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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
    Discusses fundamental questions concerning human existence and the nature of reality. Questions may include: Does God exist? Am I the same person I was when I was born? Will I survive the death of my body? Do I have free will? How do I know whether the world around me really exists? What is knowledge? What is truth? What is morality, and how do I know what�s right to do?
  • 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 / Fall 2024
    Discusses the epistemic question of what characterizes good physics research as well as the metaphysical question of what our best physics research tells us about the world. Topics may include case studies of physics experiments, theory choice, and scientific methodology in physics, as well as foundational metaphysical questions in�statistical mechanics,�quantum mechanics, special and general relativity,�chance and probability, and the�laws of nature. Same as PHIL 5450 and PHYS 4450 and PHYS 5450.
    • ... more

Background

International Activities