Michael Cuffaro

Presentations

Upcoming presentations

  • The Measurement Problem is a Feature, Not a Bug. Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information Vienna, Colloqium, November 14, 2024.
  • Grete Hermann, Quantum Mechanics, and the Evolution of Kantian Philosophy. Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information Vienna, Colloqium, November 15, 2024.
  • Kantianism with a Human Face: Grete Hermann's Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics. Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy, Work In Progress Colloquium, November 21, 2024.
  • Analogies and Disanalogies Between Classical and Quantum Physical Computation. Workshop on Analogies in Physics and Beyond, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, November 25, 2024.
  • The Open Systems View (and Algebraic Quantum Field Theory). Workshop on Mathematical and Philosophical Foundations of Open Systems, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, November 27, 2024.

Past presentations

  • Kantianism with a Human Face, HOPOS 2024, Vienna, Austria, July 2024.
  • A (neo-)Bohrian Approach to the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Workshop on Niels Bohr, Copenhagen, Denmark, June 2024.
  • Grete Hermann in Context: Quantum Mechanics, and the Evolution of Kantian Philosohy, Conference on Gödel and Kant on Mathematics and Physics, Tübingen, Germany, October, 2023.
  • Mutually Independent Existence and the Open Systems View, European Philosophy of Science Association Meeting, Belgrade, Serbia, September, 2023.
  • The Measurement Problem is a Feature, Not a Bug—Quantum Mechanics on an Informational, or (neo-)Bohrian, Approach, The Quantum Reconstruction Program and Beyond, Graz, Austria, August, 2023.
  • The Open Systems View on an Informational, or (neo-)Bohrian, Approach, Foundations of Physics Conference, Bristol, UK, July 2023.
  • Limitations to the Unification of Computation and Physics (online panel discussion), Quarterly Lectures on Philosophy of Science, June 2023.
  • Interpreting Quantum Mechanics on an Informational Approach, Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (German Physical Society) meeting, Working Group on Philosophy of Physics, Dresden, Germany, March 2023.
  • The Principle of Complete Positivity and the Open Systems View, Workshop on Principles in Physics, University of Wuppertal, March 2023.
  • Everett, the Informational Interpretation, and the Open Systems View, Workshop on the Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, Tel Aviv University, October 2022.
  • An Informational Approach to Quantum Mechanics, Workshop on Physics and Computation, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, May 2022
  • Grete Hermann's Neo-Kantianism in Context, Hermann and Friends Workshop, Utrecht University, July 2022
  • The Informational Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, Workshop on Philosophy and Foundations of Physics, Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy, November 2021. Postponed due to COVID-19.
  • "The Open Systems View"
    • Bristol Centre for Science and Philosophy Colloquium, December 8, 2021 (via videoconference).
    • Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information Vienna, Colloqium, November, 2021. Postponed due to COVID-19.
    • New Foundations Colloquium, Center for Advanced Studies, LMU Munich, October 2021.
    • Workshop on Experiment and Theory, University of Montreal, June, 2021.
    • Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science (CSHPS) Annual Meeting (via videoconference), University of Alberta, May 2021.
  • "Interpreting quantum mechanics" (via videoconference), American Physical Society March meeting, March 2021.
  • Guest lecture on quantum computing, honours seminar: "The Age of Entanglement" (regular lecturer: Michel Janssen), University of Minnesota, December 2020.
  • "Quantum Computing" (4-part lecture), 23rd International School in Philosophy of Physics, University of Urbino, Italy, June 2020 (via videoconference).
  • "Quantum Computation and Representation," Workshop on Representation in Computation, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, May 2020. Postponed due to COVID-19.
  • "Quantum Causality, Empirical Test, and the Concept of an Open System," Conference on Causation, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, May 2020. Postponed due to COVID-19.
  • "(Quantum) Causality, Interventions, and Open Systems," Workshop on Philosophy of Science, University of Montreal, April, 2020. Postponed due to COVID-19.
  • "Ernst Cassirer and Grete Hermann: Metaphysics and Methodology", Workshop on Conceptual and Methodological Aspects of Physics: Historical Perspectives, Utrecht University, March, 2020.
  • "Grete Hermann, Quantum Mechanics, and the Evolution of Kantian Philosophy," Faculty of Philosophy Colloquium, University of Groningen, February, 2020.
  • "How Quantum Mechanics changed Kantian Philosophy: The Thought of Grete Hermann," Descartes Centre Colloquium, Utrecht University, February, 2020.
  • "Quantum Computing's Impact on the Foundations of Computational Complexity Theory," Philosophy of Science Seminar, Utrecht University, February, 2020.
  • "Kant and Frege on Existence and the Ontological Argument", Utrecht University Theoretical Philosophy Colloquium, February, 2020.
  • "Quantum Mechanics and Kantian Philosophical Method: An Exploration of the Views of Grete Hermann," Workshop on How Quantum Mechanics Changed Philosophy, Bergische Universität Wuppertal, January 2020.
  • "Interpreting quantum mechanics", Workshop on Quantum Mechanics, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin, January 2020.
  • "Putting Probabilities First: How Hilbert Space Generates and Constrains Them"
    • Workshop on New Directions in the Foundations of Physics, Viterbo, Italy, May 24-26, 2019 (with Michel Janssen and Michael Janas).
    • Workshop on Interpreting Quantum Mechanics: Old and New Philosophical Problems, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy, March 11, 2019.
  • "The Open Systems View as Fundamental" (with Stephan Hartmann), in the Symposium on the Philosophy of Open Quantum Systems, Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Philosophy of Science Association (PSA), November 1-4, 2018.
  • "Comparing Ernst Cassirer's and Grete Hermann's Views on Quantum Mechanics", Multilateral Colloquium on Kant and the Contemporary World, Catania, Italy, October 11-13, 2018.
  • "From Mental States to the Objective World: Methodological and Ontological Approaches", Workshop on Biological Mentality, Ann Arbour, Michigan, September 24-26, 2018.
  • Classical Simulations of Quantum Correlations, Workshop on Analogue Experimentation, University of Bristol, 16-17 July, 2018.
  • "The Open Systems View as Fundamental" (with Stephan Hartmann), in the Symposium on the Philosophy of Open Quantum Systems, British Society for the Philosophy of Science (BSPS) Annual Conference, 4-6 July 2018.
  • "Information Causality, the Tsirelson Bound, and the 'Being-Thus' of Things," Workshop on New Directions in the Foundations of Physics, Viterbo, Italy, June 8-10, 2018.
  • "Employing Agent-Based Computer Simulations in Developing Theories of Distributive Justice" (with Molly Kao), Canadian Philosophical Association Annual Meeting, Montreal, Quebec, June 4-7, 2018.
  • "Objective Reality as an Emergent Phenomenon" (with Markus Müller), Workshop on Scientific Theory Construction, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, May 4, 2018.
  • "Employing Agent-Based Computer Simulations in Developing Theories of Distributive Justice" (with Molly Kao), Models and Simulations 8 Conference, South Carolina, March, 2018.
  • "Information Causality, the Tsirelson Bound, and the 'Being-Thus' of Things,"
    • Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information Vienna, Colloqium, April 17, 2019.
    • Physics Interest Group, University of Minnesota, November 2017.
    • Workshop in Memory of William Demopoulos, University of Western Ontario, September 2017.
    • University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, September 2017.
    • 9th European Congress of Analytic Philosophy, Munich, Germany, August 2017.
    • Triennial International Conference of the Italian Society for Logic and Philosophy of Science, Bologna, Italy, June 2017.
  • "The Foundations of Computational Complexity in the Light of Quantum Computing," University of Western Ontario Applied Mathematics Colloquium, London, Ontario, October 18, 2017.
  • Panel discussant (with Stefano Osnaghi, Chris Timpson, and Rüdiger Schack) on "Participatory Realism: How Far Goes Too Far?", Workshop on Participatory Realism, Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, Stellenbosch, South Africa, June 2017.
  • "Causality and Complementarity in Kant, Hermann, and Bohr," University of Hannover, May 2017.
  • "On Algorithmic How-Possibly Explanation," Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy, Workshop: Exploring Scientific Method: Evidence, Explanation, and Unification in Science, May 2017.
  • "A New Constructional System" (with Markus Müller),
    • University of Bristol, May 2017.
    • Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy, May 2017.
  • "Quantum Computation and the Foundations of Computational Complexity Theory," Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Quantum Foundations Colloquium, Waterloo, Ontario, March 2017 (PIRSA video recording accessible here).
  • "Universality, Invariance, and the Foundations of Computational Complexity in the Light of the Quantum Computer," Inter-University Workshop on History and Philosophy of Mathematics, Montreal, Quebec, February 2017.
  • "Quantum Reflections on Computational Complexity,"
    • Foundations of Physics Conference, London School of Economics, London, UK, July 2016.
    • Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) meeting, Calgary, Alberta, May 2016.
  • "(Neo-)Kantian Frameworks for the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics,"
    • International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science (HOPOS) meeting, Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 2016.
    • Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science (CSHPS) meeting, Calgary, Alberta, May 2016;
  • Panel discussant on "How Our World Changes With Quantum Computers," Undergraduate Research Conference, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario, March 2016.
  • "A Different Perspective on the Quantum-Classical Divide," Università Degli Studi Firenze, Florence, Italy, May 2015.
  • "On the Limits of Classical Computational Systems," Nordic Network for Philosophy of Science annual meeting, Helsinki, Finland, April 2015.
  • Commentary on Corrado Matta's "Qualitative Research and Confirmation," Nordic Network for Philosophy of Science annual meeting, Helsinki, Finland, April 2015.
  • Internal Guest Lecture: "The Copenhagen Interpretation(s) of Quantum Mechanics," 1st Munich Graduate Workshop in Mathematical Philosophy, Munich, Germany, April 2015.
  • "The Kantian Framework of Niels Bohr's Philosophy of Science: The Electron as Noumenon," Concordia University Philosophy Department, Montréal, Québec, September 2014.
  • "How-Possibly Explanations in Quantum Computer Science,"
    • Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) Biennial Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, November 2014.
    • Triennial International Conference of the Italian Society for Logic and Philosophy of Sciences (SILFS), Rome, Italy, June 2014.
  • "Reconsidering Quantum No-Go Theorems from a Computational Perspective,"
    • University of Oxford Philosophy of Physics Research Seminar, Oxford, UK, June 2014.
    • University of Bristol Philosophy Department, Bristol, UK, June 2014.
  • "The Physical and Computational Significance of the Bell Inequalities," Workshop: Entanglement and Speed-up: Philosophical Issues in Quantum Computing, Stuttgart, Germany, May 2014.
  • "On the Significance of the Gottesman-Knill Theorem,"
    • Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (German Physical Society) meeting, Working Group on Philosophy of Physics, Berlin, Germany, March 2014;
    • MCMP Foundations of Physics Conference, Munich, Germany, July 2013.
  • "Is Entanglement Sufficient to Enable Quantum Speedup?" Irvine-Pittsburgh-Princeton Conference on the Mathematical and Conceptual Foundations of Physics, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 2013.
  • "On the Physical Explanation for Quantum Computational Speedup," University of Western Ontario (public talk), London, Ontario, March 2013.
  • "Explaining Quantum Speedup," University of Minnesota Philosophy Department, Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 2013.
  • "On the Debate Concerning the Proper Characterisation of Quantum Dynamical Evolution," Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) Biennial Meeting, San Diego, California, November 2012.
  • "Reflections on the Role of Entanglement in the Explanation of Quantum Computational Speedup," Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science (CSHPS) Annual Meeting, Waterloo, Ontario, May 2012.
  • "Kant's Views on non-Euclidean Geometry," Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Annual Meeting, Waterloo, Ontario, May 2012.
  • Commentary on Sandra Lapointe's "Bolzano, Leibniz and Kant," winner of the Tenured Professor Essay Prize, Plenary Session of the Canadian Philosophical Association (CPA) Annual Meeting, May 2012.
  • "Many Worlds, the Cluster-state Quantum Computer, and the Problem of the Preferred Basis,"
    • 14th Congress of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science (CLMPS), Nancy, France, July 2011;
    • Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science (CSHPS) Annual Meeting, Fredericton, New Brunswick, May 2011.
  • "Kant's Arguments for Transcendental Idealism," Canadian Philosophical Association (CPA) Annual Meeting, Fredericton, New Brunswick, May 2011.
  • "How Should We Set the Social Minimum?," Canadian Philosophical Association (CPA) Annual Meeting, Montréal, Québec, May 2010.
  • "On Kant and Non-Euclidean Geometry," Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science (CSHPS) Annual Meeting, Montréal, Québec, May 2010.
  • "Wittgenstein on Prior Probabilities," Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Annual Meeting, Montréal, Québec, May 2010.
  • "Kant and Frege on the Ontological Argument for the Existence of God," Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Annual Meeting, Montréal, Québec, May 2010.
  • "Employing Computer Simulations in Developing Theories of Liberal Toleration," Models and Simulations 4th Annual Meeting (MS4), Toronto, Ontario, May 2010, co-authored presentation with Michael Simon Borgida and Ryan Muldoon.
  • Commentary on David DeVidi's "Mathematical Pluralism, Abstraction and Translation," Canadian Philosophical Association (CPA) Annual Meeting, May 2010.
  • "The Electron As Noumenon," Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science (CSHPS) Annual Meeting, Ottawa, Ontario, May 2009.
  • Commentary on Eran Tal's "Simulations, Discordant Evidence and the Quest for the Heavy Neutrino," Canadian Philosophical Association (CPA)Annual Meeting, Ottawa, Ontario, May 2009.
  • "Nativist Models of the Mind," Concepts of Identity and Difference, 5th Annual Colloquium of the Concordia University Graduate Philosophy Students' Association, Montréal, Québec, May 2008.
  • "Which Rights are Basic Rights?," Justice in Theory and Practice, 4th Annual Colloquium of the Concordia University Graduate Philosophy Students' Association, Montréal, Québec, May 2007.