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Publications in VIVO
 

Demarest, Heather

Assistant Professor

Positions

Research Areas research areas

Research

research overview

  • She works on metaphysical implications of current physics. More specifically, she investigates the way in which special and general relativity ought to inform philosophical notions of time, personal identity, and causation. She also works on developing metaphysical accounts of the laws of nature and the fundamental properties of physics.

keywords

  • Philosophy of Science, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Physics

Publications

selected publications

Teaching

courses taught

  • PHIL 1000 - Introduction to Philosophy
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Fall 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2024
    Introduces students to the most fundamental questions of human existence, either topically or through various major figures in philosophy. Topics may include free will, the mind-body problem, the nature of the self, the existence of God, knowledge of the external world, the nature of morality, the meaning of life.
  • PHIL 1400 - Philosophy and the Sciences
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2022 / Fall 2022 / Spring 2024
    Considers philosophical topics and concepts related to the natural sciences, such as the following: science and pseudo-science; scientific method; the nature of explanation, theory, confirmation, and falsification; the effect of science on basic concepts like mind, freedom, time, and causality; ethics of experimentation; and the relation of science to society.
  • PHIL 3480 - Critical Thinking/Writing in Philosophy
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018
    Focuses upon the fundamental skills, methods, concepts and distinctions that are essential for the study of philosophy. Basic skills covered include the writing of philosophy papers, the reading of articles and the extraction and evaluation of arguments. Recommended prerequisites: 6 hours of philosophy course work.
  • PHIL 4360 - Metaphysics
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2020
    Examines philosophical questions and debates about the general nature of reality. Specific topics may include: existence; identity; change; particulars and universals; parts and wholes; space and time; possibility and necessity; freedom and determinism; laws of nature; causation; and the posits of mathematical and physical theories. Same as PHIL 5360.
  • PHIL 4450 - History and Philosophy of Physics
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2021 / Spring 2022
    Investigates the role of experiment in physics. Uses case studies in the history and philosophy of physics and in scientific methodology. Recommended prerequisite: 12 hours philosophy course work. Same as PHIL 5450 and PHYS 4450 and PHYS 5450.
  • PHIL 4950 - Honors Thesis
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2019 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2020
    May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Recommended prerequisite: 12 hours philosophy course work.
  • PHIL 5360 - Metaphysics
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Fall 2020
    Traditional and contemporary theories of the basic categories of reality and the human relationship to it, including universals, substance, identity, change, mind and body, free will and modality. Same as PHIL 4360.
  • PHIL 5450 - History and Philosophy of Physics
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2021 / Spring 2022
    Investigates the role of experiment in physics; case studies in the history and philosophy of physics and in scientific methodology. Same as PHIL 4450 and PHYS 5450 and PHYS 5450.
  • PHIL 6380 - Seminar in Metaphysics
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2021
    Intensive study of selected topics in metaphysics.
  • PHIL 6950 - Master's Thesis
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2022
    May be repeated up to 7 total credit hours.
  • PHYS 4450 - History and Philosophy of Physics
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2021 / Spring 2022
    Investigates the role of experiment in physics; case studies in the history and philosophy of physics and in scientific methodology. Same as PHYS 5450 and PHIL 4450 and PHIL 5450.
  • PHYS 5450 - History and Philosophy of Physics
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2021 / Spring 2022
    Investigates the role of experiment in physics; case studies in the history and philosophy of physics and in scientific methodology. Same as PHYS 4450 and PHIL 4450 and PHIL 5450.

Background

International Activities