Monte Carlo computer simulations and methods have been widely used in physics for many decades, particularly in data analysis. Despite that, the growing philosophical literature about computer simulations has largely bracketed them. This talk aims to fill in this lacuna. I provide an overview of various Monte Carlo techniques as they are applied in physics, covering Monte Carlo integration,...
My talk reevaluates the distinction between experiment and observation. I first argue that to get clear on what role observation plays in the generation of scientific knowledge, we need to distinguish “experiential observation” as a concept closely connected to experience from “observation” in a technical sense and from “field observation”, as a concept that reasonably contrasts with...
I propose a general methodological framework for astrophysical observations that can accommodate both single and multi-messenger observations. This is an eliminative inferential process aimed at identifying the source system from two directions, namely from date to phenomenon and from fundamental theory to phenomenon. That is, the process draws from both observational data and theoretical...
