Why Physics Needs Philosophers (and Philosophy Departments)

Abstract:

 I will describe several episodes in the history of physics where advances in physics involved distinctively philosophical contributions. I will discuss what role philosophers played in making these contributions and how physicists, philosophers, and mathematicians collaborated to advance the field.  I will argue that contemporary philosophy of physics has emerged from episodes like the ones I will discuss, and that the reason philosophers of physics today are most often found in philosophy departments (and mathematical physicists in mathematics departments) is that certain problems of physics are poorly aligned with the disciplinary norms for training and career advancement found in physics departments.