James McAllister
Professor History and Philosophy of Science
- Name
- Prof.dr. J.W. McAllister
- Telephone
- +31 71 527 2004
- j.w.mcallister@hum.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0003-0164-1638
James McAllister is Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the Institute for Philosophy.
Research
Prof. McAllister’s research is in the field of History and Philosophy of Science. Current research themes include the relation between patterns in empirical data and the structure of the world, beauty and effortlessness in scientific practice, the role of emotions in scientists’ decisions, thought experiments, and the relation between history of science and philosophy of science. McAllister is the author of Beauty and Revolution in Science (Cornell University Press, 1996) and editor of International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
McAllister was PI of the NWO-funded research programme, “Philosophical Foundations of the Historiography of Science”, 2008–2013.
Curriculum Vitae
For more information, please see CV
Professor History and Philosophy of Science
- Faculty of Humanities
- Instituut voor Wijsbegeerte
- McAllister J.W. (2024), Thought experiment as bridge between science and common sense, Croatian Journal of Philosophy 24(71): 155-161.
- McAllister J.W. (2023), Empirical tests of scientific realism: a quantitative framework, Metaphilosophy 54(4): 507-522.
- McAllister J.W. (2022), Filosofie aan de Nonnensteeg: Het Instituut voor Wijsbegeerte te Leiden, Tijdschrift voor Filosofie 84(1): 3-10.
- McAllister J.W. & Ruzzene A. (2021), La scienza e il dato. In: Cassia L., Kalchschmidt M. & Paleari S. (Eds.), Un dato di fatto: Uso e abuso del dato. Milano: Francesco Brioschi. 17-35.
- McAllister J.W. (2020), Does artistic value pose a special problem for time travel theories?, British Journal of Aesthetics 60(1): 61-69.
- McAllister J.W. (2019), Art and Science: A Tangled Relation. In: Wuppuluri S. & Wun D. (Eds.), On Art and Science: Tango of an Eternally Inseparable Duo. Cham: Springer. 1-10.
- McAllister J.W. (2018), Historicism and cross-culture comparison. In: Stuart M.T., Fehige Y. & Brown J.R. (Eds.), The Routledge companion to thought experiments. London: Routledge. 425-438.
- McAllister J.W. (2018), Using History as Evidence in Philosophy of Science: A Methodological Critique, Journal of the Philosophy of History 12: 239–258.
- McAllister J.W. (2018), Scientists’ Reuse of Old Empirical Data: Epistemological Aspects, Philosophy of Science 85(5): 755–766.
- McAllister J.W. (2016), Rhetoric of Effortlessness in Science, Perspectives on Science 24(2): 145–166.
- McAllister J.W. (2016), Editor’s Report, 2015, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 30(3): 197-199.
- McAllister J.W. (2015), Le Rôle de l’émotion dans la résolution des dilemmes méthodologiques en science. In: Andler D. (Ed.), Sciences et décision. Besançon: Presses universitaires de Franche-Comté. 77–92.
- McAllister J.W. (2015), Editor’s Report, 2014, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 29(3): 229-231.
- McAllister J.W. (2014), Six Questions for Any Account of Mathematical Beauty, with Some Answers. Aesthetics in Mathematics 5 December 2014 - 7 December 2014.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2014), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2014), . Studies in History and Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (2014), Editor's Report, 2013 , International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 28: 231-233.
- McAllister J.W. (2014), Methodological Dilemmas and Emotion in Science, Synthese 191: 3143-3158.
- McAllister J.W. (2013), Secondary Qualities Generalized: How Perception Creates New Classes of Facts. 40th Annual Philosophy of Science Conference, Inter-University Centre 15 April 2013 - 19 April 2013.
- McAllister J.W. (2013), Thought Experiment and the Exercise of Imagination in Science. In: Frappier M., Meynell L. & Brown J.R. (Eds.), Thought Experiments in Philosophy, Science, and the Arts. New York: Routledge. 11-29.
- McAllister J.W. (2013), Empirical Evidence that the World Is Not a Computer. In: Emmer M. (Ed.), Imagine Math 2: Between Culture and Mathematics. Milan: Springer. 127-135.
- McAllister J.W. (2013), The Information Content of Empirical Data: Methodological and Metaphysical Implications. 1st International Conference on Philosophy of Information 19 October 2013 - 21 October 2013.
- McAllister J.W. (2013), The Veracity of Empirical Data: A Causal Account of Observational Error. Séminaire Histoire et philosophie de la physique, Laboratoire SPHERE, Université Paris Diderot—Paris 7 26 November 2013 - 26 November 2013.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2013), . Studies in History and Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2013), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (2013), Reasoning with Visual Metaphors, Knowledge Engineering Review 28(--): 367-379.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2012), . Studies in History and Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2012), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (2012), Editor's Report, 2011, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 26: 237-239.
- McAllister J.W. (2012), Climate Science Controversies and the Demand for Access to Empirical Data, Philosophy of Science 79: 871-880.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2011), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2011), . Studies in History and Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2011), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (2011), Editor’s Report, 2010, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 25: 203-204.
- McAllister J.W. (2011), What Do Patterns in Empirical Data Tell Us About the Structure of the World?, Synthese 182: 73-87.
- McAllister J.W. (2010), “The Formation of Styles: Science and the Applied Arts”. In: Eck C.A. van, McAllister J.W. & Vall R. van de (Eds.), The Question of Style in Philosophy and the Arts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 157-176.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2010), . Studies in History and Philosophy of Science.
- Eck C.A. van, McAllister J.W. & Vall R. van de (Eds.) (2010), The Question of Style in Philosophy and the Arts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2010), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (2010), Voorzitter: Nederlandse Vereniging voor Wetenschapsfilosofie. [other].
- McAllister J.W. (2010), "Editor's Report, 2009", International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 24: 237-239.
- McAllister J.W. (2010), “The Ontology of Patterns in Empirical Data”, Philosophy of Science 77: 804-814.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2009), . Studies in History and Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (2009), Editor’s Report, 2008, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 23: 119-121.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2009), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2008), . Studies in History and Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2008), . British Journal for Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2008), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2008), . Synthese.
- McAllister J.W. (2008), Editor's Report, 2007, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 22: 115-117.
- McAllister J.W. (2008), Contours of a European Philosophy of Science, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 22: 1-3.
- McAllister J.W. (2007), Dilemmas in Science: What, Why, and How. In: Groen A. in 't & Jonge H.J. de (Eds.), Knowledge in Ferment: Dilemmas in Science, Scholarship and Society. Leiden: Leiden University Press. 13-24.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2007), . Studies in History and Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2007), . Synthese.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2007), . Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2007), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (2007), Editor's Report, 2006, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 21: 119-122.
- McAllister J.W. (2007) Review of Malcolm Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Review of: Malcolm Gladwell (2005), Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. New York: Little, Brown. Minds and Machines 17: 125-128.
- McAllister J.W. (2007), Model Selection and the Multiplicity of Patterns in Empirical Data, Philosophy of Science 74: 884-894.
- McAllister J.W. (2006), Die Rhetorik der Mühelosigkeit in der Wissenschaft und ihre barocken Ursprünge (trans. Christiane Hitzemann). In: Schramm H., Schwarte L. & Lazardzig J. (Eds.), Spektakuläre Experimente. Praktiken der Evidenzproduktion im 17. Jahrhundert. Berlin: De Gruyter. 154-175.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2006), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2006), . Studies in History and Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (2006), Editor’s Report, 2005, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 20: 125-127.
- McAllister J.W. (2005), The Composite Species Concept: A Rigorous Basis for Cladistic Practice. In: Reydon Thomas & Hemerik Lia (Eds.), Current Themes in Theoretical Biology: A Dutch Perspective.. Dordrecht: Springer. 95-127.
- McAllister J.W. (2005), Mathematical Beauty and the Evolution of the Standards of Mathematical Proof. In: Emmer Michele (Ed.), The Visual Mind II. Cambridge: Mass.: MIT Press. 15-34.
- McAllister J.W. (2005), Emotion, Rationality, and Decision Making in Science. In: Hájek Petr, Valdés-Villanueva Luis & Westerståhl Dag (Eds.), Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science: Proceedings of the Twelfth International Congress.. London: King's College Publications. 559-576.
- McAllister J.W. (2005), The Virtual Laboratory: Thought Experiments in Seventeenth-Century Mechanics. In: Schramm Helmar, Schwarte Ludger & Lazardzig Jan (Eds.), Collection, Laboratory, Theater: Scenes of Knowledge in the 17th Century. New York: De Gruyter. 35-56.
- McAllister J.W. (2005), Compression of Empirical Data: Reply to Twardy, Gardner, and Dowe, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 36: 403-410.
- McAllister J.W. (2005), Editor's Report, 2004, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 19: 101-103.
- McAllister J.W. (2004), Thought Experiments and the Belief in Phenomena, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 71: 1164-1175.
- McAllister J.W. (2004), Editor's Report, 2003, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 18: 113-114.
- McAllister J.W. (2004), Absence of Contingency in the Newtonian Universe, Foundations of Science 9(2): 191-210.
- McAllister J.W. (2003), Effective Complexity as a Measure of Information Content, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 70: 302-307.
- McAllister J.W. (2003), Das Virutuelle Labor: gedankenexperimente in der Mechanik des siebzehnten Jahrhunderts. In: Schwarte Ludger & Lazardzig Jan (Eds.), Helmar Schramm Kunsthammer. Berlin: De Gruyter. 35-55.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2003), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (2003), Editor's Report, 2002, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science (17): 115-116.
- McAllister J.W. (2003), The Integration of European Higher Education and the Nature of philosophy, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science (17): 3-5.
- McAllister J.W. (2003), Experimenten en de plaatsen van kennis, Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte : 211-214.
- McAllister J.W. (2003), Algorithmic Randomness in Empirical Data, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science : 633-646.
- McAllister J.W. (2002), Historical and Stuctural Approaches in the Natural and Human Sciences. In: Tindemans P., Verrijn-Stuart A. & Visser R. (Eds.), The Future of the Sciences and Humanities. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. 19-54.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2002), . Episteme.
- McAllister J.W. (2002), Bellezza matematica. Emmer M. (Ed.), Matematica e cultura 2002. . Milan: Springer-Verlag Italia. 125-134.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2002), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (2002), Functie bij : Fac. Techniek, Bestuur en Management, TU Delft. [other].
- McAllister J.W. (2002), Editor's Report 2001, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science : 109-110.
- McAllister J.W. (2002), De wetenschapsstudies in Nederland en hun maatschappelijke rol, Gewina (Rotterdam) 25: 8-19.
- McAllister J.W. (2002), Recent Work on Aesthetics of Science, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 16: 7-11.
- McAllister J.W. (2002), Functie bij : Inter-University Centre for Postgraduate Study. [other].
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2001), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (2001), Review of: Zee A. (1999), Fearful Symmetry: The Search for Beauty in Modern Physics. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISIS. An International Review devoted to the History of Science and its Cultural Influences 92: 130-131.
- McAllister J.W. (2001), New Editorial Team and Policy Statement, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 15: 229-230.
- McAllister J.W. (2000), Functie bij :Inter-University Centre, Dubrovnik, Kroatië. [other].
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2000), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2000), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2000), . Erkenntnis.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2000), . Acta Biotheoretica.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (2000), . British Journal for Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (2000), Lid benoemingsadviescommissie voor twee onderwijsassistenten Filosofie van de biologie. [other].
- McAllister J.W. (2000), Review of: Jones C.A. & Galison P. (1998), Picturing Science, Producing Art. London: Routledge. British Journal of Aesthetics 40: 270-272.
- McAllister J.W. (2000), Visiting Fellow : University of Pittsburgh. [other].
- McAllister J.W. (1999), Unification of Theories. In: Newton-Smith W.H. (Ed.), A Companion to the Philosophy of Science. Oxford: Blackwell. 537-539.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (1999), . Acta Biotheoretica.
- McAllister J.W. (1999), Relativism. In: Newton-Smith W.H. (Ed.), A Companion to the Philosophy of Science. Oxford: Blackwell. 405-407.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (1999), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (1999), . International Studies in the Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (1999), . British Journal for Philosophy of Science.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (1999), . Erkenntnis.
- McAllister J.W. (Ed.) (1999), . Philosophical Explorations.
- McAllister J.W. (1999), Waarheid en schoonheid in de wetenschap, Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte 91: 153-167.
- McAllister J.W. (1998), Bellezza e rivoluzione nella scienza. Milano: McGraw-Hill Libri.
- McAllister J.W. (1998) A novel defense of scientific realism. Review of: Leplin J. (1998), Warrants for Truth. New York: Oxford University Press. TLS: The Times Literary Supplement 4963: 28-28.
- McAllister J.W. (1998), Is Beauty a Sign of Truth in Scientific Theories?, American Scientist 86: 174-183.
- McAllister J.W. (1998) The truth of science : physical theories and reality. Review of: Newton R.G. (1998), Warrants for Truth. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. TLS: The Times Literary Supplement 4963: 28-28.
- McAllister J.W. (1998), Author's Response (to an essay review by T. Meijering of Beauty and Revolution in Science), Metascience 7: 112-116.
- McAllister J.W. (1997), Philosophy of Science in the Netherlands, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 11: 191-204.
- McAllister J.W. (1997), Laws of Nature, Natural History, and the Description of the World, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 11: 245-258.
- McAllister J.W. (1997), Phenomena and Patterns in Data Sets, Erkenntnis 47: 217-228.
- McAllister J.W. (1996), Scientists' Aesthetic Preferences among Theories: Conservative Factors in Revolutionary Crises. In: Tauber A.I. (Ed.), The Elusive Synthesis: Aesthetics and Science. Dordrecht: Kluwer. 169-187.
- McAllister J.W. (1996), Beauty and Revolution in Science. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell U.P..
- McAllister J.W. (1996), The Evidential Significance of Thought Experiment in Science, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 27: 233-250.
- McAllister J.W. (1995), Introduction. In: McAllister J.W., Eck C.A. van & Vall R. van de (Eds.), The Question of Style in Philosophy and the Arts. Cambridge: Cambridge U.P.. 1-17.
- McAllister J.W. (1995), The Formation of Styles: Science and the Applied Arts. In: McAllister J.W., Eck C.A. van & Vall R. van de (Eds.), The Question of Style in Philosophy and the Arts. Cambridge: Cambridge U.P.. 157-176.
- McAllister J.W., Eck C.A. van & Vall R. van de (Eds.) (1995), The Question of Style in Philosophy and the Arts. Cambridge: Cambridge U.P..
- Eck C.A. van, McAllister J.W. & Vall R. van de (Eds.) (1995), The Concept of Style in Philosophy and the Arts. Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press.