School of Humanities

School of Humanities

Dr Philip Catton

Position

Senior Lecturer in Philosophy

Qualifications

BSc (Canterbury) BA (Otago)
MA(Hons) (Canterbury)
PhD (University of Western Ontario)

Room

Room 607

Contact Details

Phone: +64-3-364 2077
Internal Phone: 6077
philip.catton@canterbury.ac.nz

Background

Philip took his Master's degree at the University of Canterbury and his Ph.D at the University of Western Ontario. In his undergraduate training (at Canterbury and Otago) he took physics, philosophy, mathematics and chemistry all to degree level. He teaches history and philosophy of science, history of moral philosophy, environmental philosophy, mathematical logic, philosophy of mathematics, early modern philosophy, and Kant.

Undergraduate Courses

Graduate Courses

Thesis supervision — supervisee completions to date

PhD

2010
Rebecca Priestley. History and Philosophy of Science. Nuclear New Zealand. (Co-supervised with Professor Philippa Mein Smith, History, and Professor John Hearnshaw, Physics & Astronomy.)

2006
Jane Cooper. Philosophy. Is Rational Mysticism Compatible with Feminism?: A Critical Examination of Plotinus and Kashani. (Co-supervised with Associate Professor Diane Proudfoot, Philosophy.)

2004
Mesake Rawaikela Dakuidreketi. Education. Contexts of Science Teaching and Learning in Fiji Primary Schools: A Comparative Study of Ethnic Fijian and Indo-Fijian Communities. (Co-supervised with Dr Baljit Kaur, Education.)

Stephen P McNicholl. Philosophy. Reason, Religion and Plato: Orphism and the Mathematical Mediation between Being and Becoming. (Co-supervised with Dr Paul Studtmann, Philosophy.)

Gabriela Popa. Mathematics. A Theoretical Constructivisation of Mathematical Economics. (Co-supervised with Professor Douglas Bridges, Mathematics.)

2003
Stephen Foster Sharp. Philosophy. Platonic Love and the One Unforgivable Sin.

2000
Nicole Mary Wyatt. Philosophy. The Meaning and Use of Proper Names. (Co-supervised with Professor Jack Copeland, Philosophy.)

1997
David John Gunn. Philosophy. Test Theory Methodology in Physics.

MA

2010
Eli Davenport. Philosophy. Immanence and Transcendence in the Idealisms of Leibniz and Berkeley.

2009
Stephen M Pike. Philosophy. A Model of Mind from the Perspective of Temporal Structuralism.

Erik van Zwol. Philosophy. Responsibility, Spontaneity and Liberty.

2008
James Davies. History and Philosophy of Science. Changes of Setting and the History of Mathematics: A New Study of Frege. (Co-supervised with Dr Clemency Montelle, Mathematics, and Professor Douglas Bridges, Mathematics.)

Bronwyn Rideout. History and Philosophy of Science. Pappus Reborn: Pappus of Alexandria and the Changing Face of Analysis in Late Antiquity. (Assistant supervisor; main supervisor Dr Clemency Montelle, Mathematics.)

2007
David Ingram. Philosophy. Using Systems Theory to do Philosophy: One Approach, and Some Suggested Terminology. (Sole supervisor after departures first of Professor Paul Harrison, Religious Studies, and then of Professor Graham Macdonald, Philosophy.)

Joe Saunders. Philosophy. Kant's Departure from Hume's Moral Naturalism.

2006
Alex McKubre. Philosophy. A Challenge to Externalist Representationalism: Analysing Georges Rey's Account and Salvaging his Project. (Co-supervised with Professor Cynthia Macdonald, Philosophy.)

2005
Ken Courtney. Philosophy. Sophocles' Oedipus and Platonic Virtue. (Co-supervised with Dr Peter Field, History, and Dr Patrick O'Sullivan, Classics.)

2003
Kevin G Speck. Philosophy. A Particularist Model for Evaluating Methodologies in Science using Rational Reconstructions. (Co-supervised with Professor Graham Macdonald, Philosophy.)

2001
David Peter Carson. Philosophy. Leibniz and the Rationality of the Infinite.

1996
Eamon Conan Daly. Computer Science. Information Privacy and the Ethics of Information Technologies: from Kant to Cryptography . (Co-supervised with Associate Professor Krzysztof Pawlikowski, Computer Science.)

1994
Christine Robyn Greenfield. Philosophy. A Feminist Critique of Immanuel Kant. (Co-supervised with Ms Diane Proudfoot, Philosophy.)

MSc

2001
Douglas Campbell. Philosophy. Induction Machines. (Co-supervised with Professor Jack Copeland, Philosophy.)

1999
Clemency Jane Williams. Mathematics. The Analytic Art: François Viète and the Development of Mathematical Analysis. (Co-supervised with Dr John Hannah, Mathematics.)

Honours Research Essays

2010
Clare O'Connell. Mathematics & Philosophy. “A Mathematical and Philosophical Introduction to Smooth Infinitesimal Analysis with Investigation into its Account of Motion”. (Co-supervised with Dr Clemency Montelle, Mathematics, and then Professor Douglas Bridges, Mathematics.)

2009
Peter King. Philosophy. “Cognitivist-Expressivist Metaethics versus Rationalist Metaethics: Critical commentary, from the normative-ethical trenches”.

2008
Rosalie Hosking. History and Philosophy of Science. “Kant, Brouwer, and Constructivism in Mathematics”. (Co-supervised with Dr Clemency Montelle, Mathematics, and Professor Douglas Bridges, Mathematics.)

2007
Eli Davenport. Philosophy. “Reconciling Kant's transcendental idealism with contemporary evolutionary theory”. (Co-supervised with Professor Denis Dutton.)

Thom Page. History and Philosophy of Science. “The tantalus fate for theorisers: why the prospect of a theory of everything (ToE) that would offer explanatory finality is either empty or not what it purports to be”.

2004
Sagar Sanyal. Philosophy. “An investigation into the tenability of a Kantian distinction of form and content in light of the views of Quine”.

Florian von Appen. History and Philosophy of Science. “The Stability of the Solar System: a history”.

2003
Callum Fletcher. Philosophy. “A Discussion of the History of the Paradox of Confirmation”.

2002
Philip Daniel. Mathematics & Philosophy. “The Axiom of Choice”. (Co-supervised with Professor Douglas Bridges, Mathematics.)

Paul McNeill. Philosophy. “Is Aristotle's Ethics Egoistic?”. (Co-supervised with Dr Steve Gardiner, Philosophy.)

2000
Nick Guy. Philosophy. “Kant and Heidegger on Experience, Subject and World”.

1999
Mark Johnstone. Philosophy. “On Logos in Heraclitus”.

1997
Christofer Bullsmith. Philosophy. “Vagueness”. (Co-supervised with Professor Jack Copeland, Philosophy.)

Fiona Callaghan. Philosophy. “On the Failure of Supervenience”. (Co-supervised with Professor Graham Oddie, Philosophy.)

1996
Simon Bidwell. Philosophy. “A Call for a Kantian Revolution in the Philosophy of Mind”.

1993
Natalie Cadenhead. Philosophy. “Rape, Personal Identity, and Persons: An Examination of Legal and Personal Aspects of Rape in Light of Locke's account of Persons and Identity”. (Co-supervised with Ms Diane Proudfoot, Philosophy.)

Thesis-examiner report work

2010
Internal examiner's report on Stephen M Pike's Philosophy MA thesis A Model of Mind from the Perspective of Temporal Structuralism. University of Canterbury. Report co-authored with Physics & Astronomy Associate Professor Mike Reid.

Internal examiner's report on Rebecca Priestley's History and Philosophy of Science PhD thesis Nuclear New Zealand.

2008
Internal examiner's report on David Ingram's Philosophy MA thesis Using systems theory to do philosophy: one approach, and some suggested terminology. University of Canterbury.

Internal examiner's report on Tim Rowe's Philosophy MA thesis A Critical Project. University of Canterbury.

New Zealand external examiner's report on Scott Waygood's Philosophy MA thesis Quasi-Empirical Fictionalism as an approach to the Philosophy of Geometry. Victoria University of Wellington.

2007
New Zealand external examiner's report on Simon Thode's History MA thesis Ideas of Extinction, or the articulation of theories between the years of 1812 and 1960 illustrating the extirpation of species within nature, with a study of New Zealand fauna, and specific reflection on the giant flightless birds of these isles. Auckland University.

2006
International external examiner's report on Simon Burgess's Philosophy PhD thesis Consequentialism: An Ironic View. Monash University.

International external examiner's report on Henry Meghaizel's Philosophy PhD thesis Aristotle's Wisdom: Theory and Practice. Monash University.

2004
New Zealand external examiner's report on Simon Walker's Philosophy MA thesis A Wittgensteinian View of Kantian Moral Theory. University of Otago.

2001
New Zealand external examiner's report on Stephen Jones's Philosophy MA thesis Peirce on Inference: How the Mind Operates. Massey University.

2000
New Zealand external examiner's report on Mike Hurst's Philosophy MA thesis The Development of Scientific Psychology. Victoria University of Wellington.

1999
New Zealand external examiner's report on Elizabeth Fenton's Philosophy MA thesis Kepler's Realism: A Solution to the Problem of Empirical Equivalence in the Development of Astronomy. University of Otago.

PhD oral examination co-ordination

2010
Co-ordinator, PhD oral examination of Michael Dale's University of Canterbury mechanical engineering PhD thesis Global Energy Modelling: A Biophysical Approach.

2009
Co-ordinator, PhD oral examination of Sagar Sanyal's University of Canterbury philosophy PhD thesis Political Equality and Global Poverty: An Alternative Egalitarian Approach to Distributive Justice.

2005
Co-ordinator, oral examination of Gordon Aston's University of Canterbury philosophy PhD thesis Early Indian Logic and the Question of Greek Influence.

Research Interests

Philip has published on the philosophy of spacetime physics, ecology, scientific methodology, environmental ethics, and the history of philosophy of science in Australasia. He has also published on philosophy, Matauranga Maori and NZ biculturalism and is nearing the completion of a monograph on this topic. He has written articles that are presently under consideration at journals on Newton's philosophy of mathematics, Newton's empiricism, and intuition in mathematics. In addition he is, in geological time, researching and writing the following nexus of books (which he commenced about when the fish crawled out onto the land from the seas):

Philosophy in the Reflection of its Epoch

1. INSIDE KNOWLEDGE: Ethics, Physics, Logic and the hold of human reason. Book 1: Wonder, Self and World. Book 2: Mathematics and Meaning. Book 3. Science and the Systematicity of Nature.

2. INDUCTION, MEASUREMENT and MORALS: Theory, Practice, Synthesis. Book 1: The Philosophy of Measurement. Book 2. Immanence, Ideality and Truth. Book 3. Morality, Scientific Experience and the Limits of Nature.

3. MEASURING and VALUING: Science, Ethics and the Crisis of Modernity. Book 1: Modernity and the Most Measured Understanding of Things. Book 2. Nature's Non-cooperation with Morality. Book 3. Thought Itself and Eco-Catastrophe.

School Administration

  • Co-coordinator of the various degree programmes in History and Philosophy of Science.
  • Co-coordinator of the BSc(Hons) programme in Mathematics & Philosophy.
  • Represents Philosophy on the Faculty of Science and Board of Studies in Science.
  • Co-ordinates the Philosophy Library/Honours Room.
  • Co-ordinator of UC Philosophy Research Seminar series.
  • Co-ordinator of Philosophy Erskine Fellows programme.
  • Philosophy safety officer.

Publications

Please see Philip's UC Spark for a full list of publications.