This seminar is co-taught by Charlotte Zito and Christian Wüthrich.

The philosophy of physics deals with methodological, epistemological, and metaphysical issues in physics. This seminar has the dual purpose of systematically introducing the background necessary to do research in philosophy of physics as well as discussing current research in the field.

This seminar focuses on the philosophy of cosmology, which seeks to understand the conceptual foundations and methodological challenges involved in explaining features of the universe. Cosmology is often cashed out as the study of the largest-scale structure of the universe, as described by general relativity. From galaxies to black holes, cosmology strives to explain how these structures behave, how they have formed, and more broadly, to uncover the fundamental principles that govern the cosmos.

To fully address these aims, cosmology must also confront quantum physics. As we approach the big bang, the laws of relativity break down and quantum effects become more and more dominant. At even earlier times, a theory of quantum gravity becomes essential to explain the origin of the universe.

The philosophy of cosmology examines the conceptual and epistemological issues that arise in this context. This seminar will explore questions such as: How are cosmological theories developed and justified? What does it mean to test a theory that describes the entire universe? What role do fine-tuning arguments play in evaluating cosmological models? How do we assess explanations that involve unobservable or speculative elements, such as inflationary theory or the multiverse?

While some background in physics, mathematics, and philosophy will be helpful, all necessary concepts will be introduced throughout the course. No specific knowledge beyond high school mathematics will be assumed. This seminar will be conducted entirely in English, though papers may be submitted in French if desired.

If this seminar is taken for credit, please let us know. You will have to fulfill requirements, depending on the module for which you are taking this course. For credit in philosophy:

MA6:

- travail écrit de recherche avec soutenance (env. 25 pages, 50'000 signes)

MA7:

- travail écrit de recherche (env. 12 pages, 24'000 signes) et présentation orale durant le séminaire

MA8:

- travail écrit de recherche (env. 12 pages, 24'000 signes) ou présentation orale durant le séminaire

Contact us if you need credit in physics or in another programme.

Our expectation is that everyone prepares the assigned readings ahead of time, actively participates in the seminar, and accepts a reasonable share of presentation duties.

In its Statement on artificial intelligence, the University of Geneva clearly states that

In their scientific publications and creations, researchers and students are required to respect the rules and principles governing scientific integrity, in particular the prohibition of plagiarism, and to comply with good scientific practice.

This good scientific practice demands that the use of generative AI "must always be explicitly agreed upon with the research supervisor and must be methodologically describable" (Guidebook on Generative Artificial Intelligence, p. 14) because they "raise issues of plagiarism" (ibid.). Hence, "[w]riting tasks should not be delegated to the tool" (ibid.). In other words, it is impermissible to use ChatGPT or similar tools in the writing of seminar papers or theses, although other uses may be permissible if agreed upon with us beforehand. .

Course materials such as lecture notes, handouts, etc may be made available as they will be used in class.

All reading materials will be made available on Moodle.

This is the schedule for the seminar. It is subject to adjustment. Readings marked with an asterisk (*) are optional background reading.

Date	Readings	Presenter(s)
18.09.	*Smeenk and Ellis (2017), *Smeenk (2014)	Charlotte Zito and Christian Wüthrich
25.09.	*Guth (2000)	Charlotte Zito
02.10.	McCoy (2015)	Maria Nørgaard
09.10.	Callender (2004)	Annica Vieser
16.10.	Callender and McCoy (2021)
23.10.	De Baerdemaeker and Dawid (2022)
30.10.	Massimi (2018), De Baerdemaeker and Boyd (2020)
06.11.	No seminar (semaine de lecture)
13.11.	Smeenk (2019)	Alessandro Spizzico
20.11.	Azhar and Butterfield (2017)	Elisa Ballabio
27.11.	Wallace (2010)
04.12.	De Bardemaeker (2021), *Smeenk and Weatherall (forthcoming, ch 5)
11.12.	Smeenk and Weatherall (forthcoming, ch 6), *Durrer (2011)
18.12.	Koberinski and Smeenk (2024)