Staff profile

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. I was then a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh (2010-11). I started as a lecturer at Durham University in 2011. Philosophy aside, I am a keen runner.

Research

Most of my career has been devoted to better understanding the relationship between science and truth. This culminated in a book, Identifying Future-Proof Science, published with Oxford in 2022/23. Most of it was written during a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship (2019-21). Since then I have been leading a Leverhulme Research Project Grant (2021-25), entitled 'EURiCA', which stands for 'Exploring Uncertainty and Risk in Contemporary Astrobiology.

Office Hours

During 2023-24 I am on research leave, and thus have no office hours.

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

• Science, Medicine, and Society
• Philosophy of Science
• Philosophical Issues in Contemporary Science

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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

• Scientific facts
• Evidence
• Consensus
• Social epistemology
• Expert surveying methodology
• Exoplanet science
• Philosophy of astrobiology
• Science communication
• Inconsistency in science

• 2023: Plenary speaker at BSPS conference 2023:
• 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: 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: 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.
• 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: Associate Editor of the BJPS: In 2022 I took up the role of Associate Editor at the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.
• 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: Keynote lecture in Nottingham: I was invited to deliver a keynote lecture at the 13^th Annual UK Integrated History and Philosophy of Science Workshop, held in Nottingham 20^th-22^nd June 2017.
• 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.
• 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).

Authored book

• Vickers, P. (in press). Identifying Future-Proof Science. Oxford University Press
• Vickers, P. (2013). Understanding Inconsistent Science. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof%3Aoso/9780199692026.001.0001

Chapter in book

• Vickers, P. (2017). Historical Challenges to Realism. In J. Saatsi (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Scientific Realism (48-59). (1). Routledge
• Vickers, P. (2016). Why Kirchhoff's Approximation Works. In K. Hentschel, & N. Y. Zhu (Eds.), Gustav Robert Kirchhoff's Treatise “On the Theory of Light Rays” (1882). World Scientific Publishing
• 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., & Vickers, P. (Eds.). (2021). Contemporary Scientific Realism and the Challenge from the History of Science. Oxford University Press

Journal Article

• Vickers, P., Gardiner, E., Gillen, C., Hyde, B., Jeancolas, C., Mitchell Finnigan, S., Nováková, J. N., Strandin, H., Tasdan, U., Taylor, H., & McMahon, S. (2025). Surveys of the scientific community on the existence of extraterrestrial life. Nature Astronomy, 9, 16-18. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02451-0
• Vickers, P., Adamo, L., Alfano, M., Clark, C., Cresto, E., Cui, H., Dang, H., Dellsén, F., Dupin, N., Gradowski, L., Graf, S., Guevara, A., Hallap, M., Hamilton, J., Hardey, M., Helm, P., Landrum, A., Levy, N., Machery, E., Mills, S., …Mitchell Finnigan, S. (2024). Development of a novel methodology for ascertaining scientific opinion and extent of agreement. PLoS ONE, 19(12), Article e0313541. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0313541
• Vickers, P. (2024). Don’t we all believe in scientific facts? Replies to my critics. Metascience, 33, 23–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11016-023-00926-w
• Jeancolas, C., Gillen, C., McMahon, S., Ward, M., & Vickers, P. J. (2024). Breakthrough results in astrobiology: is ‘high risk’ research needed?. International Journal of Astrobiology, 23, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1473550423000241
• Gillen, C., Jeancolas, C., McMahon, S., & Vickers, P. (2023). The Call for a New Definition of Biosignature. Astrobiology, 23(11), 1228-1237. https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2023.0010
• Vickers, P., Cowie, C., Dick, S. J., Gillen, C., Jeancolas, C., Rothschild, L. J., & McMahon, S. (2023). Confidence of Life Detection: The Problem of Unconceived Alternatives. Astrobiology, 23(11), https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2022.0084
• Fraser, J. D., & Vickers, P. (2022). Knowledge of the Quantum Domain: an Overlap Strategy. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, https://doi.org/10.1086/721635
• Vickers, P. (2020). Expecting the unexpected in the search for extraterrestrial life. International Journal of Astrobiology, 19(6), 482-491. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1473550420000269
• Vickers, P. (2020). Disarming the Ultimate Historical Challenge to Scientific Realism. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 71(3), 987-1012. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjps/axy035
• Vickers, P. (2019). Towards a realistic success-to-truth inference for scientific realism. Synthese, 196(2), 571-585. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-016-1150-9
• Vickers, P. (2017). Understanding the selective realist defence against the PMI. Synthese, 194(9), 3221-3232. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-016-1082-4
• Taylor, H., & Vickers, P. (2017). Conceptual Fragmentation and the Rise of Eliminativism. European Journal for Philosophy of Science, 7(1), 17-40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13194-016-0136-2
• Bueno, O., & Vickers, P. (2014). Is Science Inconsistent?. Synthese, 191(13), 2887-2889. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-014-0463-9
• Vickers, P. (2014). Theory flexibility and inconsistency in science. Synthese, 191(13), 2891-2906. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-014-0464-8
• Vickers, P. (2014). Scientific Theory Eliminativism. Erkenntnis, 79(1), 111-126. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-013-9471-2
• Vickers, P. (2013). A Confrontation of Convergent Realism. Philosophy of Science, 80(2), 189-211. https://doi.org/10.1086/670297
• Vickers, P. (2012). Historical Magic in Old Quantum Theory?. European Journal for Philosophy of Science, 2(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13194-010-0010-6
• Saatsi, J., & Vickers, P. (2011). Miraculous Success? Inconsistency and Untruth in Kirchhoff's Diffraction Theory. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 62(1), 29-46. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjps/axq008
• French, S., & Vickers, P. (2011). Are There No Things That Are Scientific Theories?. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 62(4), 771-804. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjps/axr011
• Vickers, P. (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. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11016-010-9356-9
• 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 Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 40(3), 197-208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsb.2009.05.001
• Vickers, P. (2008). Frisch, Muller, and Belot on an Inconsistency in Classical Electrodynamics. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 59(4), 767-792. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjps/axn039

Other (Print)

• Vickers, P. (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?