Daniel McArthur
Associate Professor
Office: Ross Building, S425
Phone: 416-736-2100 Ext: 66346
Email: djmc@yorku.ca
I work primarily in the philosophy of science especially in the philosophy of physics and I am presently working on the topics of theory change and the nature of scientific discovery. I also have an interest in decision theory and rational choice theory.
I work primarily in the philosophy of science especially in the philosophy of physics and I am presently working on the topics of theory change and the nature of scientific discovery. I also have an interest in decision theory and rational choice theory. I am also interested in research ethics and applied ethics and I am a member of the research ethics committee here at York. I am currently working on a number of applied ethics projects including the question of the ethics of redistributive aid between countries, this draws from my interests in rational choice theory as well.
Research Interests
McArthur, D. 2003. Humanity and the Cosmos: Proceedings of the Brock Philosophical Society’s Annual Symposium on Science and Humanity, Dan McArthur and Corey Mulvihill (eds.), Global Academic Publishing State University of New York at Binghampton.
McArthur, D. 2006. Bailey, Lee Worth. The Enchantments of Technology, Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2005. Review to Appear in Philosophy in Review.
McArthur, D. 2003. Josef Rouse, How Scientific Practices Matter: Reclaiming Philosophical Naturalism, New York: Routletge, 2002, in Canadian Philosophy in Review XXIII (4): 279-82
McArthur, D. 2001. John Losee. A Historical Introduction to the Philosophy of Science, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001, in de Philosophia 16.
McArthur, D. 2001. Thomas Hurka, Principles, Short Essays on Ethics, Toronto: Harcourt Brace, 1999, in de Philosophia 17.
McArthur, D. 2008. “Discovery and Theory Change” Accepted conditional upon revisions in Dialogue.
McArthur, D. 2008. “Structural Realism, The A Priori and Normative Naturalism” Forthcoming in International Studies in History and Philosophy of Science.
McArthur, D. 2007. “Mutual Advantage Contractarianism and Obligations to Provide Foreign Aid” Accepted and Forthcoming in Australian Journal for Professional and Applied Ethics, March. 2007.
McArthur, D. 2007. “Recent debates Over Structural Realism” Journal for General Philosophy of Science. 37:209-224.
McArthur, D. 2007. “Which Kind of Naturalism Best Accommodates Renormalisation?” accepted and forthcoming in Journal of Philosophical Research.
McArthur, D. 2006. “Contra Cartwright: Structural Realism, Ontological Pluralism and Fundamentalism about Laws” Synthese vol. 151, (2), pp. 235-257.
McArthur, D. 2006.“Normative Naturalism and the Relativised A Priori” General Journal for the Philosophy of Science, XXX: 1-20.
McArthur, D. 2006. “The Anti-Philosophical Stance, the Realism Question and Scientific Practice” Foundations of Science 11 369-97.
McArthur, D. 2004. “Agent Centred Restrictions and the Ethics of Space Exploration,” Idil Boran: co-author. Journal of Social Philosophy, Vol. 35: 148-63.
McArthur, D. 2003. “Cosmology and Pseudo-Questions” in Humanity and the Cosmos: Proceedings of the Brock Philosophical Society’s Annual Symposium on Science and Humanity, Dan McArthur and Corey Mulvihill (eds.), State University of New York at Binghampton: Global Academic Publishing, pp., 97-111.
McArthur, D. 2003. “Is Pickering’s Pragmatic Realism Viable” Dialectica, 57 (1): 71-88.
McArthur, D. 2003. “Reconsidering Structural Realism” Presented at the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science Annual Conference in at the Social Science and Humanities Congress in Halifax in June.
McArthur, D. 2002. “The Methodological Implications of Resolving the Realism Debate” Science Studies, 15 (2): 59-77.
McArthur, D. 2002. “Why Bachelard is not a Scientific Realist”, The Philosophical Forum, Vol. 34: 155-73.
McArthur, D. 2000. “Evaluating Economics: an Examination of Alexander Rosenberg’s Philosophy of Economics” Contemporary Philosophy 21: 43-52.
McArthur, D. 1998. “The Environment and the New Scientific Mind: Practical Applications of Gaston Bachelard’s Philosophy of Science” Contemporary Philosophy Vol. 20: 39-45.
McArthur, D. 1997. “What Good is the Philosophy of Science” Contemporary Philosophy Vol. 19: 10-17.
McArthur, D. 2007. “Naturalism, The A priori and Dewey’s Transactional View” Prsented to the Canadian Philosophical Association Congress in Saskatoon in May.
McArthur, D. 2006. “Structural Realism and Discovery” presented to the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science at the Social Sciences and Humanities Congress in Toronto Ont. in June.
McArthur, D. 2005. “Cartright on the Scope of Laws” presented to the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science at the Social Sciences and Humanities Congress in London Ont. in June.
McArthur, D. 2005. “Naturalism and Structural Realism” presented at the Carleton University Department of Philosophy Colloquia Series, Nov. 4th 2005.
McArthur, D. 2005. “Stump and Friedman on Naturalism” paper to be presented to the panel I organised entitled “Reconsidering Philosophical Naturalism” at the Canadian Philosophical Association Congress in London Ont. in June.
McArthur, D. 2004. “Appraising Naturalist Views of Science” Carleton University Colloquia Series, April 23.
McArthur, D. 2004. “Considering Structural Realism” presented at the Queen’s University Colloquia Series, Oct. 28.
McArthur, D. 2004. “Do Entity Realism and Structural Realism Entail One Another?” Presented at the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science at the Social Sciences and Humanities Congress in Winnipeg in June.
McArthur, D. 2004. “Naturalist Philosophy of Science and Renormalisation Theory” Presented at the panel “Applying Logical Empiricist Metaphilosophy” (co-organised by Dan McArthur and Idil Boran) at the Canadian Philosophical Association Congress in Winnipeg in June.
McArthur, D. 2004. “Recent Structuralist Approaches” presented at the Carleton University Colloquia Series, Oct. 14.
McArthur, D. 2003. “Bachelard’s Dialecticization of Logic” Presented to the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science Annual Conference at the Social Science and Humanities Congress in Halifax in June.
McArthur, D. 2003. “Commentary on Chakravartty’s ‘Dispositional Properties’” Presented to the Canadian Philosophical Association at the Social Science and Humanities Congress in Halifax in June.
McArthur, D. 2003. “Commentary on Leroux’s ‘Bachelard and Lakatos’” Presented at the Ontario Philosophical Society Annual Conference at the University of Ottawa in November.
McArthur, D. 2004. “Consdering ‘Semirealism’” to the Dept. of Philosophy, St. Francis of Xavier University Feb 19, Special Colloquia Invitation.
McArthur, D. 2003. “Is Pickering’s Pragmatic Realism Viable” Presented to the Canadian Philosophical Association at the Social Science and Humanities Congress in Halifax in June.
McArthur, D. 2003. “Realism and the EPR Experiments” Accepted by 21st World Congress of Philosophy, Istanbul Turkey (presentation cancelled due to schedule conflict).
McArthur, D. 2003. “Reconsidering Structural Realism” Presented at the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science Annual Conference in at the Social Science and Humanities Congress in Halifax in June.
McArthur, D. 2002. “Bachelard and Scientific Realism” Presented to the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science Annual Conference at the Social Sciences and Humanities Congress at the University of Toronto in May.
McArthur, D. 2002. “Rights Obligations and the Space Program” Presented to The Chaire Hoover d’éthique économique et sociale á Université catholique de Louvain.
McArthur, D. 2002. “Why Bachelard is not a Scientific Realist” Presented at the HOPOS (History of Philosophy of Science) Conference at Concordia University in Montreal in June.
McArthur, D. 2001. “Commentary on O. Schulte’s A Case Study in Formal Learning Theory: Conservation Principles in Particle Physics”, Presented at the Western Canada Philosophical Association Annual Conference, University of Regina.
McArthur, D. 2001. “Commentary on R. Hudson’s Novelty and the 1919 Eclipse Experiments”, Presented at the Western Canada Philosophical Association Annual Conference, University of Regina.
McArthur, D. 2001. “Ethics and the Space Program”, Presented at the Brock University Symposium on Science and the Person.
McArthur, D. 2001. “Whither Corporate Sponsorship?: Ethics, Technology and Corporate Funding of University Research”, Presented at the Ethics Colloquium at The University of Ottawa Annual Interdisciplinary Conference.
McArthur, D. 2000. “Cosmology, Creation and Pseudo Questions”: presented to the Brock Philosophical Society Symposium on Humanity and Science, organised with the Brock University Faculty of Mathematics and Science.
McArthur, D. 2000. “Realism and Deflationary Metaphysics”: presented to The University of Ottawa Interdisciplinary Research Conference.
McArthur, D. 2000. “Realism and the Hidden Variables Debate”: Presented to the “One Hundred Years of Quantum Theory” Conference at The Faculty of Philosophy at the Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
McArthur, D. 1999. “An Critical Evaluation of Bas van Fraassen’s Philosophy of Science”: presented to University of Ottawa Philosophy Dept. Colloquium.
McArthur, D. 1999. “Methodology and the Realism Debate”: presented to The Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science Annual Conference at The University of Quebec at Sherbrooke.
McArthur, D. 1999. “The Environment and the New Scientific Mind”: presented to the Brock Philosophical Society Symposium on Humanity, Science and the Environment, organised with the Brock University Faculty of Mathematics and Science.
McArthur, D. 1999. “Une analyse de la philosophie des sciences de Bas van Fraassen”: presented to the Faculty of Philosophy at Université de Galatasaray, Istanbul Turkey by invitation as part of their annual series of lectures by specially invited scholars.
McArthur, D. 1998. “God, Grammar and the Universe” (co-authored by Idil Boran) presented to the Brock Philosophical Society Symposium on Humanity and the Cosmos, organised with the Royal Astronomical Society.
McArthur, D. 1998. “Reality, Modality and Semantics; Realism and Bas van Fraassen's Constructive Empiricism” presented to the University of Ottawa School of Graduate Studies and Research 150th Anniversary Current Research Competition.
McArthur, D. 1998. “What good is the Philosophy of Science” presented to REALIA: The Institute for Advanced Philosophic Research Annual Summer Conference.
McArthur, D. 1995. “The Historiography of Science” presented to the University of Ottawa History Society at “The Conference on Sources and Methods”.
I work primarily in the philosophy of science especially in the philosophy of physics and I am presently working on the topics of theory change and the nature of scientific discovery. I also have an interest in decision theory and rational choice theory.
I work primarily in the philosophy of science especially in the philosophy of physics and I am presently working on the topics of theory change and the nature of scientific discovery. I also have an interest in decision theory and rational choice theory. I am also interested in research ethics and applied ethics and I am a member of the research ethics committee here at York. I am currently working on a number of applied ethics projects including the question of the ethics of redistributive aid between countries, this draws from my interests in rational choice theory as well.
Research Interests
All Publications
McArthur, D. 2006. Bailey, Lee Worth. The Enchantments of Technology, Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2005. Review to Appear in Philosophy in Review.
McArthur, D. 2003. Josef Rouse, How Scientific Practices Matter: Reclaiming Philosophical Naturalism, New York: Routletge, 2002, in Canadian Philosophy in Review XXIII (4): 279-82
McArthur, D. 2001. John Losee. A Historical Introduction to the Philosophy of Science, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001, in de Philosophia 16.
McArthur, D. 2001. Thomas Hurka, Principles, Short Essays on Ethics, Toronto: Harcourt Brace, 1999, in de Philosophia 17.
McArthur, D. 2003. Humanity and the Cosmos: Proceedings of the Brock Philosophical Society’s Annual Symposium on Science and Humanity, Dan McArthur and Corey Mulvihill (eds.), Global Academic Publishing State University of New York at Binghampton.
McArthur, D. 2008. “Discovery and Theory Change” Accepted conditional upon revisions in Dialogue.
McArthur, D. 2008. “Structural Realism, The A Priori and Normative Naturalism” Forthcoming in International Studies in History and Philosophy of Science.
McArthur, D. 2007. “Mutual Advantage Contractarianism and Obligations to Provide Foreign Aid” Accepted and Forthcoming in Australian Journal for Professional and Applied Ethics, March. 2007.
McArthur, D. 2007. “Recent debates Over Structural Realism” Journal for General Philosophy of Science. 37:209-224.
McArthur, D. 2007. “Which Kind of Naturalism Best Accommodates Renormalisation?” accepted and forthcoming in Journal of Philosophical Research.
McArthur, D. 2006. “Contra Cartwright: Structural Realism, Ontological Pluralism and Fundamentalism about Laws” Synthese vol. 151, (2), pp. 235-257.
McArthur, D. 2006.“Normative Naturalism and the Relativised A Priori” General Journal for the Philosophy of Science, XXX: 1-20.
McArthur, D. 2006. “The Anti-Philosophical Stance, the Realism Question and Scientific Practice” Foundations of Science 11 369-97.
McArthur, D. 2004. “Agent Centred Restrictions and the Ethics of Space Exploration,” Idil Boran: co-author. Journal of Social Philosophy, Vol. 35: 148-63.
McArthur, D. 2003. “Cosmology and Pseudo-Questions” in Humanity and the Cosmos: Proceedings of the Brock Philosophical Society’s Annual Symposium on Science and Humanity, Dan McArthur and Corey Mulvihill (eds.), State University of New York at Binghampton: Global Academic Publishing, pp., 97-111.
McArthur, D. 2003. “Is Pickering’s Pragmatic Realism Viable” Dialectica, 57 (1): 71-88.
McArthur, D. 2003. “Reconsidering Structural Realism” Presented at the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science Annual Conference in at the Social Science and Humanities Congress in Halifax in June.
McArthur, D. 2002. “The Methodological Implications of Resolving the Realism Debate” Science Studies, 15 (2): 59-77.
McArthur, D. 2002. “Why Bachelard is not a Scientific Realist”, The Philosophical Forum, Vol. 34: 155-73.
McArthur, D. 2000. “Evaluating Economics: an Examination of Alexander Rosenberg’s Philosophy of Economics” Contemporary Philosophy 21: 43-52.
McArthur, D. 1998. “The Environment and the New Scientific Mind: Practical Applications of Gaston Bachelard’s Philosophy of Science” Contemporary Philosophy Vol. 20: 39-45.
McArthur, D. 1997. “What Good is the Philosophy of Science” Contemporary Philosophy Vol. 19: 10-17.
McArthur, D. 2007. “Naturalism, The A priori and Dewey’s Transactional View” Prsented to the Canadian Philosophical Association Congress in Saskatoon in May.
McArthur, D. 2006. “Structural Realism and Discovery” presented to the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science at the Social Sciences and Humanities Congress in Toronto Ont. in June.
McArthur, D. 2005. “Cartright on the Scope of Laws” presented to the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science at the Social Sciences and Humanities Congress in London Ont. in June.
McArthur, D. 2005. “Naturalism and Structural Realism” presented at the Carleton University Department of Philosophy Colloquia Series, Nov. 4th 2005.
McArthur, D. 2005. “Stump and Friedman on Naturalism” paper to be presented to the panel I organised entitled “Reconsidering Philosophical Naturalism” at the Canadian Philosophical Association Congress in London Ont. in June.
McArthur, D. 2004. “Appraising Naturalist Views of Science” Carleton University Colloquia Series, April 23.
McArthur, D. 2004. “Considering Structural Realism” presented at the Queen’s University Colloquia Series, Oct. 28.
McArthur, D. 2004. “Do Entity Realism and Structural Realism Entail One Another?” Presented at the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science at the Social Sciences and Humanities Congress in Winnipeg in June.
McArthur, D. 2004. “Naturalist Philosophy of Science and Renormalisation Theory” Presented at the panel “Applying Logical Empiricist Metaphilosophy” (co-organised by Dan McArthur and Idil Boran) at the Canadian Philosophical Association Congress in Winnipeg in June.
McArthur, D. 2004. “Recent Structuralist Approaches” presented at the Carleton University Colloquia Series, Oct. 14.
McArthur, D. 2003. “Bachelard’s Dialecticization of Logic” Presented to the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science Annual Conference at the Social Science and Humanities Congress in Halifax in June.
McArthur, D. 2003. “Commentary on Chakravartty’s ‘Dispositional Properties’” Presented to the Canadian Philosophical Association at the Social Science and Humanities Congress in Halifax in June.
McArthur, D. 2003. “Commentary on Leroux’s ‘Bachelard and Lakatos’” Presented at the Ontario Philosophical Society Annual Conference at the University of Ottawa in November.
McArthur, D. 2004. “Consdering ‘Semirealism’” to the Dept. of Philosophy, St. Francis of Xavier University Feb 19, Special Colloquia Invitation.
McArthur, D. 2003. “Is Pickering’s Pragmatic Realism Viable” Presented to the Canadian Philosophical Association at the Social Science and Humanities Congress in Halifax in June.
McArthur, D. 2003. “Realism and the EPR Experiments” Accepted by 21st World Congress of Philosophy, Istanbul Turkey (presentation cancelled due to schedule conflict).
McArthur, D. 2003. “Reconsidering Structural Realism” Presented at the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science Annual Conference in at the Social Science and Humanities Congress in Halifax in June.
McArthur, D. 2002. “Bachelard and Scientific Realism” Presented to the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science Annual Conference at the Social Sciences and Humanities Congress at the University of Toronto in May.
McArthur, D. 2002. “Rights Obligations and the Space Program” Presented to The Chaire Hoover d’éthique économique et sociale á Université catholique de Louvain.
McArthur, D. 2002. “Why Bachelard is not a Scientific Realist” Presented at the HOPOS (History of Philosophy of Science) Conference at Concordia University in Montreal in June.
McArthur, D. 2001. “Commentary on O. Schulte’s A Case Study in Formal Learning Theory: Conservation Principles in Particle Physics”, Presented at the Western Canada Philosophical Association Annual Conference, University of Regina.
McArthur, D. 2001. “Commentary on R. Hudson’s Novelty and the 1919 Eclipse Experiments”, Presented at the Western Canada Philosophical Association Annual Conference, University of Regina.
McArthur, D. 2001. “Ethics and the Space Program”, Presented at the Brock University Symposium on Science and the Person.
McArthur, D. 2001. “Whither Corporate Sponsorship?: Ethics, Technology and Corporate Funding of University Research”, Presented at the Ethics Colloquium at The University of Ottawa Annual Interdisciplinary Conference.
McArthur, D. 2000. “Cosmology, Creation and Pseudo Questions”: presented to the Brock Philosophical Society Symposium on Humanity and Science, organised with the Brock University Faculty of Mathematics and Science.
McArthur, D. 2000. “Realism and Deflationary Metaphysics”: presented to The University of Ottawa Interdisciplinary Research Conference.
McArthur, D. 2000. “Realism and the Hidden Variables Debate”: Presented to the “One Hundred Years of Quantum Theory” Conference at The Faculty of Philosophy at the Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
McArthur, D. 1999. “An Critical Evaluation of Bas van Fraassen’s Philosophy of Science”: presented to University of Ottawa Philosophy Dept. Colloquium.
McArthur, D. 1999. “Methodology and the Realism Debate”: presented to The Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science Annual Conference at The University of Quebec at Sherbrooke.
McArthur, D. 1999. “The Environment and the New Scientific Mind”: presented to the Brock Philosophical Society Symposium on Humanity, Science and the Environment, organised with the Brock University Faculty of Mathematics and Science.
McArthur, D. 1999. “Une analyse de la philosophie des sciences de Bas van Fraassen”: presented to the Faculty of Philosophy at Université de Galatasaray, Istanbul Turkey by invitation as part of their annual series of lectures by specially invited scholars.
McArthur, D. 1998. “God, Grammar and the Universe” (co-authored by Idil Boran) presented to the Brock Philosophical Society Symposium on Humanity and the Cosmos, organised with the Royal Astronomical Society.
McArthur, D. 1998. “Reality, Modality and Semantics; Realism and Bas van Fraassen's Constructive Empiricism” presented to the University of Ottawa School of Graduate Studies and Research 150th Anniversary Current Research Competition.
McArthur, D. 1998. “What good is the Philosophy of Science” presented to REALIA: The Institute for Advanced Philosophic Research Annual Summer Conference.
McArthur, D. 1995. “The Historiography of Science” presented to the University of Ottawa History Society at “The Conference on Sources and Methods”.
