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Dr. H.W. (Henk) de Regt

Telefoon:+31 20 59 86681
Kamernr:13a-35
E-mail:h.w.de.regt@vu.nl
Onderdeel:faculteit der wijsbegeerte (theoretische filosofie)
Functie:Universitair hoofddocent

Aanwezigheid

Spreekuur voor studenten: donderdag 13.30-14.30 uur

Areas of specialization

Philosophy of science, foundations of physics, history of modern physics

Research interests

Scientific explanation and understanding, values in science, heuristics.

Since 2001 my research has focused on developing a new theory of scientific understanding, that accounts for conceptions of understanding employed in actual scientific practice and for their variation in history and across (sub)disciplines. In my publications I have outlined and defended a contextual theory of scientific understanding, applied it in several case studies in the history of physics, and explored its implications for central themes in the philosophy of science (realism, reductionism).

Onderwijs / Teaching 2011-2012

Wetenschapsfilosofie en Methodologie (MA, periode 4)
Wetenschapsfilosofie B: Verklaring en begrip in de wetenschap (BA/MA, periode 4)
Wijsgerige Vorming voor Aardwetenschappen (FALW, periode 1)
Wijsgerige Vorming voor Aarde en Economie, Onderdeel Wetenschapsfilosofie (FALW, periode 2)
Philosophy of Science (AUC)

Research / Onderzoek

Between 2001 and 2006 I led the NWO Vernieuwingsimpuls (VIDI) programme “Understanding Scientific Understanding”. The aim of this research programme was to develop a theory of scientific understanding that accounts for conceptions of understanding employed in actual scientific practice and for their variation in history and across (sub)disciplines. In addition to my own research project, the programme comprised two Ph.D. projects, concerned with case studies in biology (Sabina Leonelli) and psychology (Kai Eigner). The total output of this programme in the period 2001-2006 was: 33 published articles, of which 21 in refereed journals (mainly in English). In addition, we have organized the international conference Philosophical Perspectives on Scientific Understanding (25-27 August 2005, VU Amsterdam, 102 participants), on the theme of the research programme.

More specifically, the results of the research project can be described as follows:

(1) a contextual account of the nature of scientific understanding, which is opposed to the traditional objectivist view but evades the threat of subjectivism;
(2) an analysis of the skills involved in acquiring scientific understanding;
(3) an analysis of the difference between understanding acquired by individuals and understanding acquired within scientific communities;
(4) an analysis of the value-character of intelligibility and of the role of skills and tools in scientists’ value-judgments of the intelligibility of theories;
(5) an analysis of the role of models in the achievement of scientific understanding;
(6) an exploration of the implications of the contextual account to central themes in the philosophy of science (realism, reductionism).

Selected publications

H.W. de Regt, S. Hartmann & S. Okasha (eds), EPSA Philosophy of Science: Amsterdam 2009. Dordrecht: Springer, 2011.
H.W. de Regt (2011), Explanation, in: S. French and J. Saatsi (eds), The Continuum Companion to the Philosophy of Science. Continuum Press, 2011, pp.157-178.
M.G. Kleinhans, C.J.J. Buskes and H.W. de Regt (2010), Philosophy of earth science, in: F. Alhoff (ed.), Philosophies of the Sciences: A Guide. Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 213-236.
H.W. de Regt, S. Leonelli & K. Eigner (eds), Scientific Understanding: Philosophical Perspectives. Pittsburgh: Universitity of Pittsburgh Press, 2009.
H.W. de Regt (2009), Understanding and scientific explanation, in: De Regt, Leonelli & Eigner (eds), Scientific Understanding: Philosophical Perspectives, pp.21-42.
H.W. de Regt, The epistemic value of scienific understanding, Philosophy of Science 76 (2009) 585-597.
H.W. de Regt, Wesley Salmon’s complementarity thesis: causalism and unificationism reconciled?, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 20 (2006), pp.129-147.
H.W. de Regt and D. Dieks, A contextual approach to scientific understanding, Synthese 144 (2005), pp.137-170.
H.W. de Regt, Scientific realism in action: molecular models and Boltzmann’s Bildtheorie, Erkenntnis 63 (2005), pp. 205-230.
M.G. Kleinhans, C.J.J. Buskes and H.W. de Regt, Terra Incognita: explanation, reduction, and underdetermination in earth science, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 19 (2005), pp. 289-317.
H.W. de Regt, Discussion note: Making sense of understanding, Philosophy of Science 71 (2004), pp.98-109.
H.W. de Regt, Space-time visualisation and the intelligibility of physical theories, Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 32B (2001), pp.243-265.
H.W. de Regt, Ludwig Boltzmann’s Bildtheorie and scientific understanding, Synthese 119 (1999), pp.113-134.
H.W. de Regt, Erwin Schrödinger, Anschaulichkeit, and quantum theory, Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 28B (1997), pp.461-481.
H.W. de Regt, Philosophy and the kinetic theory of gases, The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 47 (1996), pp.31-62.

Curriculum Vitae

Education

Ph.D. degree in Philosophy, VU University Amsterdam, 1993
Promotores: Prof.dr. P.P. Kirschenmann, prof.dr. H. Radder
Title of thesis: Philosophy and the Art of Scientific Discovery – A Study of the Heuristic Role of Philosophical Views in the Development of Science
M.Sc. degree in Physics, Utrecht University, 1988. Supervisor: Prof.dr. D. Dieks. Title of thesis: On explaining the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen correlations.
B.Sc. degree in Technical Physics, Techniscal University Delft, 1983.

Work experience since graduating

2011-present: Associate Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, VU University Amsterdam.
2001-2011: Assistant Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, VU University Amsterdam.
2001-2006: Senior Researcher, VIDI research programme (NWO)
1998-2001: Lecturer, Utrecht University College.
1996-2000: Postdoctoral Researcher (NWO individual postdoc grant), Institute for History and Foundations of Mathematics and Science, Utrecht University.
1995-1996: Lecturer, Faculty of Philosophy, VU University Amsterdam.
1994-1996: Lecturer, Department of Applied Philosophy, Wageningen Agricultural University.
1989-1993: AIO (Ph.D. student), Faculty of Philosophy, VU University Amsterdam.

Services to the profession

Co-founder and member (treasurer) of the Steering Committee of the European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA). See http://www.epsa.ac.at/index.html
Board Member of the Vlaams-Nederlands Netwerk voor Filosofie van Wetenschap en Technologie NFWT (Dutch-Flemish Network for Philosophy of Science and Technology).
Member of the Editorial Board of the European Journal for Philosophy of Science, Journal for General Philosophy of Science. and Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrijft voor Wijsbegeerte
Editor-in-chief Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrijft voor Wijsbegeerte (General Dutch Journal of Philosophy), 2007-2009.
Co-founder and member of the Advisory Board of the Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice (SPSP). See http://www.gw.utwente.nl/spsp/
Secretary of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Wetenschapsfilosofie NVWF (Dutch Society for Philosophy of Science), 2000-2006.
Treasurer of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Wetenschapsfilosofie NVWF (Dutch Society for Philosophy of Science), 1994-2000.
Co-founder and list-owner of FILOS-NL (mailing-list for philosophy in the Netherlands and Belgium), founded 2006.

Scholarships and prizes

Lorentz Fellowship, NIAS and Leiden University (2009-2010).
Honorary member Nederlandse Vereniging voor Wetenschapsfilosofie (2007).
NWO Vernieuwingimpulspremie (VIDI), research programme “Understanding Scientific Understanding” (2001-2006).
NWO grant, individual postdoc-project “Intelligibility and Modern Physical Theory” (1996-2000)
Third prize for article on dissertation, Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Natuurkunde (1994).

Nevenwerkzaamheden

Geen nevenwerkzaamheden

Laatste wijzigingen Nevenwerkzaamheden: Amsterdam, 16 mei 2012