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Chip Sebens headshot
Office: 301 E Dabney
Mail Code: MC 101-40
Phone: 626-395-1218
Email: [email protected]
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Name: Francine (Fran) Tise
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HSS Home  /  People  /  Charles "Chip" T. Sebens

Charles "Chip" T. Sebens

Professor of Philosophy
B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009; M.St., University of Oxford, 2010; Ph.D., University of Michigan, 2015. Assistant Professor, Caltech, 2018-23; Professor, 2023-.
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Profile

Charles "Chip" T. Sebens studies the philosophy of physics, focusing on the foundations of quantum mechanics, classical field theory, and quantum field theory. He uses tools from metaphysics and epistemology to assess competing proposals about what physical laws govern the quantum realm (such as Bohmian mechanics, the many-worlds interpretation, and GRW theory). He also works toward improving our understanding of classical field theories, including the theories of the electromagnetic, Dirac, and gravitational fields. At the intersection of these two topics, Sebens is interested in the way that classical field theories are quantized to arrive at quantum field theories.

Sebens started out in physics as an undergraduate at MIT, but ended up double majoring in both physics and philosophy, earning dual bachelor's degrees in 2009. He went on to earn a master's degree in philosophy of physics from the University of Oxford (2010), a master's degree in physics from the University of Michigan (2013), and a PhD in philosophy, also from the University of Michigan (2015). Sebens served as an Ahmanson Postdoctoral Instructor in the History and Philosophy of Physics in HSS from 2015 to 2016. He then served as an assistant professor of philosophy at UC San Diego from 2016 to 2018 before returning to Caltech as a faculty member.

Research Summary
Philosophy of Physics; Philosophy of Science; Epistemology; Metaphysics
Selected Awards
  • 2016 - Philosopher's Annual Selection, "Quantum Mechanics as Classical Physics" selected as one of the top ten philosophy papers of 2015

Featured News

Do Electrons Spin?
January 17, 2023
Assistant Professor of Philosophy Chip Sebens thinks they do thanks to their fields.
On the Edge of Philosophy and Physics
July 05, 2019
Charles Sebens discusses philosophical questions lying at the root of physics.
Faculty Join Caltech
October 10, 2018
Caltech welcomes 12 faculty members who will join the Institute's six divisions over the academic year, representing fields ranging from cosmochemistry and microeconomics to genome engineering and the philosophical underpinnings of quantum theory.
Read more news   >

Selected Publications

For a complete publications list, see feeds.library.caltech.edu
2023-24
HPS/Pl 123 – Introduction to the Philosophy of Physics
HPS/Pl 125 – Philosophical Issues in Quantum Physics
2022-23
HPS/Pl 123 – Introduction to the Philosophy of Physics
HPS/Pl 125 – Philosophical Issues in Quantum Physics
2021-22
HPS/Pl 120 – Introduction to Philosophy of Science
HPS/Pl 123 – Introduction to the Philosophy of Physics
Hum/Pl 44 – Philosophy Through Science Fiction
2020-21
HPS/Pl 120 – Introduction to Philosophy of Science
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