Mark Colyvan

AssocDipAppSc (RMIT), BSc(Hons) (NE), PhD (ANU)

Professor of Philosophy and Philosophy of Mathematics
Department of Philosophy
A14 Main Quadrangle
University of Sydney
Sydney, NSW, 2006
Australia

Office: Room N285, Main Quad (off Lobby Q, NE corner of Quad)
Phone: (+61 2) 9036 6175
Fax: (+61 2) 9351 3918
Email: mark.colyvan AT sydney DOT edu DOT au

Visiting Professor and Humboldt Fellow
Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy
Ludwig-Maximilians University
Munich
Germany.

Mark's Research Page

Research Interests
Philosophy of Logic, Philosophy of Mathematics, Decision Theory, Environmental Philosophy, Ecology and Conservation Biology.

Current Research Projects
Formal Approaches to Legal Reasoning (ARC funded), Laws, Models and Analogies in Ecology (ARC funded), Mathematical Notation (ARC funded), Mathematical Explanation (ARC funded), Decision and Risk in Environmental Science, Group Decision Methods (DAFF funded), Ecological Allometries (STIAS funded).

Publications

Books

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mathematics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2012.
Ecological Orbits: How Planets Move and Populations Grow, Oxford University Press, New York, 2004. (Coauthor: Lev R. Ginzburg.)
The Indispensability of Mathematics, Oxford University Press, New York, 2001.

Selected Recent Papers

'Legal Probabilism: A Qualified Defence', Journal of Political Philosophy, forthcoming. (Coauthor: Brian Hedden)
'The End of Mystery', American Philosophical Quarterly, forthcoming. (Coauthor: Sam Baron)
'The Ins and Outs of Mathematical Explanation', Mathematical Intelligencer, Vol 40, No. 4 (December 2018), 26–9.
'Two Flavours of Mathematical Explanation', in A. Reutlinger and J. Saatsi (eds.), Explanation Beyond Causation, Oxford University Press, 2018, pp. 231–49. (Coauthors: John Cusbert and Kelvin McQueen.)
'The Limits of Subtraction', The Australasian Philosophical Review, Vol. 1, No. 2 (September 2017), 168–72.
'Biodiversity and Triage', in H. Leitgeb, I. Niiniluoto, E. Sober, and P. Seppälä (eds.), Proceedings of the 15th Congress of Logic, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science: Models and Modelling, College Publications, 2017, pp. 421–35.
'How Mathematics Can Make a Difference', Philosophers' Imprint, Vol. 17, No. 3 (January 2017), 1–19. (Coauthors: Sam Baron and David Ripley.)
'Value of Information and Monitoring in Conservation Biology', Environment, Systems and Decisions, Vol. 36, No. 3 (September 2016), 302–9.
'Making Ado without Expectations', Mind, Vol. 125, No. 499 (July 2016), 829–57. (Coauthor: Alan Hájek.)
'Time Enough for Explanation', The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 113, No. 2 (February 2016), 61–88. Coauthor: Sam Baron.)
'Disagreement Behind the Veil of Ignorance' Philosophical Studies, Vol. 170, No. 3 (September 2014), 377–94. (Coauthors: Ryan Muldoon, Chiara Lisciandra, Carlo Martini, Giacomo Sillari, and Jan Sprenger.)
'Tolerating Gluts: A Reply to Beall', Mind, Vol. 123, No. 491 (July 2014), 813–28. (Coauthors: Zach Weber, David Ripley, Graham Priest, and Dominic Hyde.)
'Voting Systems for Environmental Decisions: A Review', Conservation Biology, Vol. 28, No. 2 (April 2014), 322–32. (Coauthors: Mark A. Burgman, Helen M. Regan, Lynn A. Maguire, James Justus, Tara G. Martin and Kris Rothley.)

For a complete publication list and many downloadable papers, see Mark's Research Page.
For publications listed by topic, see Mark's Publications by Topic.

Other Activities and Service

Past President of the Society for Risk Analysis (Australia and New Zealand) (2013); Past President of the Australasian Association of Philosophy (2005–2006); Member of the editorial boards of Australasian Journal of Philosophy and Conservation Letters

Last updated: 31 October 2018

To: Mark's Research Page | Mark's Publications by Topic