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Jill North
Professor
405a CT Hall
203.432.1675
jill.north@yale.edu
Jill North Web site
Areas of Interests
Philosophy of physics, philosophy of science, metaphysics
I am currently working on issues stemming from my dissertation on the direction of time, such as the nature of time reversal: how do we tell when a theory of physics is asymmetric with respect to time, and therefore gives us reason to infer the existence of an objective past–future distinction? I am also working on various topics in probability, from the perspective of both metaphysics and of physics. I have recently become interested in the idea of structure as it is used in physics: what do we mean by the structure of a given physical theory? What do we say when there is more than one mathematical formulation, or structure, for a given theory?
Education
PhD 2004, Rutgers University
Current or Recent Courses Taught
- Philosophy of physics (fall)
- Introduction to philosophy (fall)
- Philosophy of science (spring)
- Seminar: Direction of time (spring)
- Probability in physics (seminar at NYU)
- Philosophy of science (NYU)
- Direction of time (seminar at NYU)
Publications
- “Understanding the Time–Asymmetry of Radiation,” Philosophy of Science>(Proceedings), vol. 70, December 2003, pp. 1086–1097.
- “What is the Problem about the Time–Asymmetry of Thermodynamics? — A Reply to Price,” British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, vol. 53, March 2002, pp. 121–136.
Works in Progress
- “Symmetry and Probability”
- “Two Views on Time Reversal”
- Book review: Mathias Frisch, Inconsistency, Asymmetry and Non-Locality: A Philosophical Investigation of Classical Electrodynamics, forthcoming in Philosophy of Science.
- “The ‘Structure’ of Physics: A Case Study.”


