
Zvi Biener
Associate Professor
Associate Professor
McMicken Hall
261B
A&S Philosophy - 0374
Professional Summary
I work primarily on early-modern conceptions of the unity of science and the large-scale structure of fields of knowledge. In particular, I am interested in how early-modern conceptions the unity of knowledge were used to justify the authority of philosophy over the physical sciences. This research consists of three overlapping areas: early-modern views regarding the reduction and dependence of branches of knowledge to/on one another, forms of demonstration and deduction in the new early-modern sciences, and the metaphysical underpinnings of those sciences.
When not an academic, I work on web-related projects or code, compile, and generally make a mess with programming languages. My computer concerns mirror my academic concerns: I like thinking about how knowledge is organized in the computer age, and spend way too much time exploring database and information management technologies.
Education
Ph.D.: University of Pittsburgh 2008 (History and Philosophy of Science)
M.A.: University of Pittsburgh 2005 (Philosophy)
B.A.: Rutgers University 1995 (Physics)
B.A.: Rutgers University 1995 (Philosophy)
Research Support
Grant: #URC AHSS Faculty Stipend Awards AY2015-16 Investigators:Biener, Zvi 05-01-2016 -04-30-2017 UC's University Research Council The Genesis and Reception of the Rules of Philosophizing, and What They Say about Contemporary Physicists and Philosophers Role:PI $6,000.00 Active Level:Internal UC
Keywords
Awesome, Newton, Galileo, Empiricism, Rationalism, Speculative Philosophy, Philosophy, Physics, Descartes, Hobbes, Locke