy of Science. Continuum Press.
Edited book
- Lyons, T. D. & Vickers, P. (2021). Contemporary Scientific Realism and the Challenge from the History of Science. Oxford University Press.
- Vickers, P & Bueno, O (2011). Is Science Inconsistent?. Special issue of Synthese.
Edited Journal
- Bueno, Otávio & Vickers, Peter (2014). Is Science Inconsistent?. Synthese, 191 (13): Springer.
Journal Article
- Vickers, Peter, Cowie, Christopher, Dick, Steven J., Gillen, Catherine, Jeancolas, Cyrille, Rothschild, Lynn J. & McMahon, Sean (2023). Confidence of Life Detection: The Problem of Unconceived Alternatives. Astrobiology
- Fraser, James D. & Vickers, Peter (2022). Knowledge of the Quantum Domain: an Overlap Strategy. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science
- Vickers, Peter (2020). Expecting the unexpected in the search for extraterrestrial life. International Journal of Astrobiology 19(6): 482-491.
- Vickers, Peter (2020). Disarming the Ultimate Historical Challenge to Scientific Realism. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 71(3): 987-1012.
- Vickers, P. (2019). Towards a realistic success-to-truth inference for scientific realism. Synthese 196(2): 571-585.
- Taylor, H. & Vickers, P. (2017). Conceptual Fragmentation and the Rise of Eliminativism. European Journal for Philosophy of Science 7(1): 17-40.
- Vickers, Peter (2017). Understanding the selective realist defence against the PMI. Synthese 194(9): 3221-3232.
- Vickers, P. (2014). Scientific Theory Eliminativism. Erkenntnis 79(1): 111-126
- Bueno, Otávio & Vickers, Peter (2014). Is Science Inconsistent? Synthese 191(13): 2887-2889.
- Vickers, Peter (2014). Theory flexibility and inconsistency in science. Synthese 191(13): 2891-2906.
- Vickers, P (2013). A Confrontation of Convergent Realism. Philosophy of Science 80(2): 189-211.
- Vickers, P (2012). Historical Magic in Old Quantum Theory? European Journal for Philosophy of Science 2(1): 1-19.
- Saatsi, J & Vickers, P (2011). Miraculous Success? Inconsistency and Untruth in Kirchhoff's Diffraction Theory. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 62(1): 29-46.
- French, S. & Vickers, P. (2011). Are There No Things That Are Scientific Theories? British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 62(4): 771-804.
- Vickers, Peter (2010). Book Review: Fluorescent aporetics Nicholas Rescher: Aporetics: rational deliberation in the face of inconsistency. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, 2009, 161 pp, £26.50 HB. Metascience 19(1): 105-108.
- Vickers, P (2009). Can Partial Structures Accommodate Inconsistent Science? Principia 13(2): 233-250.
- Vickers, P (2009). Was Newtonian Cosmology Really Inconsistent? Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 40(3): 197-208.
- Vickers, P (2008). Frisch, Muller, and Belot on an Inconsistency in Classical Electrodynamics. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 59(4): 767-792.
Other (Print)
- Vickers, Peter (2017). Sommerfeld’s Miracle: The Ultimate Challenge to Scientific Realism.
- Vickers, P. (2015). Contemporary Scientific Realism and the 1811 Gill Slit Prediction.
- Vickers, P. (2014). Case Studies in the Scientific Realism Debate: From pilot project to international collaboration.
- Vickers, P. (2013). Is science inconsistent?