Dr Sam Butchart
Ph.D., (Monash, 2001)
Email: Sam.Butchart@arts.monash.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 990 59774
Room: W910, Menzies, Clayton.
Academic Background
- Ph.D., Monash University, 2001
- M. Phil, Cambridge University UK, 1994
- B.A. (Hons), University College London, UK, 1993.
Research Interests
- Philosophy of Mathematics
- Philosophical Logic
- Epistemology
- Informal Logic and Critical Thinking
Current appointment
Research Fellow, Monash University.
Publications
"A Note on Monothetic BCI" (with Tomasz Kowalski). Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 47 no. 4 (2006), 541-544.
"Number" (with John Bigelow) in the Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2nd edition) , edited by Donald Borchert. MacMillan: Farmington Hills, MI, 2005.
"Naïve Comprehension and Contracting Implications" (with Susan Rogerson).Studia Logica 71 (2002), 119-132.
Current Research
Peer Instruction in the Humanities
Peer Instruction (PI) is an innovative technique for making lectures more interactive and engaging. I am currently working with John Bigelow, Toby Handfield and others on a project, funded by the Carrick Institute, to encourage the adoption and evaluation of PI in philosophy, logic, critical thinking and the humanities more generally.
Other Research
Effective Pedagogy for Improving Critical Thinking
I have recently finished working with Professor Ian Gold and others on a three year ARC linkage project, to evaluate a variety of teaching methods for improving students' critical thinking skills.
Ph.D. Thesis
My PhD thesis, Evidence and Explanation in Mathematics, addresses some problems in the epistemology of mathematics. In the first part, I argue that the proper approach to the subject is descriptive rather than normative. The aim of the epistemology of mathematics should be to present an account of the ways in which mathematical beliefs are justified which illuminates the practice, history and methodology of mathematics. In the second part, I attempt to develop an account of mathematical evidence based on the concept of explanatory unification. I argue that the account of mathematical evidence developed reveals that despite appearances to the contrary, mathematics is a science like any other.Simpson's Paradox
While studying for my PhD at Monash, I collaborated with Professor John Bigelow in his work on Simpson's Paradox and the evolution of altruistic behaviour. We created two computer games designed to illustrate the effect of Simpson's Paradox. For more information see the Stanford Encyclopedia entry on Simpson's Paradox. The computer games, which are available to play online, are 'Sharks and Suckers' and 'Rats and Lemmings'.
Curriculum Vitae
Personal
Sam was born in London and grew up in Birmingham in the UK. As a result of a very good party in Cambridge in 1994, he ended up moving to Australia in 1995. In addition to an intermittent career as a philosopher, he has also worked as a software engineer for several companies in the UK and Australia. He also once had a very brief career as Rock Legend with the late-lamented Dr. Finbar Trio. He lives in North Melbourne with his partner Kim Little and no kittens.