Alisa Bokulich

This information is accurate as of the fellowship year indicated for each fellow.

Alisa Bokulich is a professor of philosophy of science at Boston University, where she directs the Center for Philosophy & History of Science. She specializes in the history and philosophy of the physical sciences. Bokulich’s most recent book is Reexamining the Quantum-Classical Relation: Beyond Reductionism and Pluralism (Cambridge University Press, 2008). Her current research is focused on conceptual and methodological issues in the earth sciences.

At Radcliffe, Bokulich is writing a book on the philosophy of geosciences, focusing on issues related to data, models, and scientific uncertainty. The geosciences must confront some of the most pressing global issues today, including climate change, species extinction, and a variety of geohazards. Her research explores the philosophy of geologic time and broader relevance of deep-time thinking for our present crises. The book will develop a pragmatist philosophy inspired by Charles Sanders Peirce and will show how geoscientists build reliable knowledge about a complex world despite uncertainties that arise in the data they collect, the models they build, and even the uncertainty estimates they give.

Bokulich holds a PhD in history and philosophy of science from University of Notre Dame. She is an elected member of the governing board of the Philosophy of Science Association and an associate member of the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University, and she has held visiting professorships in earth and climate sciences and philosophy at the University of Bristol, Duke University, and Durham University. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation.