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 interested in philosophy of physics---foundational issues in physics. I am particularly interested in the direction of time, probability, and the nature of space (both physical space and statespace) in classical, relativistic, and quantum physics. Most recently, I have become interested in the idea of structure as used in physics: what do we mean by the structure of a physical theory? What do we say when there is more than one mathematical structure we can use to formulate a theory: are these notational variants, different versions of one and the same theory, or are they distinct theories? I have been thinking about these questions in the context of both classical and quantum mechanics.

 

Education

PhD 2004, Rutgers University

Current or Recent Courses Taught

• Introduction to Philosophy
• Philosophy of Science
• Philosophy of Physics
• Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics
• Direction of Time

 

Publications
       

• “Time in Thermodynamics” (forthcoming, Oxford Handbook on Time)
• “An Empirical Approach to Symmetry and Probability” (forthcoming, Studies in History and     Philosophy of Modern Physics)
• “The `Structure’ of Physics: A Case Study” (Journal of Philosophy 106 (2009) 57--88)
• “Two Views on Time Reversal” (Philosophy of Science 75 (2008): 201--23)
• “Understanding the Time-Asymmetry of Radiation” (Philosophy of Science (Proceedings)        70 (2003): 1086—1097)
• “What is the Problem about the Time-Asymmetry of Thermodynamics?---A Reply to          Price”    (British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 53 (2002): 121—36)

Works in Progress

• “The Structure of a Quantum World” (to appear in The Wavefunction: Essays in The Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics)
• “Structure in Classical Mechanics”
• “How to Shake the Grues”