Thinking about Physics: An introduction to philosophy for physicists
This course is a follow up course from the 2025 lecture series: "Thinking about Natural Science: An introduction to philosophy for scientists," which is accessible here: https://indico.ph.liv.ac.uk/event/1846/ ; there are lecture recordings that are available on demand.
This course is presented in the context of Postgraduate Research Student training programme as a optional activity. Please register if you want to attend so that we can plan accordingly.
Audience:
The course is intended for advanced undergraduate students (year 3 or 4), PhD students and members of staff with a background in physics. Some basic knowledge in philosophy is required (e.g. having attended at least part of last year's course or having read some basic readings). This lecture series is designed for physicists: biologists or mathematicians may find it unsuitable for their needs and interests.
The lecturer:
Dr Paolo Beltrame is a particle physicist, currently working on muon physics mainly in Mu3e. He received his PhD in 2009 from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, working on the KLOE experiment. In addition to his work in particle physics, Paolo holds a M.Sc. in philosophy (Pontifical Salesian University, Rome, 2000) and a M.Sc. in theology (Jesuit Faculty of Centre Sèvres, Paris, 2022). He collaborates with various philosophy faculties (Edinburgh, Wuppertal, Rome) in seminars and conferences, and has also worked at the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, and in Tucson, Arizona USA, investigating both the scientific aspects of cosmology and the various philosophical and theological implications.
Programme:
There are 7 lectures of duration of up to 1h30m taking place on Monday’s at 17:00 at OLL Leo Carroll Suite (337) (see indico schedule for the detailed dates).
We request that everyone who wishes to attend they register for this event and fill in the pre-course questionnaire that comes with the registration. This will help us in the organization of the venue but also will enable the lecturer to understand better the background of the participants.
