About
I am a philosopher of science with a particular interest in philosophy of medicine. I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Alabama and associate member at the McCollough Institute for Pre-medical Scholars. I am also a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for the Future of Knowledge at the University of Johannesburg. I completed my PhD at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge and, before that, held teaching positions at the Departments of Philosophy at the University of Johannesburg and the University of Pretoria.
My research employs conceptual analysis, empirical findings, case studies, and the application of formal methods to help solve important practical problems in science. I am specifically interested in conceptual and methodological questions about medical inference, and the intersection of values and epistemic concerns in medical artificial intelligence.
Research
Publications
2021
"Data-dredging bias" BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine (with Bennett Holman and John Ioannidis) [link]
2021
"What is Interpretability?" Philosophy & Technology (with Tyler Brunet and Eyal Fisher) [link] [download]
2020
"Data-dredging Bias" In Catalogue of Bias (with Bennett Holman and John Ioannidis) [link]
Talks
Conferences
Nov 2021
“Assessing the Consequences of P-hacking using Expected Utility and the Argument from Inductive Risk.” The 27th Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, Baltimore, USA
Jul 2021
“Integrating Mechanistic Evidence for Predicting Medical Effectiveness.” The 8th Biennial Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice Conference, East Lansing, USA (Conference Cancelled)
Aug 2019
“Expected Utility, Inductive Risk, and the Consequences of P-hacking.” Bayes by the Sea Conference, Ancona, Italy
Aug 2019
“Expected Utility, Inductive Risk, and the Consequences of P-hacking.” The 16th International Congress on Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science and Technology, Prague, Czech Republic
Jun 2019
“Inductive Risk, Expected Utility, and the Consequences of P-Hacking in Medical Research.” The 8th Philosophy of Medicine Roundtable, Paris, France
Jun 2019
“Inductive Risk, Expected Utility, and the Consequences of P-Hacking.” The Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science Conference, Vancouver, Canada
Jun 2019
“Etiological, Symptom-Based, and Pathophysiological Approaches to Disease Classification.” The Canadian Philosophy Association Conference, Vancouver, Canada
Jun 2017
“Inductive Risk and Extrapolation in Medicine.” The Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science Conference, Toronto, Canada
May 2017
“Inductive Risk and Extrapolation in Medicine.” The 7th Annual Values in Medicine, Science, and Technology Conference, Dallas, USA
Jan 2014
“A Tracking Theory of Prediction.” The Philosophical Society of Southern Africa Conference, Bloemfontein, South Africa
Teaching
University of Alabama
2021/2022
Medical Foundations I & II
Medical Knowledge and Its Limits (co-taught with Ted Poston)
University of Cambridge
2020/21
2019/20
2018/19
2017/18
Philosophy of Medicine
General Philosophy of Science
General Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of the Special Sciences
History and Philosophy of Science
Metaphysics and Epistemology
Logic
Philosophy of Science
Logic
University of Pretoria
2017
2016
2015
2014
Philosophy of Medicine
Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of Medicine
Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of Medicine
Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of Medicine
Philosophy of Science
Moral and Political Philosophy
University of Johannesburg
2016
2015
2014
2013
Engineering Ethics
Engineering Aesthetics
Engineering Ethics
Engineering Aesthetics
Philosophy of Science
Engineering Ethics
Engineering Aesthetics
Philosophy of Mind
Business Ethics and Citizenship
Business Ethics and Citizenship
Media
PhiSci YouTube Channel
A conversation with Jacob Stegenga about Philosophy of Medicine and some key topics related to predicting the effectiveness of medical interventions.
To see more conversations about philosophy and science on the PhiSci YouTube Channel, click here.
Contact
Adrian Erasmus
Department of Philosophy
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
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