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Distinguished Professor
Department of History and
History and
Philosophy of Science
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh PA USA 15260
Phone: 412 624 5896
Email: jdnorton@pitt.edu
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Einstein
1905-2005
manuscripts | forthcoming| web*booktm | 2024 | 2023 | 2022| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017| 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 |1997 |1996 |1995 |1994 |1993 |1992 |1991 | 1989 | 1988 | 1987 | 1986 | 1985 | 1984 | 1983 | 1982 | 1981 | interviews |
See Goodies in my homepage
for more popular writing.
Manuscripts
"The Rise and Fall of Karl Popper's Anti-inductivism," Download draft.
"The Simply Uninformed Thermodynamics of Erasure," Download draft.
"A Simple Minkowskian Time-Travel Spacetime" Download draft.
"Dense and Sparse Meaning Spaces: When Referential
Stability Fails and Succeeds," Prepared for Theo Arabatzis, Corinne Bloch
and James Lennox, eds., Concepts, Induction, and the Growth of
Scientific Knowledge. Download draft.
This paper is a near completely rewritten
version of an earlier, unpublished comment:
"Dense and Sparse Meaning Spaces: Comments on Travis Norsen, 'Scientific
Cumulativity and Conceptual Change: The Case of Temperature.'" in
Richard M. Burian and Allan Gotthelf, eds., Concepts, Induction,
and the Growth of Scientific Knowledge. Volume not published.
Download draft.
Forthcoming
Something soon.
web*booktm
Einstein for Everyone: a web*bookTM A forty one chapter online text for my course HPS 0410 Einstein for Everyone. Routinely updated. Read.
Paradox: Puzzles of Chance and Infinity. A 21 chapter online text for my course HPS 0628 Paradox. Read.
2024
The Large-Scale
Structure of Inductive Inference. BSPSOpen/University of
Calgary Press. Published August 15, 2024.
Published open access under a CC-BY-NCND 4.0 Creative Commons license.
FREE download from the University
of Calgary Press or here.
Complete manuscript of July 12, 2022. Accepted
August, 2023, for publication in BSPSOpen/University of Calgary
Press. Download.
This volume is a sequel to the principal development of the material
theory of induction in the volume below, The
Material Theory of Induction.
(For archival records only: complete manuscript of March 6, 2021.
Download individual chapters.)
"Einstein against Singularities: Analysis
versus Geometry," Philosophy of Physics 2(1): 13,
1–73. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31389/ pop.91. Download from
journal or here.
Download
draft.
(The correction to the journal pdf is that
the title of Section 10.2 has been changed from "Einstein's Against ..."
to "Einstein Against ...")
"The Metaphysics of Causation: An Empiricist Critique," pp. 58-94 in Yafen Shen, ed., Alternative Approaches to Causation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024. Download. Download preprint.
2023
"Chance Combinatorics: The Theory that History Forgot," Perspectives on Science 31 (6), (2023), pp. 771–810. Download final. Download draft.
(With Wayne Myrvold) "On Norton’s '…Shook…' and Myrvold’s 'Shakin’ …' " Philosophy of Physics, Vol. 1, Issue 1, Article 5. 2023. Download from the journal or here. Download preprint.
"Inductive Inferences on Galactic Redshift, Understood Materially," Ch. 9, pp. 227-246, in C. Soto (ed.), Current Debates in Philosophy of Science, Synthese Library 477. Springer: Cham, Switzerland, 2023. Download Download draft.
2022
"Author’s Response to Mousa Mohammadian, William Peden and Elay Shech," Symposium: Mousa Mohammadian, William Peden and Elay Shech on The Material Theory of Induction. BSPSOpen/University of Calgary Press, 2021. Metascience, 31(2022), pp. 317–323. Download. Preprint draft.
(with Matthew W. Parker) "An Infinite
Lottery Paradox," Axiomathes 32, supplement issue 1 (2022),
(Special Issue Epistemologia 2022), pp. 1-6. Download.
Earlier versions: Download
online version, April 28, 2021, or download
original manuscript.
"You are not a Boltzmann Brain," International Journal of Quantum Foundations 8 (2022), pp. 190 – 194. Download from IJQF or here.
"A Material Defense of Inductive Inference," in Stephen Hetherington and David Macarthur, eds., Living Skepticism: Essays in Epistemology and Beyond. Leiden: Brill, 2022. pp. 54-72. Download. Download draft.
"Lotteries, Bookmaking and Ancient Randomizers: Local and Global Analyses of Chance," Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 95 (2022), pp. 108–117. Download. Download draft ms.
"How Analogy Helped Create the New Science of Thermodynamics," Synthese. 200 (2022), article 269, pp. 1-42. Download. Download manuscript.
"How to Make Possibility Safe for Empiricists." pp. 129-159 in Rethinking the Concept of Laws of Nature: Natural order in the Light of Contemporary Science. ed. Yemima Ben-Menahem. Springer, 2022. Download. Download draft.
2021
The Material Theory of Induction.
BSPSOpen/University of Calgary Press, 2021.
Published open access under a CC-BY-NCND 4.0 Creative Commons license.
FREE download from the University
of Calgary Press or here.
Earlier versions for archival purposes:
Complete Manuscript of March 14, 2021. Download
pdf.
Complete manuscript of April 24, 2020. Download
pdf.
Complete manuscript of June 26, 2018, as Download
pdf.
Individual
chapters of April 23, 2020.
"Eternal Inflation: When Probabilities Fail." Synthese 198 (Suppl 16) (2021), S3853-3875. (Special Issue: "Reasoning in Physics," eds. Ben Eva and Stephan Hartmann.) Download final. Journal version without pagination. Original Manuscript.
"Author's Responses," Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 85 (2021), pp. 114–126. Download final. Download Draft. (Responses to the collection of articles on the material theory of induction in a special issue of Studies in History and Philosophy of Science.)
2020
"Einstein’s Conflicting Heuristics: The Discovery of General Relativity," pp. 17-48 in Thinking about Space and Time: 100 Years of Applying and Interpreting General Relativity. Einstein Studies, Volume 15. C. Beisbart, T. Sauer, C. Wüthrich (eds). Cham, Switzerland: Birhäuser/Springer Nature, 2020. Download final. Download draft.
"Philosophy in Einstein’s Science," Ch. 4, pp. 95-127, in Idealist Alternatives to Materialist Philosophies of Science, Philip MacEwen, ed., Leiden: Brill, 2020. Download. Download draft.
"How NOT to Build an Infinite Lottery Machine." Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. 82(2020), pp. 1-8. Download final. Version online July 17, 2019. Download draft.
2019
"A Demonstration of the Incompleteness of Calculi of Inductive Inference," British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 70 (2019), pp. 1119–1144. Download final. Journal version without pagination. Download manuscript.
"How not to Think About Causation." Filozofuj! 2019, No.3, pp. 16-18. In Polish: here or here. English text here. Or as a Goodies page.
"A Hot Mess," Inference: International Review
of Science. Vol. 4, Issue 4. July 2019. Download
from Inference or here or
unformatted.
Original, longer, unedited draft: "Weeding
Landauer's Garden." Download draft.
Commentary by Andrew Jordan and Sreenath Manikandan and my response, "Some
Like it Hot." Download
from Inference or here.
Commentary by G. Barış Bağci and my response, "On Norton’s No-Go Result."
Download
from Inference or here.
in Inference: International Review of Science. Vol. 5, Issue 1.
December 2019.
My draft responses.
2018
"Maxwell's Demon Does not Compute." in Michael E. Cuffaro and Samuel C. Fletcher, eds., Physical Perspectives on Computation, Computational Perspectives on Physics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2018. pp. 240-256. Download final. Download draft.
“How to Build an Infinite Lottery Machine.” European
Journal for Philosophy of Science. 8 (2018), pp. 71-95. Download journal
version without pagination. Download
preprint.
Errata to: “How to Build an Infinite Lottery Machine,” European
Journal for Philosophy of Science. 8 (2018), pp. 97. Download.
(with Alexander R. Pruss) Correction to John D. Norton “How to Build an
Infinite Lottery Machine, ” European Journal for Philosophy of
Science. 8 (2018), pp. 143-44. Download paper.
Download preprint.
"The Worst Thought Experiment," The Routledge Companion to Thought Experiments. Eds. Michael T. Stuart, James Robert Brown, and Yiftach Fehige. London: Routledge, 2018. pp. 454-68. Download final. Download draft.
2017
"Thermodynamically Reversible Processes in Statistical Physics ." American Journal of Physics, 85 (2017), pp. 135-145. Download final. Download draft. Download extended version that includes an appendix not in the journal version on processes with a Brownian particle.
2016
"Curie's Truism." Philosophy of Science. 83(2016),
pp. 1014-1026. Download
final. Download
preprint.
Prepared for Symposium "Curie's Principle:
The Good, the Bad, and the Symmetry Violating," PSA2014: Philosophy of
Science Biennial Meeting, November 6-9, 2014, Chicago, IL.
"How Einstein Did Not Discover," Physics in Perspective, 18 (2016), pp. 249-282. Dowload final or draft.
"The Impossible Process: Thermodynamic Reversibility," Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 55(2016), pp. 43-61. Download final or draft.
2015
"The Burning Fuse Model of Unbecoming in Time," Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics. 52 (2015), pp. 103-105. Download. See Draft. See Goodies page. Talk Powerpoints.
"Replicability of Experiment," Theoria, 30(No. 2) (2015), pp. 229-248. Download open access or here. Download draft
“What Can We Learn about the Ontology of Space and Time from the Theory of Relativity?” L. Sklar (ed.), Physical Theory: Method and Interpretation, Oxford University Press, 2015. pp. 185-228. Download final. Download latest version with redrafted figures. Preprint of early version on philsci-archive Later Version
"The Ideal of the Completeness of Calculi of Inductive Inference: An Introductory Guide to its Failure," Manuscript (This is an orphaned manuscript, whose content has now been moved to the chapter, "The Incompleteness of All Calculi of Inductive Inference," in the book, The Material Theory of Induction.) Download draft.
2014
"Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity and the Problems in the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies that Led him to it." pp. 72-102 in Cambridge Companion to Einstein, M. Janssen and C. Lehner, eds., Cambridge University Press. Download final without reference list. Download preprint with reference list as pdf or doc.
"On Brownian Computation," International Journal of Modern Physics: Conference Series. 33 (2014), pp. 1460366-1 to 1460366-6. Download final draft, Earlier incomplete draft.
"Invariance of Galileo's Law of Fall under a Change of the Unit of Time." Download.
"The Simplest Exorcism of Maxwell's Demon: The Quantum Version," http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/10572/ Also download here.
"A Material Dissolution of the Problem of Induction." Synthese. 191 (2014), pp. 671-690. Download final. Download draft. Download earlier version. Download still earlier version.
"Infinite Idealizations,"European Philosophy of Science--Philosophy of Science in Europe and the Viennese Heritage: Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook, Vol. 17 (Springer: Dordrecht-Heidelberg-London-New York), pp. 197-210. Download draft final.
2013
"The End of the Thermodynamics of Computation: A No Go Result," Philosophy of Science. 80, (2013), pp. 1182-1192. Download. Download draft, August 20, 2013.
"All Shook Up: Fluctuations, Maxwell's Demon and the Thermodynamics of Computation" Entropy 2013, 15, 4432-4483 (open access) or download here.
"Brownian Computation is Thermodynamically Irreversible." Foundations of Physics. 43 (2013), pp 1384-1410. Download final, draft.
"Author's Reply to 'Landauer Defended'," Studies in
History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 44
(2013), p. 272. Download.
Reply to James Ladyman and Katie Robertson,
"Landauer defended: Reply to Norton,"Studies in History and
Philosophy of Modern Physics, 44 (2013), pp.
263-271.
"Chasing the Light: Einstein's Most Famous Thought Experiment," Thought Experiments in Philosophy, Science and the Arts, eds., James Robert Brown, Mélanie Frappier and Letitia Meynell, New York: Routledge, 2013. pp. 123-140. Final. Download draft.
2012
(with Claus Beisbart) "Why Monte Carlo Simulations Are Inferences and Not Experiments," International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 26 (No. 4, December 2012), pp. 403-422. Final. Draft at philsci-archive
"Einstein as the Greatest of the Nineteenth Century Physicists," pp. 142-51 in Proceedings, Seventh Quadrennial Fellows Conference of the Center for Philosophy of Science (12-14 June 2012; Mugla, Turkey). Download. Or download from philsci-archive.
(with Bryan Roberts) “Galileo's Refutation of the Speed-Distance Law of Fall Rehabilitated,” Centaurus.54 (2012) pp. 148-164. Download. Preprint. Earlier version on philsci-archive.
(with Bryan Roberts) "The Scaling of Speeds and Distances in Galileo's Two New Sciences: A Reply to Palmerino and Laird," Centaurus, 54 (2012) pp. 182-191. Download.
"Approximation and Idealization: Why the Difference Matters" Philosophy of Science, 79 (2012), pp. 207-232. Download. Download latest draft. Earlier draft on philsci-archive.pitt.edu.
“Paradoxes of Sailing," Ch. 13, pp.148-63, in Sailing: Philosophy for Everyone. Patrick A. Goold, Ed., Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. Download final. Download draft.
2011
"Waiting for Landauer" Studies in History and
Philosophy of Modern Physics, 42(2011), pp. 184-198. Download
final. Download draft of January 22,
2011. Earlier draft
on philsci-archive.pitt.edu.
"Addendum: Units in the one-molecule gas -
piston system." August 5, 2015. Download.
For a 650 word version of a principal result
see No Go Result
for the Thermodynamics of Computation and for an informal
narrative, see When
a Good Theory meets a Bad Idealization: The Failure of the
Thermodynamics of Computation.
"Challenges to Bayesian Confirmation Theory," Philosophy of Statistic, Vol. 7: Handbook of the Philosophy of Science. Prasanta S. Bandyopadhyay and Malcolm R. Forster (eds.) Elsevier,2011. Download final. Download draft.
"Observationally Indistinguishable Spacetimes: A Challenge
for Any Inductivist." In G. Morgan, ed., Philosophy of Science
Matters: The Philosophy of Peter Achinstein. Oxford University
Press, 2011, pp. 164-176. Download.
Download draft.
This paper is a revision of "The Inductive
Significance of Observationally Indistinguishable Spacetimes." http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/00004505/
or download slightly revised
version.
"History of Science and the Material Theory of Induction: Einstein's Quanta, Mercury's Perihelion." European Journal for Philosophy of Science. 1(2011), pp. 3-27. Download final. Download draft. Earlier version Download.
"Little boxes: A simple implementation of the
Greenberger, Horne, and Zeilinger result for spatial degrees of freedom" American
Journal of Physics, 79(2)(2011), pp. 182-188.
Download final version
or latest manuscript.
Earlier version: "Little Boxes: The Simplest Demonstration of the
Failure of Einstein's Argument for the Incompleteness of Quantum theory"
Download earlier version.
Reprinted in Virtual Journal of Quantum Information, 11(2)(2011).
http://www.vjquantuminfo.org/
2010
"There are No Universal Rules for Induction," Philosophy
of Science, 77 (2010) pp. 765-77. Download.
Download
latest draft.
Prepared for Symposium “Induction Without
Rules” PSA 2008: Philosophy of Science Biennial Meeting, November 2008,
Pittsburgh PA. Pre-symposium version
on philsci-archive.
This last paper incorporates material from an earlier now orphaned manuscript, "Induction without Probabilities." Download.
"Cosmic Confusions: Not Supporting versus Supporting
Not-". Philosophy of Science. 77 (2010), pp.
501-23. Download.
Download manuscript.
This manuscript is an extensively revised
version of "Cosmology and Inductive Inference: A Bayesian Failure,"
Prepared for “Philosophy of Cosmology: Characterising Science and
Beyond” St. Anne’s College, Oxford, September 20-22, 2009.http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/00004866/
or Download.
"Time Really Passes." Humana.Mente: Journal of Philosophical Studies, 13(April, 2010), pp. 23-34. Download from http://www.humanamente.eu/PDF/Issue13_Paper_Norton.pdf or here. Download draft. An earlier version is the Goodies page, Time Really Passes.
"Deductively Definable Logics of Induction." Journal
of Philosophical Logic. 39 (2010), pp. 617-654. Download
final. Download
draft.
For a less formal development, see "What
Logics of Induction are There?" in Goodies.
"How Hume and Mach Helped Einstein Find Special
Relativity," pp. 359-386 in M. Dickson and M. Domski, eds., Discourse
on a New Method: Reinvigorating the Marriage of History and Philosophy
of Science. Chicago and La Salle, IL: Open Court, 2010. Download.
Download addendum, 2009,
with new material.
Drafts: Preprint
on philsci-archive. Download
later draft (July 1, 2005).
"A Survey of Inductive Generalization." download.
2009
"Is There an Independent Principle of Causality in Physics?" British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 60 (2009), pp. 475-86. Download final version. Earlier version on philsci-archive.pitt.edu; later version.
2008
"The Dome: An Unexpectedly Simple Failure of
Determinism" Proceedings of the 2006 Biennial Meeting of the
Philosophy of Science Association, Philosophy of Science, 75, No. 5,
(2008). pp. 786-98.. Download original
longer version. Download
shorter version prepared for
publication. Final.
"Why Constructive Relativity Fails," British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 59 (2008), pp. 821-834. Manuscript. Free download from Oxford Journals as html or pdf. Or try here.
"Ignorance and Indifference." Philosophy of Science, 75 (2008), pp. 45-68. Download final version. Download long draft. Download short draft.
"Must Evidence Underdetermine Theory?" in The Challenge of the Social and the Pressure of Practice: Science and Values Revisited, M. Carrier, D. Howard and J. Kourany, eds., Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2008, pp. 17-44. Preprint on philsci-archive.pitt.edu; final version here.
"Einstein's Miraculous Argument of 1905: The Thermodynamic Grounding of Light Quanta" in C. Joas, C. Lehner and J. Renn (eds.), HQ1: Conference on the History of Quantum Physics: Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. Preprint 350. Vol. 1, pp. 63-78. Download draft. Download final.
"Discovering the Relativity of Simultaneity: How Did Einstein Take 'The Step'," Trans. to Chinese, Wang Wei. In Einstein in a Trans-cultural Perspective. Eds. Yang Jiang, Liu Bing. Tsinghua University Press, forthcoming. (Estimated date of publication: undetermined.) Download Chinese text. Download English text.
2007
"Probability Disassembled" British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 58 (2007), pp. 141-171. Download preprint. Download.
"Disbelief as the Dual of Belief." International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 21(2007), pp. 231-252. Download. Download preprint.
"Do the Causal Principles of Modern Physics Contradict Causal Anti-Fundamentalism?" pp. 222-34 in Thinking about Causes: From Greek Philosophy to Modern Physics. eds. P. K. Machamer and G. Wolters, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2007.Download preprint. Download final.
"What Was Einstein's 'Fateful Prejudice'?" in Juergen Renn (ed.), The Genesis of General Relativity. Vol. 2 Einstein's Zurich Notebook: Commentary and Essays. Springer, 2007, pp. 715-83. Download.
With Juergen Renn, Tilman Sauer, Michel Janssen, John Stachel, “A Commentary on the Notes on Gravity in the Zürich Notebook” in Juergen Renn (ed.), The Genesis of General Relativity. Vol. 2 Einstein's Zurich Notebook: Commentary and Essays. Springer, 2007 pp. 489-714.
2006
"The Formal Equivalence of Grue and Green and How It Undoes the New Riddle of Induction." Synthese, (2006) 150: 185-207. Preprint of older version on philsci-archive.pitt.edu Later version. Latest.
"Atoms Entropy Quanta: Einstein's Miraculous Argument of 1905," Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 37 (2006), pp. 71-100. Preprint on philsci-archive. Latest.
2005
"A Little Survey of Induction," in P. Achinstein, ed., Scientific Evidence: Philosophical Theories and Applications. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. pp. 9-34. Preprint on philsci-archive.pitt.edu , Final version
"Eaters of the Lotus: Landauer's Principle and the Return of Maxwell's Demon." Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 36 (2005), pp. 375-411. Download preprint. Download final.
"A Conjecture on Einstein, the Independent Reality of Spacetime Coordinate Systems and the Disaster of 1913," pp. 67-102 in A. J. Kox and J. Einsenstaedt, eds., The Universe of General Relativity. Einstein Studies Volume 11. Boston: Birkhaeuser, 2005. Download preprint. Download final version.
2004
"Einstein's Investigations of Galilean Covariant Electrodynamics prior to 1905," Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 59 (2004), pp. 45-105. Download
"On Thought Experiments: Is There More to the Argument?" Proceedings of the 2002 Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, Philosophy of Science,71 (2004) pp. 1139-1151.Latest version Preprint on philsci-archive.
"Why Thought Experiments Do Not Transcend Empiricism"
pp. 44-66 in Christopher Hitchcock (ed.) Contemporary Debates in the
Philosophy of Science. Blackwell, 2004. Download final
version. Preprint
on philsci-archive.
Spanish translation: "Por qué los
experimentos mentales no trascienden el empirismo," in Trabajando
en el laboratorio de la mente: naturaleza y alcance de los
experimentos mentales, eds. Jorge Ornelas, Armando Cíntora,
Paola Hernández, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Facultad de
Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, 2018. Download
2003
"The n-Stein Family" pp. 55-67 in Juergen Renn (ed.) Revisiting the Foundations of Relativistic Physics: Festschrift in Honor of John Stachel. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 234. Kluwer, 2003. Download.
"General Covariance, Gauge Theories and the Kretschmann Objection," pp. 110-123 in K. Brading and E. Castellani, Symmetries in Physics: Philosophical Reflection. Cambridge University Press, 2003. Final version. Preprint available on philsci-archive. Or non-inverted pdf.
"Causation as Folk Science," Philosophers'
Imprint Vol. 3, No. 4 http://www.philosophersimprint.org/003004/.
Download abstract. Download paper
without abstract.
Download Italian
translation by Gio Matteo Risso Ricci.
Reprinted in pp. 11-44, H. Price and R. Corry, Causation, Physics and
the Constitution of Reality. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Download.
"A Material Theory of Induction" Philosophy of Science, 70(October 2003), pp. 647-70. Download
2002
"Einstein's Triumph over the Spacetime Coordinate System: A Paper Presented in Honor of Roberto Torretti," Dialogos, 79 (2002), pp. 253-62. Download preprint or Preprint (in Antipodean format) available on philsci-archive.
2001
With Jonathan Bain. "What Should Philosophers of Science Learn from the History of the Electron." pp. 451-65 in J. Z. Buchwald and A. Warwick, Histories of the Electron. Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 2001. Download.
"What Can We Learn about the Ontology of Space and Time from the Theory of Relativity? A synopsis" pp. 281-86 in Cuadernos de Ontologia: Ontology Studies: Physis proceedings. No. 1-2, 2001. San Sebastian. Preprint on philsci-archive.
2000
"How We Know About Electrons," pp. 67- 97 in R. Nola and H. Sankey, eds., After Popper, Kuhn and Feyerabend; Recent Issues in Theories of Scientific Method. Dordrecht Kluwer. (refereed) Download.
"What can we Learn About Physical Laws from the Fact that We Have Memories Only of the Past?," International Studies in the Philosophy of Science. 14 (2000), pp. 11-23. Download.
With Joseph S. Alper, Mark Bridger and John Earman, "What is a Newtonian System? The Failure of Energy Conservation and Determinism in Supertasks," Synthese, 124(2000), pp. 281-293. Download
"'Nature in the Realization of the Simplest Conceivable Mathematical Ideas¹: Einstein and the Canon of Mathematical Simplicity," Studies in the History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 31 (2000), pp.135-170. Download.
1999
"Geometries in Collision: Einstein, Klein and Riemann." in J. Gray, ed., The Symbolic Universe. Oxford University Press, pp.128-144. Download
"The Cosmological Woes of Newtonian Gravitation Theory," in H. Goenner, J. Renn, J. Ritter and T. Sauer, eds., The Expanding Worlds of General Relativity: Einstein Studies, volume 7, Boston: Birkhäuser, pp. 271-322. (refereed). Download.
"A Quantum Mechanical Supertask" Foundations of Physics, 29, pp. 1265-1302. Download.
1998
"When the Sum of Our Expectations Fails Us: The Exchange Paradox." Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, 78 (1998), pp.34-58. Download
With John Earman, "Exorcist XIV: The Wrath of Maxwell's Demon." Studies in the History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, Part I "From Maxwell to Szilard" 29(1998), pp.435-471; Part II: "From Szilard to Landauer and Beyond," 30(1999), pp.1-40. Download Part I Download Part II
With John Earman "Comments on Laraudogoitia's 'Classical Dynamics, Indeterminism and a Supertask," British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 49, 1998, pp.123-33. Download
With Arthur Fine and Don Howard, "Einstein, Albert" Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Edward Craig, editor), Routledge, 1998.
"The Hole Argument," Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (Revisions, August 2007.)
How Science Works (pp.477) McGraw-Hill/ Primis Custom Publishing. ISBN 0-07-230800-1
1997
Edited volume, with John Earman, The Cosmos of Science, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997.
1996
"Are Thought Experiments Just What You Thought?" Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 26, pp. 333-66. Download.
With John Earman, "Infinite Pains: The Trouble with Supertasks," in A. Morton and S. Stich (eds.) Benacerraf and his Critics (Cambridge, MA: Blackwells) pp.231-261. Download
"Relativity, Origins of the General Theory," pp.1356-58 inMacMillan Encyclopedia of Physics, Vol. 3, John S. Rigden, ed., New York: MacMillan Reference.
1995
"Eliminative Induction as a Method of Discovery: Einstein's Discovery of General Relativity," in J. Leplin (ed.) The Creation of Ideas in Physics: Studies for a Methodology of Theory Construction. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1995, pp.29-69. Download.
"The Force of Newtonian Cosmology: Acceleration is Relative" Philosophy of Science, 62, 1995, pp.511-22. Download.
"Mach's Principle before Einstein." in J. Barbour and H. Pfister, eds., Mach's Principle: From Newton's Bucket to Quantum Gravity: Einstein Studies, Vol. 6. Boston: Birkhäuser, 1995, pp.9-57. Reprinted with unauthorized editorial changes to the conclusion in J. T. Blackmore, R. Itagaki and S. Tanaka, Ernst Mach's Science: Its Character and Influence on Einstein and Others. Kanagawa, Japan: Tokai University Press, 2006, pp. 193-229. Please consult the original Einstein Studies edition for the authoritative text. Download.
"Did Einstein Stumble: The Debate over General Covariance," Erkenntnis, 42 , 1995, pp.223-245; volume reprinted as Reflections on Spacetime: Foundations, Philosophy, History. U. Maier and H,-J Schmidt (eds.), Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1995. Download
Contributing editor to Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Vol. 4: The Swiss Years: Writings, 1912-1914. Princeton Univ. Press.
1994
"Science and Certainty," Synthese, 99, 1994, pp.3-22. Download.
"Why Geometry is not Conventional," in U. Maier and h. -J. Schmidt (eds.), Semantical Aspects of Spacetime Theories. Mannheim: B.I. Wissenschaftsverlag. pp.159-67. Download.
"The Theory of Random Propositions," Erkenntnis, 41, pp. 325-352.
1993
With J. Earman, "Forever is a Day: Supertasks in Pitowsky and Malament-Hogarth Spacetimes," Philosophy of Science, 60, 22-42. Download.
Contributing editor to Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Vol. 3: The Swiss Years: Writings, 1909-1911. Princeton Univ. Press.
"The Determination of Theory by Evidence: The Case for Quantum Discontinuity 1900-1915," Synthese, 97 , 1-31. Download.
"General Covariance and the Foundations of General Relativity: Eight Decades of Dispute," Reports on Progress in Physics, 56 , pp.791-858. Download. (Download smaller 460KB version reset by Cleon Teunissen.)
"A Paradox in Newtonian Cosmology" pp.412-20 in M. Forbes , D. Hull and K. Okruhlik (eds.) PSA 1992: Proceedings of the 1992 Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association. Vol. 2. East Lansing, MI: Philosophy of Science Association, 1993.
Revised version "A Paradox in Newtonian Cosmology II," pp. 185-95 in Joke Meheus (ed.), Inconsistency in Science. Kluwer, 2002. Download.
Edited volume, with J. Earman and M. Janssen. The Attraction of Gravitation: New Studies in History of General Relativity .Boston: Birkhäuser .
"Einstein and Nordström: Some Lesser Known Thought Experiments in Gravitation," pp.3-29 in J. Earman, M. Janssen and J. Norton, eds., The Attraction of Gravitation: New Studies in History of General Relativity .Boston: Birkhäuser. Reprinted in P. Galison et al., eds., Science and Society: Vol. 2: The Roots of General Relativity. Routledge, 2001. Download.
With Don Howard, "Out of the Labyrinth: Einstein, Hertz and Göttingen Answer to the Hole Argument," pp. 30-62 in J. Earman, M. Janssen and J. Norton The Attraction of Gravitation: New Studies in History of General Relativity. Boston: Birkhäuser. Download.
"Seeing the Laws of Nature" Metascience, Issue 3 (new series), 1993, pp. 33-38. (Review of James R. Brown, The Laboratory of the Mind: Thought Experiments in the Natural Sciences. London: Routledge, 1991.) Download.
1992
"The Physical Content of General Covariance," in J. Eisenstaedt and A. Kox (eds.) Studies in the History of General Relativity: Einstein Studies, Vol. III, Boston: Birkhäuser, 1992, pp. 281-315. Download.
"Introduction to the Philosophy of Space and Time, " in Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. Prentice-Hall (reprinted 1999, Hackett; Greek edition, 1998), . Reprinted in J. Butterfield, M. Hogarth and G. Belot, Spacetime: The International Research Library of Philosophy, 17. Aldershot: Dartmouth, 1996, pp. 3-56. Download Part 1. Part 2. Part 3.
"Einstein, Nordström and the early Demise of Lorentz-covariant, Scalar Theories of Gravitation," Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 45 (1992), pp.17-94. Reprinted in J. Renn and M. Schemmel (eds.), The Genesis of General Relativity Vol. 3: Theories of Gravitation in the Twilight of Classical Physics: Between Mechanics, Field Theory, and Astronomy. Springer, 2007, pp.413-87. Download.
1991
"Thought Experiments in Einstein's Work," in Thought Experiments In Science and Philosophy, eds. T. Horowitz, G. J. Massey, Savage, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 1991. Download paper. Download entire volume on philsci-archive.pitt.edu.
1989
"Coordinates and Covariance: Einstein's View of Spacetime and the Modern View," Foundations of Physics, 19 (1989), pp. 1215-63.
1988
"Limit Theorems for Dempster's Rule of Combination," Theory and Decision, 25 (1988), pp. 287-313.
"The Hole Argument," PSA 1988. Proceedings of the 1988 Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, Volume 2, pp. 56-64. Reprinted in J. Butterfield, M. Hogarth and G. Belot, Spacetime: The International Research Library of Philosophy, 17. Aldershot: Dartmouth, 1996, pp. 285-93. Reprinted in L. Sklar, ed., The Philosophy of Physics, New York: Garland Publishing, 2000, pp. 68-76. Download.
1987
"The Logical Inconsistency of the Old Quantum Theory of Black Body Radiation," Philosophy of Science, 54 (1987), pp. 327-350. Download.
with J. Earman, "What Price Spacetime Substantivalism? The Hole Story," British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 38 (1987), pp. 515-25. Download.
"Einstein, the Hole Argument and the Reality of Space," in J. Forge (ed.), Measurement, Realism and Objectivity (Reidel, 1987), pp. 153-188. Download.
1986
"Einstein's Struggle with General Covariance," in R. Ruffini (ed.) Proceedings of the Fourth Marcel Grossmann Meeting on General Relativity, (Elsevier Science Publishers B.V, 1986.), pp. 1837-48.
"The Quest for the One Way Speed of Light," British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 37 (1986), pp. 118-20.
1985
"What was Einstein's Principle of Equivalence?" Studies
in
History and Philosophy of Science, 16 (1985), pp. 203-246;
reprinted in D. Howard and J. Stachel (eds.), Einstein and the History
of General Relativity: Einstein Studies Vol. I, Boston: Birkhauser,
1989, pp.5-47.
Download Studies in HPS original.
DownloadEinstein Studies reprint
Download version
reset by Cleon Teunissen (376 KB)
1984
"How Einstein Found His Field Equations: 1912-1915," Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences, 14 (1984), pp. 253-315. Reprinted in D. Howard and J. Stachel (eds.), Einstein and the History of General Relativity: Einstein Studies Vol. I, Boston: Birkhauser, pp101-159. Download Sections 1-4. Download Sections 5-8.
1983
"Einstein's Struggle with General Covariance," (in Russian) Einsteinovski Sbornik, 1982-83 (Einstein Studies) (Moscow), pp. 57-84.
"Einstein's Struggle with General Covariance," Rivista di Storia della Scienza, 2 (1985), pp. 191-205. (Previous article in English)
1982
With J. Saunders "Einstein, Light Signals and the ε-Decision" in What? Where? When? Why?: Essays in Induction, Space and Time, Explanation, ed. R. McLaughlin (Reidel, 1982 ), pp. 101-127.
1981
"Einstein, Mach's Principle and the Origins of the General Theory of Relativity," Proceedings of the Australasian Association for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science, 12 (1980-1981), pp. 277-88.
Videos
"Einstein's Astonishing Idea" YouTube video in Instant HPS. 2014.
Interview in J. Ferret and J. Symons, eds., Philosophy of Physics: 5+1 Questions. Automatic Press, 2010, pp. 113-119. Download. Download draft.
“Interview with John D. Norton,” The Reasoner, Vol. 4, No. 1, January 2010, pp. 2-4. http://www.thereasoner.org or download.
Interviewed concerning time travel for NPR show “WhyY” “It’s About Time” aired November 1, 2019. https://whyy.org/episodes/its-about-time/
Oral history interview on my professional career, June 5, 2020 by David Zierler for the Center for History of Physics of American Institute of Physics. The interview has been transcribed and is included in their repository of oral history interviews. https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/44816
Interview with Nicholas Zautra, Sci Phi Podcast, Episode 81, October 7,
2022.
http://sciphipod.org/podcast/2022/10/5/episode-81-john-norton
Interview by Edouard Machery, May 3, 2024. (Posted May 17, 2024).
"Conversations at
the Center: Edouard Machery and John Norton"
Center for Philosophy of Science
University of Pittsburgh
1980 Review of A. Koyré, Galileo Studies (Harvester, 1978) in Proceedings of the Australasian Association for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science, 11 (1979-1980), pp. 18-21.
1983 Review of M. Friedman, Foundations of Space-Time Theories (Princeton Univ. Press, 1983) in Science, December 1983.
1986 Review of R. Torretti, Relativity and Geometry (Pergamon, 1983) in Foundations of Physics, October, 1986.
1986 Review of A. J. Friedman and C. C. Donley, Einstein and Myth and Muse (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1985) in Metascience, 4 (1986), pp. 83-86.
1988 Review of L. Sklar, Philosophy and Spacetime Physics in Foundations of Physics, 18(1988), pp.687-89.
1989 Review of C. Ray, Evolution of Relativity (Adam Hilger, 1987) in Metascience, 7 (1989), pp. 45-47.
1990 Review of M. D. Akhundov, Conceptions of Space and Time: Sources, Evolution, Directions (MIT Press, 1986) in Isis, 81 (1990), pp. 393-94.
1990 Review of T. Glick (ed.), The Comparative Reception of Relativity (Reidel, 1989) in Metascience, 8(1990), pp.125-27.
1993 "Seeing the Laws of Nature," Metascience, 3 (1993), pp. 33-38. (Review of J. R. Brown, The Laboratory of the Mind: Thought Experiments in the Natural Sciences.)
1971-1974 B.E. (Chem. Eng.) with Honours I and University Medal, School of Chemical Engineering, University of N.S.W., Sydney, Australia.
1978-1981 Ph.D. in the School of History and Philosophy of Science, University of N.S.W. Title of Dissertation: "The Historical Foundation of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity."
1982-1983 Postdoctoral research, Einstein Project Princeton, NJ
1983-1984 Visiting Assistant Professor, Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science and Research Associate, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.
1986-1989 Assistant Professor, Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh.
1989-1997 Associate Professor with tenure, Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh.
1997-2014 Professor, Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh.
September 2000-August 2005, Chair, Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh.
September 2005 - August 2016, Director, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh (On leave Sept.-Dec. 2005; John Earman, Interim Director.)
2014 - Distinguished Professor, Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh.
September 2018 - August 2019, Chair, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh.
September 2019 - December 2019, Director, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh.
Associate Editor, Philosophy of Science, January 1990-December 1994
Communicating Editor: Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 1996-
Editor. The Stanford Encyclopedia
of Philosophy, Philosophy of Physics (Space and Time) Section. 1998-
Inventory of articled edited.
Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics
Associate Editor, 2001-2003; Acting co-editor, May-July 2001.
Co-editor (with John Earman) May 22, 2002-August, 2003.
Editorial board, Philosophy of Science, 1995-; Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 1995-2001, 2003-; International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 1996-, European Journal for Philosophy of Science, 2009-, Philosophy Plus Science, 2018 -, Philosophy of Physics, 2021-
Co-founder 2001 and Executive Committee, Coordinator philsci-archive.pitt.edu, 2001-
Referee for Acta Analytica, American Mathematical Monthly, American Philosophical Quarterly, American Journal of Physics, Analysis, Archive for History of Exact Sciences, American Mineralogist, Arabian Journal of Science and Engineering, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, British Journal for the History of Science, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, Dialectica, Entropy, EPL--“A Letters Journal Exploring the Frontiers of Physics”--European Physical Society, Erkenntnis, European Journal for Philosophy of Science, Foundations of Physics, Foundations of Physics Letters, Foundations of Science, History and Philosophy of Logic, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Isis, Journal of Philosophical Research, Journal for General Philosophy of Science Living Reviews in Relativity, Mind, Nous, Perspectives on Science, Philosophers’ Imprint, Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophical Papers, Philosophical Studies, Philosophy of Physics, Philosophy of Science, Physics Letters A, Poznan Studies in the Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities, Ratio, Science and Education, Science in Context, Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Synthese, Theoria, Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook.
Member, Governing Board of the Philosophy of Science Association. Elected February 2007- 31st December 2010.
Executive Committee, Einstein Papers Project, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. 2001-
Advisory Board, Sydney Center for the Foundations of Science, University of Sydney. Joined September, 2009
Board, Seven Pines Symposium, Stillwater, MN. October 2009 - .
Conference organizer:
Principal Organizer, Third International Conference in History and
Philosophy of General Relativity (HGR3), University of Pittsburgh, June,
1991.
Co-Convener (with Don Howard), &HPS: Committee for Integrated History
and Philosophy of Science; principal organizer, first conference
&HPS1, October, 2007, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of
Pittsburgh. Second conference &HPS2: University of Notre Dame, March
12-15, 2009. Third conference &HPS3: University of Indiana,
Bloomington, September 23-36, 2010. Fourth conference &HPS4:
University of Athens, Greece, March 15-18, 2012.
Service on numerous conference program committees including PSA 1990, PSA 2000, PSA 2006, PSA 2018, HGR4, HGR5, HGR6, HGR7, HQ-0, HQ-1, HQ-2, &HPS3, &HPS4, &HPS5, &HPS6.
Minor appearances in BBC4 Documentary
Inside Einstein's
Mind: The Enigma of Space and Time
Aired Monday, December 14, 2015.
Brief appearance in simplified PBS version,
Inside
Einstein's Mind (or here).
Aired as NOVA, November 25, 2015.