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Early Development
Nancy Cartwright is a Professor of Philosophy at Durham University and at the University of California, San Diego, and earned a Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Pittsburg and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Illinois. Her own first book was not published until 1983, but she began writing and publishing articles that put forth her theories on methodology in the early-mid 1970s. -
Early Publications (1)
A couple of these early publications include:
Cartwright, Nancy. “A Dilemma for the Traditional Interpretation of Quantum Mixtures.” PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, vol. 1972, Jan. 1972, pp. 251–258, 10.1086/psaprocbienmeetp.1972.3698972. Accessed 6 Feb. 2021. -
Early Publications (2)
Cartwright, Nancy Delaney. “How Do We Apply Science?” PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, vol. 1974, no. 32, Jan. 1974, pp. 713–719, 10.1086/psaprocbienmeetp.1974.495834. Accessed 6 Feb. 2021. -
System Modeling (1)
Her philosophy focuses on methodologies of modelling scientific theories. She assigned three stages to the establishment of a scientific theory. The first is laying out what the system under discussion looks like. For example, the system on which the Theory of Relativity is based is a system of the relationships between space and time, but in this step a vague conception of the system is enough. -
System Modeling - (2)
The second phase is establishing a vocabulary applicable to that system, which helps develop a common ground for scientists to begin discussing and theorizing about the system. For example, what is meant by either “space” or “time”. The final phase is the most drawn-out and complex, as it refers to the actual formulation of a model for the system. -
Publications (4)
Cartwright, Nancy. How the Laws of Physics Lie. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 2010. Nature’s Capacities and Their Measurement. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 2002. The Dappled World a Study of the Boundaries of Science. Cambridge University Press, 1999. Cartwright, Nancy. Otto Neurath : Philosophy between Science and Politics. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2008. -
Stanford School (1)
As a professor at Stanford University she was a member of what is referred to as the “Stanford School” of philosophers. This group maintains the position that there is no single, unified method of addressing scientific theory-building, at least not in terms of specific methods. -
Stanford School (2)
A “model” for a system is not the same thing as a “theory”; models for systems that fall under a given theory are usually more complex than what is stated in that high-level “theory”, and those theories don’t always explain what actually happens in the systems. This is referred to as a “mixed methods” approach, which uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches to reach conclusions about a system, and the mix may not be the same from one system to another. -
Publications (3)
Cartwright, Nancy, and In Science. Causal Powers : What Are They?, Why Do We Need Them? What Can Be Done with Them and What Cannot? London, Contingency And Dissent In Science Project. Centre For The Philosophy Of The Natural And Social Sciences. London School Of Economics And Political Science, 2007. Cartwright, Nancy. Hunting Causes and Using Them : Approaches in Philosophy and Economics. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2007.
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Publications (2)
Measuring Causes : Invariance, Modularity and the Causal Markov Condition. London, London School Of Economics, Centre For The Philosophy Of The Natural And Social Sciences, 2000. Cartwright, Nancy, and Jeremy Hardie. Evidence-Based Policy : A Practical Guide to Doing It Better. New York, Ny, Oxford University Press, 2012.
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Lecture - Evidence, Arguments, Mixed Methods
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Publications (1)
While she has published countless articles and lectures, her published books are:
Cartwright, N (Forthcoming). A Philosopher Looks at Science. Cambridge University Press.
Cartwright, N, Hardie, J, Montuschi, E, Soleiman, S & Thresher, A (Forthcoming). The Tangle of Science. Oxford University Press.
Cartwright, Nancy (2019). Nature the Artful Modeler: Lectures on Laws, Science, How Nature Arranges the World, and How We Can Arrange It Better. The 2017 Carus Lectures. Open Court. -
Additional References (1)
Bovens (eds.), Stephan Hartmann, Carl Hoefer, Luc, and Mathias Frisch. “Review of Nancy Cartwright’s Philosophy of Science.” Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 20 Mar. 2009, ndpr.nd.edu/news/nancy-cartwright-s-philosophy-of-science/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2021. “The ‘Stanford School’ of Philosophy of Science, Day 1 Octob….” Archive.vn, 13 Aug. 2013, archive.vn/20130813015616/philosophy.stanford.edu/community/events/view/1836/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2021.
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Additional References (2)
“Nancy Cartwright.” Informationphilosopher.com, informationphilosopher.com/solutions/philosophers/cartwright/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2021. “Professor NL Cartwright - Durham University.” Www.dur.ac.uk, www.dur.ac.uk/philosophy/staff/?id=10659/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2021. Science, Library of the London School of Economics and Political. “Nancy Cartwright, Professor of Philosophy.” Wikimedia Commons, 1990, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nancy_Cartwright_1990s.jpg. Accessed 6 Feb. 2021.
