Daian Bica

I am a Teaching and Research Fellow at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. My research lies at the intersection of general philosophy of science—particularly the realism–antirealism debate—and the metaphysics of science, with a focus on the concept of laws of nature and levels of analysis. From a historical perspective, I am particularly interested in the modern concept of law in the context of Newtonian philosophy of science.

I recently defended my dissertation on perspectival realism, which examines how perspectival realist approaches can mediate between scientific realism and pluralism. 

Currently, I am working on a monograph based on my Ph.D., titled Perspectival Realism and Laws of Nature, which is under contract with De Gruyter in the History and Philosophy of Science series. In addition, I am co-editing the forthcoming volume Science in Perspective for the Synthese Library, together with Alexander Christian and Paul Hasselkuß.

Beyond this, I am developing a new research project on levels of analysis and scales of measurement in physics. The project examines whether the traditional conception of levels as part–whole compositional relations should be reconsidered and whether the notion of behaviour at scale offers a more adequate scientific metaphysics instead of levels.

• Science in Perspective: Essays on Pluralism, Pragmatism, and the Diversity of Knowledge, Springer Cham, Series Title: Synthese Library, under Contract (with Alexander Christian and Paul Hasselkuß)
• Perspectival Realism and Laws of Nature: Package Deals of Laws for Perspectival Realism, Brill-De Gruyter, Series Title: History and Philosophy of Science, under Contract
• “A Model-Exploratory Understanding of Newton’s Experimental Philosophy and of his Theories of Laws“ (forthcoming; with Markus Schrenk), in Metaphysics of Laws and Powers, edited by Vannesa Seifert, Stavros Ioannidis, and Stathis Psillos (Routledge Studies in Philosophy of Science), London: Routledge
• “Massimi’s Perspectival Garden with Inferential Paths” in International Studies in Philosophy of Science, Volume 35, 2023, Issue 3-4, https://doi.org/10.1080/02698595.2023.2191168
• “Causal Powers in the Framework of the Early Modernity” in Journal of Early Modern Studies, vol.9 2021, 2: 141-150, https://doi.org/10.5840/jems20209216
• “Thinking with Mechanisms. Mechanical Philosophy and Early Modern Science” in  Journal of Early Modern Studies, vol.9 2020, 1: 133-141, https://doi.org/10.5840/jems2020916