How I Defended a PhD Thesis (A Story about Preserving One’s Views)
Research Article
How to Cite
Chasova V.E. How I Defended a PhD Thesis (A Story about Preserving One’s Views). Science Management: Theory and Practice. 2024. Vol. 6. No. 4. P. 163-196. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/smtp.2024.6.4.9 (in Russ.).
Abstract
The article thoroughly describes and analyzes my experience of being a PhD student in philosophy of physics abroad, interesting by its interlingual, interdisciplinary and international aspectsб but also by the evolution of the relationships of the PhD student with the supervisor which raises plenty of descriptive and normative questions related to research. In the first part of the article, the description proceeds in an autobiographical manner. The supervisor was first impressed by my capacities, but then got annoyed by my topic change, my independence and my proof for the new topic. In response I elaborated the preconditions of the proof by myself, tested my results at a major conference and obtained a second place at a competition for my article about them. I thus managed to defend the PhD thesis and to keep normal relationships with the supervisor, by contrast to the comparable story of Hugh Everett who left academia. In the second part of the article, an analysis of both organizational and individual sides of this experience is provided in the same chronological order. On the one hand, I address the material thematically, covering such aspects as interdisciplinarity, international moves and research visits, the roles of conferences, competitions and societies, as well as publication models and PhD defenses. On the other hand, I also return to major themes from the autobiography, such as the change of my research topic, the creation and fate of my writings and the evolution of the supervisor’s attitude towards my key result (the proof). Details on my research and the nature of our controversy about the proof are presented. I end up with revisiting the strategy of my relationships with the supervisor in light of examples from the history of physics (Everett’s story again, but now also Utiyama’s case with Yang and Mills).
Keywords:
autobiography, analysis, research, PhD program, supervisor, defense, independence, critique, proof, interdisciplinarity, symmetry, philosophy of physics, quantum mechanics, category theory, history of physics, Hugh Everett, language, abroad, travel, conference, article competition, scholarly society, journal, publication
References
1. Luria A. R. A little book about a vast memory (The mind of a mnemonist) [Malen'kaya knizhka o bol'shoy pamyati (Um mnemonista)]. Moscow : Moscow University Publishing House; 1968. 88 p. (In Russ.).
2. Vizgin V. P. Sketches for a scientific autobiography. Science Management: Theory and Practice. 2023;5(1):167–184. (In Russ.). DOI 10.19181/smtp.2023.5.1.10.
3. Lourié S. V. About the cat who walked by herself and the cognitive function of the state [O koshke, gulyayushchey samoy po sebe, i kognitivnoy funktsii gosudarstva]. Notes of the Fatherland=Otechestvennye Zapiski. 2002;(7). Available at: https://strana-oz.ru/2002/7/o-koshke-gulyayushchey-samoy-po-sebe-i-kognitivnoy-funkcii-gosudarstva (accessed: 17.10.2024). (In Russ.).
4. Lederer P. A case study of a scientific error: Context, history and philosophical teachings. arXiv. 2020. Available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.12849v1 (accessed: 15.11.2024).
5. Lederer P. A case study of a scientific blunder. History and philosophical teachings. arXiv. 2021. Available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.12849v2 (accessed: 15.11.2024).
6. Kosso P. The empirical status of symmetries in physics. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 2000;51(1):81–98. DOI 10.1093/bjps/51.1.81.
7. Brading K., Brown H. R. Are gauge symmetry transformations observable? The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 2004;55(4):645–665. DOI 10.1093/bjps/55.4.645.
8. Healey R. Perfect symmetries. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 2009;60(4):697–720. DOI 10.1093/bjps/axp033.
9. Greaves H., Wallace D. Empirical consequences of symmetries. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 2014;65(1):59–89. DOI 10.1093/bjps/axt005.
10. Utiyama R. Theory of invariant variation and the generalized canonical dynamics. Progress of Theoretical Physics Supplement. 1959;9:19–44. DOI 10.1143/PTPS.9.19.
11. Chasova V. Compte rendu de Time of nature and the nature of time. Philosophical perspectives of time in natural sciences, Christophe Bouton et Philippe Huneman (éditeurs), Springer, 2017. Revue Philosophique de Louvain. 2017;115(4):716–720. DOI 10.2143/RPL.115.4.3284773.
12. Chasova V. Local symmetries with direct empirical status, gauge symmetries, and the empirical approach. PhilSci Archive. 2018. Available at: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/17470/ (accessed: 01.06.2024).
13. Chasova V. Direct empirical status of theoretical symmetries in physics : PhD thesis. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/216833 (accessed: 01.06.2024).
14. Everett H. The Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics : Collected works 1955–1980 with commentary. Ed. by J. A. Barrett, P. Byrne. Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press; 2012. xii, 389 p. ISBN 9781400842742.
15. O’Raifeartaigh L. The dawning of gauge theory. Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press; 1997. ix, 249 p. ISBN 9780691215112.
16. Yang C. N., Mills R. L. Conservation of isotopic spin and isotopic gauge invariance. Physical Review. 1954;96(1):191–195. DOI 10.1103/PhysRev.96.191.
17. Utiyama R. Invariant theoretical interpretation of interaction. Physical Review. 1956;101(5):1597–1607. DOI 10.1103/PhysRev.101.1597.
18. Vizgin V. P. Kalibrovochnaya revolyutsiya v fizike elementarnykh chastits (k 70-letiyu kontseptsii Yanga–Millsa) [The gauge revolution in elementary particle physics (to the 70th anniversary of the Yang–Mills theory)]. In: Fando R. A., Shalimov S. V., eds. Materialy II Mezhdunarodnoy konferentsii Rossiyskogo natsional'nogo komiteta po istorii i filosofii nauki i tekhniki RAN, posvyashchennoy 300-letiyu Rossiyskoy akademii nauk [Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the Russian National Committee for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology RAS, Dedicated to the 300th Anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences] (February 26 – March 1, 2024)] Moscow : Institute for the History of Science and Technology RAS; 2024. P. 107–109. (In Russ.).
19. Vizgin V. P. On “historical and scientific phenomena” in the history of the discovery of quarks. Science Management: Theory and Practice. 2023;5(3):185–202. (In Russ.). DOI 10.19181/smtp.2023.5.3.12.
2. Vizgin V. P. Sketches for a scientific autobiography. Science Management: Theory and Practice. 2023;5(1):167–184. (In Russ.). DOI 10.19181/smtp.2023.5.1.10.
3. Lourié S. V. About the cat who walked by herself and the cognitive function of the state [O koshke, gulyayushchey samoy po sebe, i kognitivnoy funktsii gosudarstva]. Notes of the Fatherland=Otechestvennye Zapiski. 2002;(7). Available at: https://strana-oz.ru/2002/7/o-koshke-gulyayushchey-samoy-po-sebe-i-kognitivnoy-funkcii-gosudarstva (accessed: 17.10.2024). (In Russ.).
4. Lederer P. A case study of a scientific error: Context, history and philosophical teachings. arXiv. 2020. Available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.12849v1 (accessed: 15.11.2024).
5. Lederer P. A case study of a scientific blunder. History and philosophical teachings. arXiv. 2021. Available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.12849v2 (accessed: 15.11.2024).
6. Kosso P. The empirical status of symmetries in physics. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 2000;51(1):81–98. DOI 10.1093/bjps/51.1.81.
7. Brading K., Brown H. R. Are gauge symmetry transformations observable? The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 2004;55(4):645–665. DOI 10.1093/bjps/55.4.645.
8. Healey R. Perfect symmetries. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 2009;60(4):697–720. DOI 10.1093/bjps/axp033.
9. Greaves H., Wallace D. Empirical consequences of symmetries. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 2014;65(1):59–89. DOI 10.1093/bjps/axt005.
10. Utiyama R. Theory of invariant variation and the generalized canonical dynamics. Progress of Theoretical Physics Supplement. 1959;9:19–44. DOI 10.1143/PTPS.9.19.
11. Chasova V. Compte rendu de Time of nature and the nature of time. Philosophical perspectives of time in natural sciences, Christophe Bouton et Philippe Huneman (éditeurs), Springer, 2017. Revue Philosophique de Louvain. 2017;115(4):716–720. DOI 10.2143/RPL.115.4.3284773.
12. Chasova V. Local symmetries with direct empirical status, gauge symmetries, and the empirical approach. PhilSci Archive. 2018. Available at: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/17470/ (accessed: 01.06.2024).
13. Chasova V. Direct empirical status of theoretical symmetries in physics : PhD thesis. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/216833 (accessed: 01.06.2024).
14. Everett H. The Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics : Collected works 1955–1980 with commentary. Ed. by J. A. Barrett, P. Byrne. Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press; 2012. xii, 389 p. ISBN 9781400842742.
15. O’Raifeartaigh L. The dawning of gauge theory. Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press; 1997. ix, 249 p. ISBN 9780691215112.
16. Yang C. N., Mills R. L. Conservation of isotopic spin and isotopic gauge invariance. Physical Review. 1954;96(1):191–195. DOI 10.1103/PhysRev.96.191.
17. Utiyama R. Invariant theoretical interpretation of interaction. Physical Review. 1956;101(5):1597–1607. DOI 10.1103/PhysRev.101.1597.
18. Vizgin V. P. Kalibrovochnaya revolyutsiya v fizike elementarnykh chastits (k 70-letiyu kontseptsii Yanga–Millsa) [The gauge revolution in elementary particle physics (to the 70th anniversary of the Yang–Mills theory)]. In: Fando R. A., Shalimov S. V., eds. Materialy II Mezhdunarodnoy konferentsii Rossiyskogo natsional'nogo komiteta po istorii i filosofii nauki i tekhniki RAN, posvyashchennoy 300-letiyu Rossiyskoy akademii nauk [Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the Russian National Committee for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology RAS, Dedicated to the 300th Anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences] (February 26 – March 1, 2024)] Moscow : Institute for the History of Science and Technology RAS; 2024. P. 107–109. (In Russ.).
19. Vizgin V. P. On “historical and scientific phenomena” in the history of the discovery of quarks. Science Management: Theory and Practice. 2023;5(3):185–202. (In Russ.). DOI 10.19181/smtp.2023.5.3.12.
Article
Received: 03.10.2024
Accepted: 25.12.2024
Citation Formats
Other cite formats:
APA
Chasova, V. E. (2024). How I Defended a PhD Thesis (A Story about Preserving One’s Views). Science Management: Theory and Practice, 6(4), 163-196. https://doi.org/10.19181/smtp.2024.6.4.9
Section
Scientific community
