Henk de Regt

It will be in-person only.

📣 ISiS workshop on "Scientific Understanding in the Age of Machine Learning"

#philsci #maschinelearning

February 20, 1:00-5:30PM, Radboud University: Huygens Building, room HG 01.160.

Paper on pragmatic understanding and Ian Hacking, with @henkderegt.bsky.social, now out! We develop new views on pragmatic understanding in science, arguing that pragmatic understanding develops through methods in styles of reasoning and skill in experimentation. academic.oup.com/monist/artic...

Henk's @henkderegt.bsky.social book Understanding Scientific Understanding (2017) helped elevate understanding in phil of sci, distinct from what it means to explain something.

We discuss where his ideas have taken him since, like how to assess machine understanding.

braininspired.co/podcast/225/

Starting the last day of PSA Around the World Central and Eastern Europe with a session on scientific understanding. @henkderegt.bsky.social is the first plenary speaker on understanding by an artificial system

Large physics models: towards a collaborative approach with large language models and foundation models - The European Physical Journal C This paper explores the development and evaluation of physics-specific large-scale AI models, which we refer to as large physics models (LPMs). These models, based on foundation models such as large language models (LLMs) are tailored to address the unique demands of physics research. LPMs can function independently or as part of an integrated framework. This framework can incorporate specialized tools, including symbolic reasoning modules for mathematical manipulations, frameworks to analyse specific experimental and simulated data, and mechanisms for synthesizing insights from physical theories and scientific literature. We begin by examining whether the physics community should actively develop and refine dedicated models, rather than relying solely on commercial LLMs. We then outline how LPMs can be realized through interdisciplinary collaboration among experts in physics, computer science, and philosophy of science. To integrate these models effectively, we identify three key pillars: Development, Evaluation, and Philosophical Reflection. Development focuses on constructing models capable of processing physics texts, mathematical formulations, and diverse physical data. Evaluation assesses accuracy and reliability through testing and benchmarking. Finally, Philosophical Reflection encompasses the analysis of broader implications of LLMs in physics, including their potential to generate new scientific understanding and what novel collaboration dynamics might arise in research. Inspired by the organizational structure of experimental collaborations in particle physics, we propose a similarly interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to building and refining large physics models. This roadmap provides specific objectives, defines pathways to achieve them, and identifies challenges that must be addressed to realise physics-specific large scale AI models.

Our paper "Large physics models: towards a collaborative approach with large language models and foundation models" is now published online! @philsci.bsky.social
@epsaphilsci.bsky.social @hoposjournal.bsky.social @ishpssb.bsky.social @henkderegt.bsky.social @lglopez.bsky.social

Our paper "Large Physics Models: Towards a collaborative approach with Large Language Models and Foundation Models" has just been accepted for publication in THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL C. It is a result of a workshop shorturl.at/6UbIW at @lorentzcenter.bsky.social, and is co-authored with:

Kristian González Barman, Sascha Caron, Emily Sullivan, @henkderegt.bsky.social , Roberto
Ruiz de Austri, Mieke Boon, Michael
Faerber, Stefan Froese, Tobias Golling,
@lglopez.bsky.social, @fhasibi.bsky.social,

@chinghank.bsky.social, @willemhalffman.bsky.social and Serge Horbach at #STIENID2025 in Bristol. They presented work on the DISAPEER project, perspectives on the research literature as infrastructure, and the tensions between standardisation and disciplinary diversity in research policy.

Strong presence of our philosophy group at #epsa25 with Kian Salimkhani, @henkderegt.bsky.social, Karla Weingarten & @simonlohse.bsky.social presenting their work in philosophy of physics and AI. #philsci

SCIENCE AND EDUCATION IN THE AGE OF AI

@Science Café Nijmegen, featuring our very own @henkderegt.bsky.social and Luca Consoli.

www.sciencecafenijmegen.nl/actueel/

Eerlijkere loonverdeling in het hoger onderwijs Zeker nu minister Bruins van OCW de grootste bezuinigingen op het hoger onderwijs in decennia heeft aangekondigd is het essentieel dat de sector zich niet tegen elkaar uit laat spelen en solidair met ...

Ik vind deze campagne erg belangrijk - doe je ook mee? actie.degoedezaak.org/petitions/ee...

Opinie | Stikstof: de wetenschap wordt voor een politiek doel misbruikt Milieu: Minister Wiersma rekt de norm voor de uitstoot van stikstof onaanvaardbaar op. Daarbij zet zij wetenschap oneigenlijk in, menen Janneke van Dis, Henk de Regt en Jan-Willem Romeijn.

New piece by @henkderegt.bsky.social & colleagues:

"Stikstof: de wetenschap wordt voor een politiek doel misbruikt" #philsci in policy!

www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...

Demonstrations against budget cuts on 13 March | Radboud University Staff members have announced that they will join a relay strike on Thursday 13 March against the Dutch Cabinet’s cuts to the education budget. Some students also want to demonstrate.

🟥 🟥 🟥 🟥 🟥

www.ru.nl/en/about-us/...

Trade union official discusses strike day on 13 March: 'If we make our voices heard again, we can really achieve something' - Vox magazine Picket lines, mini-lectures, a stage programme and a march to the city. These are the actions planned on day of the strike in Nijmegen on 13 March. 'Hopefully, the Executive Board will close all the b...

🟥 www.voxweb.nl/nieuws/trade...

InScience | Film Festival Nijmegen | 11 t/m 16 maart 2025 InScience is hét wetenschapsfilmfestival in Nederland. De 10e editie vindt plaats van 11 t/m 16 maart 2025 in Nijmegen.

Can scientists be activists? The InScience Festival features the movie Plan Z: From lab coats to handcuffs, followed by a discussion with ISiS philosopher @henkderegt.bsky.social, scientist and Extinction Rebellion member R. de Jong, and researcher N. P. Chaves Perez.

www.insciencefestival.nl/nl/

Neem de belangen van een kevertje serieus en breng meer tijd door in de natuur, zegt deze bioloog Is het geitje op de kinderboerderij natuur? De kinderen die bioloog Bernadette van Heel bevroeg, vonden dat een lastige vraag. De gebrekkige verbondenheid van kinderen én volwassenen met de natuur hee...

Hoe kunnen we natuurervaringen, natuurverbondenheid en actie voor natuur gedurende de levensloop versterken? In een interview in #Trouw vertelt ISiS' Bernadette van Heel over haar proefschrift dat ze heeft geschreven onder begeleiding van R. van den Born en N. Aarts.

www.trouw.nl/duurzaamheid...

Congratulations to our (now former) PhD student Kasja Weenink, who received her doctoral degree cum laude for a thesis on higher education quality. The diploma was handed to her by promotor Professor Noelle Aarts. Photo by Theo Hafmans.

The RCNP members during the second day of our opening conference Impossible Triangles of Thought #rcnp2025

Large Physics Models: Towards a collaborative approach with Large Language Models and Foundation Models This paper explores ideas and provides a potential roadmap for the development and evaluation of physics-specific large-scale AI models, which we call Large Physics Models (LPMs). These models, based ...

With @henkderegt.bsky.social, @danielkostic.bsky.social, @kasieczka.bsky.social and others, we have submitted a white paper that provides a potential roadmap for the development and evaluation of physics-specific AI models: arxiv.org/abs/2501.05382, see also www.lorentzcenter.nl/physics-en-q....

The first day of our RCNP opening conference was a big success, with many inspiring talks. Here is Dennis Dieks explaining the modal interpretatie of Quantum Mechanics #rcnp2025

3.. 2.. 1.. The RCNP opens by constructing what was thought impossible! #rcnp2025

We are delighted to welcome so many friends and colleagues to our opening in Nijmegen. #rcnp2025

Hi Matthew, it's been a long time since we met. What happened, why do you need chemotherapy? Whatever it is, I hope you will recover. I wish you all the best!

Later this week, on Thursday 9 and Friday 10 January, our newly established Radboud Center for Natural Philosophy will be officially launched, with an opening conference entitled Impossible Triangles of Thought: rcnp.science.ru.nl/events/launc...
Talks can be followed online; see link on website.

Thanks, Anna!

Thanks, Oscar!

Understanding in science and beyond | 3 | Understanding and Conscious This chapter defends and extends Henk de Regt’s contextual theory of scientific understanding. The theory is defended by means of systematic analysis and

My paper 'Understanding in Science and Beyond', a revised and updated version of my 2019 Lakatos Award lecture, is published open access in A.I. Mărăşoiu & M. Dumitru (eds), Understanding and Conscious Experience: Philosophical and Scientific Perspectives:
www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-...