Lydia Patton

Lydia Patton is a philosopher of science and a historian of the philosophy of science. Much of her recent work and work in progress centers on philosophical analysis of science and the history of science: especially on the development of experimental and formal methods, hypotheses, frameworks, and scientific communities. Her work focuses on finding links between that development and the process of theory building and testing. Recent work focuses on the development of gravitational wave astronomy, especially the LIGO project.

Patton has written many articles, details of which can be found on her personal website and on the website philpapers.

One of her most notable contributions to the profession is her editing work, especially at the journal HOPOS. She edited Philosophy, Science, and History (Routledge, 2014), and co-edited, with Walter Ott, the collection Laws of Nature (Oxford University Press, 2018).

Before the pandemic hit in 2020, Patton had a very active speaking career, nationally and internationally. She has been a featured speaker at the MidWest PhilMath Workshop, a keynote speaker at the Society for the Study of the History of Analytical Philosophy and the Tilburg History of Analytic Philosophy Workshop, and an invited speaker at multiple venues, notably the Institute Vienna Circle, Cambridge University, and Indiana University HPS. She has given about 60 talks overall, including at the Black Hole Institute’s inaugural conference, the Boston Colloquium for Philosophy of Science, the American Mathematical Society’s Joint Mathematics Meetings, the American Physical Society, and the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science.

In the spring of 2022, assuming that academic life has resumed, Patton will assume the Findlay Visiting Professorship at Boston University for one semester.