Alexander Reutlinger
University of Cologne
Academic Year 2012-13
Causation and Time-Asymmetry and,
Macro-laws in the Sciences of Complex Systems

Alex obtained a PhD from the University of Cologne in July 2011, when he became a postdoctoral research fellow within a philosophy of science research group working on questions regarding explanation, laws, and causation in various natural and social sciences (http://www.clde.uni-koeln.de/).

Alex’s doctoral thesis The Trouble with Interventions deals with an explication of causation in the social sciences and the life sciences. He has also been particularly interested in semantic and metaphysical questions concerning (ceteris paribus) generalizations/laws in the social and biological sciences.

While visiting the Center, Alex’s research is going to focus on two topics. First, he is interested in various aspects of explanation, laws and emergence in the sciences of complex systems (such as complex systems referred to in statistical mechanics, ecology, and economics). Second, he will be struggling with the question whether there is a place for causation in a world as described by physics.

Find out what Alex does when he is not thinking about philosophical puzzles by having a coffee and/or a drink with him in Pittsburgh.