About
(department member since 2019)
I am a philosopher of science focusing on conceptual issues in immunology. Currently, my research interests concern the concept of disease tolerance, and the interactions between the immune system and other physiological systems. I run the Prague Meetings in Philosophy of Science platform to organize events on biomedical research and philosophy of science. I have received the Award of the Czech Academy of Sciences for outstanding results of scientific work in 2023 and the Otto Wichterle Award in 2024. In my PhD thesis defended in 2021 I addressed the nature of scientific modeling in the context of conceptual and experimental research in cancer immunology. My other research interests also include more traditional philosophical debates on (biological) mechanisms, scientific understanding, naturalism and scientism.
I am an advocate of philosophy that is relevant and closely related to scientific practice. To see how that works in practice, see my introductory presentations at events recently organized by our Department:
Basic areas of research: philosophy of science, philosophy of biology, philosophy of medicine
CV
Education
- 2016 - 2021 PhD in Philosophy, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague
- Supervisors: Ladislav Kvasz, Roman Frigg
- Examiners: Sabina Leonelli, Michael Weisberg, Marshall Abrams
- 2014-2016 Master in Philosophy, Department of German and French Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, Charles University in Prague
- 2011-2014 Bachelor in Liberal Arts and Humanities, Faculty of Humanities, Charles University in Prague
Research visits
- 2020 (cancelled due to COVID-19) EPSA Fellow at the ImmunoConcEpT, CNRS UMR 5164, University of Bordeaux
- 2019 (October - December) Research visitor at the ImmunoConcEpT, CNRS UMR 5164, University of Bordeaux, host: Thomas Pradeu
- 2018 (August - November) Research visitor at the Centre for Philosophy of Social Science ('TINT'), University of Helsinki, host: Uskali Mäki
- 2017 (September - December) Research visitor at the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science (CPNSS), London School of Economics, host: Roman Frigg
Grant projects
- 2024-2026 Immunity and biological resilience, Czech Science Foundation (GA CR 24-11861S) (PI)
- 2019-2021 Simplifying assumptions and noncausal explanations, Czech Science Foundation (GA CR 19-04236S) (co-principal investigator with Lukas Zamecnik from Palacky University Olomouc)
- 2017-2019 Philosophical aspects of scientific models, Charles University Grant Agency (project no. 66217) (PI)
- 2017-2018 Principles of naturalizing philosophy of science, Internal Grant of the Faculty of Arts, Charles University (FF/VG/2017/3) (PI)
Scholarships
- 2019 EPSA Fellowship (visiting ImmunoConcEpT)
- 2019 French government scholarship (visiting ImmunoConcEpT)
- 2018 Scholarship from the "Hlavka foundation"
- 2018 EDUFI Fellowship (visiting Helsinki)
- 2017 Anglo-Czech Education Fund (visiting LSE)
Organization
- 2022, October 24-25, Prague International workshop "Immunology Meets Philosophy"
- 2020, October 28-30, Prague Conference: "Conceptual and Methodological Aspects of Biomedical Research"
- 2019, August 5-10, Prague Congress Secretary and member of the LOC for CLMPST 2019
- 2019, June 12-14, Prague International workshop "Idealization Across the Sciences"
- 2018, May 28-29, Prague International workshop "Representation in Science"
- 2017, May 18-19, Prague International workshop "Perspectives on Explanation"
Reviewed for
Book publishers
- Cambridge University Press
- Academia
Journals
- Biology & Philosophy
- European Journal for Philosophy of Science
- Philosophy of Science
- Studies in History and Philosophy of Science
- History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences
- Journal for General Philosophy of Science
- Perspectives in Biology and Medicine
- Perspectives on Science
- Acta Analytica
- Filozofia
- Filosofie dnes
Membership
- European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA): student representative for the steerring committee (2019-2021)
- East European Network for Philosophy of Science (EENPS): member of the steering committee (2020-2024)
- Philosophy of Science Association (PSA)
- International Society of the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB)
- Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice (SPSP): member of the editorial board of the newsletter
- Philosophy in Biology and Medicine Network (PhilInBioMed /PIBM)
Publications
2024
- 1 paper(s) currently under review (Studies in History and Philosophy of Science (IF: 1.379))
- Simplifying Assumptions in Noncausal Explanations (in Czech) (with Lukáš Zámečník), forthcoming in Teorie vědy/Theory of Science, https://doi.org/10.46938/tv.2024.615
2023
- On the relationship between asymptomatic infections and diseases, Philosophy of Medicine 4 (1), 1-12, https://doi.org/10.5195/pom.2023.171
- Understanding immunity: an alternative framework beyond defense and strength (with Gregor Greslehner), Biology & Philosophy 38 (1), (IF: 1.795), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-023-09893-2
2022
- Towards an extended view of immunity: a philosophical perspective (with Gregor Greslehner), Anaesthesia Critical Care & Pain Medicine 41 (6), 101156 (IF: 7.025), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accpm.2022.101156
- A Complementary Account of Scientific Modeling: Modeling Mechanisms in Cancer Immunology, forthcoming in British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (IF: 3.978), https://doi.org/10.1086/721530
- Revisiting abstraction and idealization: How not to criticize mechanistic explanation in molecular biology, European Journal for Philosophy of Science 12 (1), 1-21 (IF: 1.753), https://doi.org/10.1007/s13194-022-00453-1
2021
- Assessing the quality of evidence from epidemiological agent-based models for the COVID-19 pandemic (with Mariusz Maziarz), History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 43 (1), 1-4 (IF: 1.205) (https://doi.org/10.1007/s40656-020-00357-4)
2020
- Agent-based modeling for SARS-CoV-2 epidemic prediction and intervention assessment. A methodological appraisal (with Mariusz Maziarz), Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice 26 (5), 1352-1360 (IF: 2.431) (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jep.13459)
2019
- Conceptual Analysis in the Philosophy of Science. Balkan Journal of Philosophy 11 (2), 107-124
2017
- Vědecký realismus jako kultivace ducha, Filozofia 72 (5), 381-391
- Selektivní realismus a kalorická teorie tepla, Filosofický časopis 65 (1), 77-95.
Editorial work
- 2019-2021, Idealization, Representation, and Explanation Across the Sciences (with Elay Shech and Melissa Jacquart), special issue of Studies in History and Philosophy of Science (IF: 1.21)
Reviews and reports
- Perspectives on Explanation, 18-19 May, The Reasoner 11 (6), 30-31, 2017.
- Axel Gelfert: How to do science with models: A philosophical primer, Organon F 24 (4), 546-552, 2017.
Presentations & Talks
2023
- “Let's talk about immunology: the intricacies of metaphorical language”, International Society for the History Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology biennial meeting (ISHPSSB 2023), Toronto (Canada), 9-15 July 2023 (online)
- “What immunology tells us about the nature of mechanistic modelling”, XI. Ernst Mach Workshop: Causation – Structure, Models and Realism, Prague (CZ), 23-24 May 2023
2022
- “Immunity in health and disease: a clash of frameworks”, 4th Conference of the East European Network for Philosophy of Science, Tartu (Estonia), 17-19 August 2022 (online)
- “Doing without Model Systems and Descriptions: A Cognitive Artifact View of Models”, Prague – Valencia Workshop on Analytic Philosophy, Prague (CZ), 22-23 September 2022
- “The role of assumptions in modeling cancer” (invited talk), Emerging models in cancer research: 3rd Thematic day at Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Lyon (CRLC), 14 January 2022 (online)
2021
- “Epistemic roles of similarity considerations in mouse models of cancer”, 8th Biennial Conference of the European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA21), Turin (Italy), 15-18 September 2021 (online)
- “How to think about the immune system in times of COVID-19 and beyond: why stronger isn’t always better and other misleading metaphors”, International Society for the History Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology biennial meeting (ISHPSSB 2021), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (USA), 13-20 July 2021 (online)
- “Epistemic roles of similarity considerations in mouse models of cancer”, British Society for Philosophy of Science Annual Conference (BSPS2021), Kent (UK), 7-9 July 2021 (online)
- “How to think about the immune system in times of COVID-19 and beyond: why stronger isn’t always better and other misleading metaphors”, 9th Philosophy of Medicine Roundtable, Michigan State University (USA), 27-30 June 2021 (online)
- “Modeling in Biomedicine: Extending the notion of models”, Third conference of the East European Network for Philosophy of Science (EENPS 2021), Belgrade (Serbia), June 9-11 2021 (online)
- “How to think about the immune system in times of COVID-19 and beyond: why stronger isn’t always better and other misleading metaphors”, Philosophical Perspectives on Covid-19, 10-13 May 2021 (online)
- “Building Mechanistic Models in Cancer Immunology: Towards a Complementary Account of Modeling” (poster), 27th Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA2021), Jan. 22, Jan. 29, and Feb. 5, 2021 (online)
2020
•“Modeling in Cancer Immunology: A Complementary Account”, Bordeaux-Sydney Workshop on Philosophy of Biology and Biomedicine, 23-24 November 2020
• “Are ABM epidemic models the models of actual mechanisms?” (jointly with M. Maziarz), Jagiellonian University, 5 May 2020
• "Representing cancer in humans: Reviving the similarity account of scientific representation", 2nd SURe Workshop, Atlanta (USA), 12.-13.3.2020
2019
• "Theoretical models as abstract objects?", 4th POND Conference, Barcelona (Spain), 26-27 September 2019
• "Revisiting abstraction and idealization in molecular biology", 7th Biennial Conference of the European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA19), Geneva (Switzerland), 6.-9.9.2019
· "Revisiting abstraction and idealization in molecular biology", British Society for Philosophy of Science Annual Conference (BSPS 2019), Durham (UK), 17.-19.7.2019
· "The case of mechanistic explanation in molecular biology: abstraction or idealization?“, International Society for the History Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology biennial meeting (ISHPSSB 2019), Oslo (Norway), 7.-12.7.2019
· "On Abstraction and Idealization in Molecular Biology", workshop Idealization Across the Sciences, Prague (Czech Republic), 12.-14.6.2019
· "Idealization and understanding with diagrammatic biological models“, Third International Conference of the German Society for Philosophy of Science (GWP2019), Cologne (Germany), 25.-27.2.2019
2018
· "Scientific understanding and the facticity condition", IX Conference of the Spanish Society for Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science (SLMFCE), Madrid (Spain), 13.-16.11.2018
· "A case for factive scientific understanding" (poster), 26th Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA2018), Seattle, WA (USA), 1.-4.11.2018
· "Mechanistic explanation in agent-based modeling", Joint European Network for the Philosophy of the Social Sciences and Philosophy of Social Science Roundtable Conference, Hannover (Germany), 30.8.-1.9.2018
· "There is no (special) problem of ontology of theoretical models", Fourth Annual Conference of the Society for Metaphysics of Science (SMS4), Milan (Italy), 22.-24.8.2018
· "Similarity in practice", Seventh Biennial Conference of the Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice (SPSP7), Ghent (Belgium), 29.6.-2.7.2018
· "Scientific representation: Resituating the similarity account", Second conference of the East European Network for Philosophy of Science (EENPS 2018), Bratislava (Slovakia), 20.6.-22.6.2018
· "Mechanistic explanation in agent-based modeling" (poster), 11th MuST conference in Philosophy of Science: Models of Explanation, Turin (Italy), 11.6.-13.6.2018
· "Similarity judgments and scientific representation", Representation in Science, Prague (Czech Republic), 28.-29.5.2018
· "Factive understanding with model sketches", Explanation and Understanding, Ghent (Belgium), 23.-25.5.2018
· "Applying pretense to scientific models. Its merits and limits" (invited), XIII. Prague Interpretation Colloqium, Prague (Czech Republic), 23.-25.4.2018
· "Minimal models, representation, and explanation", Models and Simulations 8, Columbia, SC (USA), 15.-17.3.2018
2017
· "Pluralism and minimal models" (poster), What to make of highly unrealistic models?, Helsinki (Finland), 12.-13.10.2017
· "Against the direct fiction view of scientific models“, Sixth Biennial Conference of the European Philosophy of Science Association 2017, Exeter (United Kingdom), 6.-9.9.2017
· "Against the direct fiction view of scientific models“, Ninth European Congress of Analytic Philosophy, Munich (Germany), 21.-26.8.2017
· "Conceptual analysis in philosophy of science", Triennial Conference of the Italian Society for Logic and Philosophy of Science, Bologna (Italy), 20.-23.6.2017
· "Modifying the fiction view of scientific models“, Fifth Annual Meeting of the Nordic Network for Philosophy of Science, Copenhagen (Denmark), 20.-21.4.2017
· "Why the fiction view of scientific models is not your enemy“, Scientific contents: Fictions or abstract objects?, Santiago de Compostela (Spain), 26.-27.1.2017
2016
· "Naturalized philosophy of science: Two accounts of the method of conceptual analysis”, Third Lisbon International Conference on Philosophy of Science, Lisbon (Portugal), 14.-16.12.2016
· "Cesta k naturalizované teorii vědy” (The road to naturalized theory of science), 4th Hradec philosophical days, Hradec Králové (Czech Republic), 6.-7.10.2016
· "Otázka dedukce a pravdy u vědeckých modelů” (The question of deduction and truth in scientific models), XX. Czech-Slovak symposium on analytical philosophy, Prague (Czech Republic), 14.-16.9.2016
· "Science and scientism“, The Inaugural Conference of the East European Network for Philosophy of Science (EENPS 2016), Sofia (Bulgaria), 24.-26.6.2016
Work in Progress
I concurrently work on several paper projects.
- Representing cancer using humanized animal models in research on cancer immunotherapies
- Key immunological notions and the importance of science communication
- Tolerance in immunology
- Disease: the debate on the criteria, medical practice, and biological research
- The concept of antibodies and how it evolved
