Lauren Ross (@ProfLaurenRoss) / X

Lauren Ross

912 posts

Lauren Ross

@ProfLaurenRoss

Philosopher of Science, PhD, MD. Dean's Professor and Chancellor's Fellow, Logic and Philosophy of Science, UC Irvine.

Irvine, CA

sites.socsci.uci.edu/~rossl/

Joined July 2021

Pinned
Lauren Ross
@ProfLaurenRoss
Jan 21, 2025
New book "Explanation in Biology" w Cambridge University Press is out & open access! Covers (1) causal explanation & (2) non-causal/mathematical explanation in life sciences--bio, neuro, etc 🌿🧬🧠 Intro to philosophical work on scientific explanation! cambridge.org/core/elements/…
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Lauren Ross
@ProfLaurenRoss
Jan 12, 2024
New paper w @DaniSBassett on "Causation in neuroscience: keeping mechanism meaningful" in Nature Reviews Neuroscience @NatRevNeurosci We explore different meanings of mechanism in the field, the challenges this presents & how to move forward. 🧠 @NSF nature.com/articles/s4158…
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Lauren Ross
@ProfLaurenRoss
Mar 25, 2022
What is it like being a philosopher of science? You often have to tell scientists why philosophy matters and philosophers why science matters. 🔬🐁📕🖋️🙂 #sciencetwitter #philsci
Lauren Ross
@ProfLaurenRoss
Aug 11, 2023
New paper in Synthese on "The explanatory nature of constraints: Law-based, mathematical, and causal" Scientists refer to some factors as "constraints" & cite them in the explanations the provide. What are constraints? How do they explain? link.springer.com/article/10.100…
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Lauren Ross
@ProfLaurenRoss
Jan 23, 2023
New paper at Noûs on "What is Social Structural Explanation? A Causal Account". Builds on research by Haslanger & Woodward in capturing how "social structure" explains. Excited for more causation/explanation research that engages w the social sciences.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
What is social structural explanation? A causal account
Social scientists appeal to various “structures” in their explanations including public policies, economic systems, and social hierarchies. Significant debate surrounds the explanatory relevance of...
43K
Lauren Ross
@ProfLaurenRoss
Dec 23, 2022
Examination of the "cascade" & "mechanism" concepts in science, forthcoming in @TheBJPS. Grateful for support from @NSF & @LMU_MCMP. Argues for the diversity of causal systems/explanation in science & a non-reductive view of causality/explanation journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/72…
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Lauren Ross
@ProfLaurenRoss
Sep 22, 2023
Grateful for support from the John Templeton Foundation @templeton_fdn for research on causal complexity. This project examines types of causation in the life sciences and their role in causal selection and explanation. Eager to start!
UCI Social Sciences
@ucisocsci
Sep 21, 2023
Congrats to @ProfLaurenRoss, @UCIrvine logic & philosophy of science associate professor, who has been awarded a three-year $269,528 @templeton_fdn grant to addresses challenges associated with causal complexity in the biological sciences! socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/new…
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Lauren Ross
@ProfLaurenRoss
May 7, 2022
Excellent talk at @UCIrvine LPS by Thomas @pradeu on: "Does Philosophy Contribute to Science?" Einstein viewed philosophy as important. Do you? :) Check out Thomas' coauthored paper on "Why Science Needs Philosophy" for more pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn…
Lauren Ross
@ProfLaurenRoss
Aug 5, 2021
Interested in how philosophers understand the "mechanism" concept in science? Check out Holly Andersen's impressive description of this work-- A field guide to Mechanisms Part I and II. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.111…
Lauren Ross
@ProfLaurenRoss
Jan 12, 2025
Philosophy & Theory of Neuroscience Conference 🧠 next week @ Chapman & available via zoom.Talks by @drmichaellevin @meganakpeters Newsome, Yassa, Roskies, Carolyn Parkinson, Frederick Eberhardt & many others! chapman.edu/scst/conferenc…
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Lauren Ross
@ProfLaurenRoss
Mar 29, 2024
I've now seen many papers on explainability in AI (XAI) state that "explanation" is extensively studied in philosophy w/out engaging w this work deeply. Some cite 1-2 arbitrary papers, claim there is no consensus on the topic, or look to dictionary definitions of "explanation".
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Lauren Ross
@ProfLaurenRoss
Mar 20, 2025
Good news! My paper "What is social structural explanation? A causal account" is one of the top 10 most-cited papers published by Noûs in 2023 #TopCitedArticle Provides a framework for how social structures are causes that explain inequalities
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
What is social structural explanation? A causal account
Social scientists appeal to various “structures” in their explanations including public policies, economic systems, and social hierarchies. Significant debate surrounds the explanatory relevance of...
12K
Lauren Ross
@ProfLaurenRoss
Sep 25, 2023
Great paper by Danks & Davis (2023) on "Causal inference in cognitive neuroscience" in Wires Cog Sci (edited by Wayne Wu @attninaction) wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.10…
15K
Lauren Ross
@ProfLaurenRoss
Mar 22, 2025
Enjoyed this discussion with @drmichaellevin We discussed scientific explanation, its types, causation, reduction/emergence, & other topics. Great to see the strength of bringing both science and philosophy to the table for hard topics! youtube.com/watch?v=PoY-_G…
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