CV

Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Biology, Information Theory, Systems Theory

Logic, Set Theory, Philosophy of Language, Early Modern Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Epistemology and Metaphysics, Cognitive Science

Massachusetts Institute of Technology S.B. June, 1971, Earth and Planetary Science

Title: Progress in Scientific Revolutions: The Problem of Semantic Comparability

Visiting Docent, Institute for Design and Technology Assessment, Vienna University of Technology, 2002.

Research Associate, Department of Philosophy, University of Newcastle, 1994 to 2001 (Complexly Organised Adaptive Systems Group, ARC Large Grant).

Senior Lecturer, History and Philosophy of Science, University of Melbourne, 1993 to 1994.

Lecturer, History and Philosophy of Science, University of Melbourne, 1991 to 1992.

Teaching Assistant, Philosophy, University of Western Ontario, Sept. 1976 - April 1981.

Physical Scientist, Earth Physics Branch, Dept. of Energy, Canada, June 1975 - Sept. 1977

Teaching Assistant, Philosophy, University of California, Sept. 1973 - March 1974

Pragmatism: Peirce and Rorty	UKZN	2009 Sem 2
Cognitive Science	UKZN	2009 Sem 1
Ethics – Evolutionary Moral Realism	UKZN	2009 Sem 1
Pragmatism: Rorty and Peirce	UKZN	2008 Sem 2
Metaphysics – Identity (post-grad)	UKZN	2008 Sem 2
Ethics – Evolutionary Moral Realism	UKZN	2008 Sem 1
Political Philosophy	UKZN	2008 Sem 1
Cognitive Science	UKZN	2008 Sem 1
Causation (post-grad seminar)	UKZN	2007 Sem 2
Pragmatism: Rorty and Peirce	UKZN	2007 Sem 2
Cognitive Science	UKZN	2007 Sem 1
Political Philosophy	UKZN	2007 Sem 1
Interactivism (grad cognitive science)	UKZN	2006 Sem 2
Chomsky (grad political philosophy)	UKZN	2006 Sem 1
Cognitive Science	UKZN	2006 Sem 1
Political Philosophy	UKZN	2006 Sem 1
Pragmatism: Rorty and Peirce	UKZN	2005 Sem 2
Evolutionary Ethics	UKZN	2005 Sem 1
Cognitive Science	UKZN	2005 Sem 1
Political Philosophy	UKZN	2005 Sem 1
Political Philosophy	UKZN	2004 Sem 2
Cognitive Science	UKZN	2004 Sem 1
Political Philosophy	Natal	2003 Sem 2
Cognitive Science	Natal	2003 Sem 1
Science, Life and Mind	Melbourne	1993 Sem 2
Philosophy of Science	Melbourne	1993 Sem 2
Biology and Human Nature (grad)	Melbourne	1993 Sem 1
Science, Life and Mind	Melbourne	1992 Sem 2
Philosophy of Science	Melbourne	1992 Sem 2
Realism, Relativism and Naturalism (grad)	Melbourne	1992 Sem 1
Science, Life and Mind	Melbourne	1991 Sem 2
Philosophy of Science	Melbourne	1991 Sem 2
Biology and Human Nature (grad)	Melbourne	1991 Sem 1
Logic I	Calgary	1990 (Winter)
Philosophy of Perception (grad)	Calgary	1990 (Winter)
Science and Philosophy	Calgary	1989 (Winter)
Philosophy of Natural Science	Calgary	1988 (Fall)
Graduate Seminar in Phil. of Science	Rice	1987 (Winter)
Philosophical Issues in Science	Rice	1987 (Winter)
Problems in Philosophy	Rice	1986 (Fall)
Philosophy of Science	Rice	1986 (Fall)
Logic II	Calgary	1986 (Winter)
Advanced Topics in Epistemology (grad)	Calgary	1985 (Fall
Philosophy of Science	Calgary	1985 (Winter)
Problems in Epistemology	Calgary	1984 (Spring)
Introductory Formal Logic	Calgary	1984 (Spring)
Philosophy in the Twentieth Century	Calgary	1983-84
Philosophy of Natural Science	Calgary	1984 (Winter)
Introductory Logic (2 sections)	Calgary	1983 (Fall)
Introductory Logic (2 sections)	Calgary	1982 (Fall)
Writings of John Locke	Calgary	1982 (Fall)
Introductory Logic	UBC	1982 (Spring
Deductive Logic	UBC	1981-82
Philosophy of Science	UBC	1981-82
Introduction to Scientific Reasoning	UBC	1981-82
Introductory Philosophy	UWO	1980-81
Introductory Philosophy	UWO	1979-80
Informal Logic	UWO	1976-77, 1977-78

Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Biology, Set Theory, Philosophy of Perception, Cognitive Science, and Evolutionary Epistemology, and various tutorials, including Plato, and Metaphysics in 1998.

Roderick D. Buchanan, The MMPI and personality assessment in American clinical psychology, 1935-1965, completed February 1993.

Scott Muller, Asymmetry Foundations of Information, Completed August 2004, cosupervisor with C.A. Hooker.

Carel W.T. Joubert, An Ontological and Moral Perspective on Sensemaking and Decision Making with Respect to the Person, completed November 2008.

Ph.D. supervision: Pravin Pillay 2008-current, Bryan Marcus Peters 2006-current, Arnold Shepperson 2005-2006 (died), Phillip Hoffmann, 1990; Alexandros Malikotsinas 1991-?; Hee Joo Park 1991-?; Carol Steiner, 1992-96 (with Helen Verran), Cass Wigley 1993-?, Tokofumi Yamamoto 1993-96

Masters supervision: Stephen Campbell, 1989-1990; Mark Zangari, 1991, Natalie Jerimijenko, 1992-?; Gabriella Stephenson, 1992-?, Richard Gogerly, 1993-?; Deborah Dowling, 1993-?,

“Non-Equilibrium Macro-Systems in Biology”, University of Calgary, October 25-27, 1990

International Society for History, Philosophy and Social Studies in Biology: organiser for Australasian region for 1993 meetings.

Co-organiser, Semiotics, Energy, Evolution: web journal, email list, conference (Toronto, 2001)

Co-organiser, International Society for the Interdisciplinary Study Of Symmetry (Sydney 2001)

Co-Chair, Foundations of Information Science, online conference, May – September 2002

University of Natal Competitive Research Grant, State Functions in Non-Equilibrium Systems, 2003, Rand 20000.

Small Australian Research Council Grant, “Computer Model of Speciation Under Non-Equilibrium Conditions”, 1993, $13000.

University of Calgary Conference Grant, “Non-Equilibrium Macro-Systems in Biology”, Oct. 1990, $1500.

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Aid to Occasional Scholarly Conferences, “Non-Equilibrium Macro-Systems in Biology”, Oct. 1990, $4000.

Human Strategies in Complexity project, Vienna University of Technology, University Kassel, Russian Academy of Sciences, and Kiev National Shevchenko University, 2002 - 2003.

Book referee for MIT Press, University of Chicago Press, SUNY Press, University of Calgary Press, Oxford University Press, University of Melbourne Press, Springer-Verlag, Kluwer.

Referee for Philosophy of Science, Biology and Philosophy, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, South African Journal of Philosophy, Dialogue, Journal of Theoretical Biology, Acta Biothoretica, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Symmetry: Science and Culture, Entropy, e-journal for cognition • communication • co-operation, Taxon, Synthese, Erkenntnis, Artificial Life, Theoria, Foundations of Science, Biological Theory, Biosystems, Proceedings of the Royal Society, Ecology and Society, Critical Arts, Canadian Philosophical Association, US Department of Energy, US National Endowment for the Humanities, Monash University Conference on Information, Statistics and Induction in Science, Fourth Australian Cognitive Science Conference, Alife 2000, Alife 2002, Alife 2004. National Research Foundation (South Africa)

Mailing list manager: Organisation, Complexity and Autonomy, and Emergence, Chaos, Hierarchy, Organisation

Scientific Advisory Board, International Society for the Interdisciplinary Study of Symmetry.

Editorial Board, Entropy, An International and Interdisciplinary Journal of Entropy and Information Studies

Editorial Board, CCC (e-journal for cognition • communication • co-operation)

“A Dynamical Approach to Ecosystem Identity”, with Graeme Cumming. In B. Brown, K. de Laplante and K. Peacock, Philosophy of Biology. (In press 2011, Dordrecht: North-Holland

“Information, causation and computation” In Information and Computation: Essays on Scientific and Philosophical Understanding of Foundations of Information and Computation, Ed by Gordana Dodig Crnkovic and Mark Burgin, (In press 2010, Singapore: World Scientific)

A Dynamical Account of Individuation and Diversity”, in Paul Cilliers (ed.) Complexity, Difference and Diversity. (In press 2010, Berlin: Springer).

“A Dynamical Account of Emergence” Cybernetics and Human Knowing. 15 no. 3-4: 75-86. (2008).

“The Dynamics of Emergence: Response to Eugenio Andrade’s Comments, ‘From a Dynamical to a Semiotic Account of Emergence’” Cybernetics and Human Knowing. 15 no. 3-4: 97-99. (2008).

“Information in Biological Systems”, Handbook of Philosophy of Science, Volume 8, Philosophy of Information, eds. Pieter Adriaans and Johan van Benthem (2008, Elsevier): 763-787.

“Simulating Autonomous Anticipation: The Importance of Dubois' Conjecture”, Biosystems 91 (2008): 346-354.

“A Dynamic Systems View of Economic and Political Theory”, with Christian Fuchs, Theoria (2007) 113: 23-52.

Every Thing Must Go: Metaphysics Naturalized, James Ladyman and Don Ross, with David Spurrett and John Collier. Oxford, University of Oxford Press (2007).

“Rhythmic entrainment, symmetry and power”, in Kurt Richardson and Paul Cilliers (eds) Explorations in Complexity Thinking: pre-Proceedings of the 3^rd International Workshop on Complexity and Philosophy. ISCE Publishing (2007) pp 78-91.

Conditions for Fully Autonomous Anticipation”, In: Computing Anticipatory Systems: CASY’05 - Sixth International Conference, edited by D. M. Dubois, American Institute of Physics, Melville, New York, AIP Conference Proceedings 839 (2006): 282-289.

“Pragmatist Pragmatics: The functional context of utterances”, with Konrad Talmont-Kaminski, Philosophica (2005) 75: 61-88.

“Change and identity in complex systems.” Cumming, G. S., and J. Collier. Ecology and Society 10(1): 29. (2005)

“Reasonable Partiality from a Biological Point of View”, with Michael Stingl, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice (2005) 8: 11-24.

“Saving the distinctions: distinctions as the epistemologically significant content of experience.” Konrad Talmont-Kaminski and John Collier, in Johann Christian Marek, Maria Elisabeth Reicher (ed.) Contributions of the Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society XII (Austrian L Wittgenstein Society, Kirchberg, 2004) pp. 373-375.

“After the fall: Religious capacities and the error theory of morality”, with Michael Stingl, Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2004) 27: 751-752.

“Reduction, Supervenience, and Physical Emergence”, Behavioral and Brain Sciences 27:5, pp 629-630, 2004.

"Organized Complexity: Properties, Models and the Limits of Understanding", Proceedings of the 2nd. Biennial Havana International Complexity Seminar (and its Parallel Workshop on Complex Biological Systems), January 7-10th, 2004.

“Autonomy, Anticipation and Novel Adaptations”, in Irina Dubranova (ed) Science of Self-Organization and Self-Organization of Science (Kyiv: Abris 2004).

“Interactively Open Autonomy Unifies Two Approaches to Function”, In: Computing Anticipatory Systems: CASY’03 - Sixth International Conference, edited by D. M. Dubois, American Institute of Physics, Melville, New York, AIP Conference Proceedings 718 (2004): 228-235.

“Self-organization, Individuation and Identity”, Revue Internationale de Philosophie 59 (2004): 151-172.

“Fundamental Properties of Self-Organization”, Vladimir Arshinov and Christian Fuchs (eds) , Emergence, Causality, Self-Organisation (Moscow, NIA-Piroda, 2003): 150-166.

“Organisation in Biological Systems”, Vladimir Arshinov and Christian Fuchs (eds), Causality, Emergence, Self-Organisation (Moscow, NIA-Piroda, 2003): 287-302

“Hierarchical Dynamical Information Systems With a Focus on Biology”, for Entropy, 5 (2003): 100-124.

“What is Autonomy?” Partial Proceedings of CASYS'01: Fifth International Conference on Computing Anticipatory Systems, International Journal of Computing Anticipatory Systems: 12 (2002): 212-221, published by CHAOS.

“Dealing With the Unexpected. Partial Proceedings of CASYS 2000: Fourth International Conference on Computing Anticipatory Systems, International Journal of Computing Anticipatory Systems, 10 (2001), pp. 21-30, published by CHAOS.

“Symmetry, Levels and Entrainment” John Collier and Mark Burch Proceedings of the International Society for Systems Sciences, (2000).

“Information Theory as a General Language for Functional Systems” In: Computing Anticipatory Systems: CASY’99 - Third International Conference, edited by D. M. Dubois, American Institute of Physics, Melville, New York, AIP Conference Proceedings 517, pp. 124-130, 2000.

“Is There Virtue in Modern Science?” Biology and Philosophy 15 (2000): 773-784.

“Autonomy and Process Closure as the Basis for Functionality” Closure: Emergent Organizations and their Dynamics, edited by Jerry L.R. Chandler and Gertrudis van de Vijver, Volume 901of the Annals of the New York Academy of Science (2000): 280-291.

“The Dynamical Basis of Information and the Origins of Semiosis”, in Edwina Taborsky (ed) Semiosis, Evolution, Energy: Towards a Reconceptualization of the Sign. Aachen Shaker Verlag 1999 Bochum Publications in Semiotics New Series. Vol. 3 (1999): 111-136.

“Complexly Organised Dynamical Systems”, with C.A. Hooker, Open Systems and Information Dynamics, 6 (1999): 241-302.

“Causation is the Transfer of Information”, Howard Sankey (ed) Causation and Laws of Nature (Dordrecht, Kluwer, 1999): 279-331.

“Autonomy in anticipatory systems: significance for functionality, intentionality and meaning”. In: Computing Anticipatory Systems, CASYS'98 - Second International Conference, edited by D. M. Dubois, American Institute of Physics, Woodbury, New York, AIP Conference Proceedings 465, pp. 75-81. (1999)

“Order From Rhythmic Entrainment and the Origin of Levels Through Dissipation” John Collier and Mark Burch, Symmetry: Culture and Science Order / Disorder, Proceedings of the Haifa Congress, 1998 Vol. 9, Nos. 2-4 (1998): 165-178.

“The Dynamical Basis of Emergence in Natural Hierarchies”, with Scott Muller, in George Farre and Tarko Oksala (eds) Emergence, Complexity, Hierarchy and Organization, Selected and Edited Papers from the ECHO III Conference, Acta Polytechnica Scandinavica, MA91 (Finish Academy of Technology, Espoo, 1998.)

“Information Increase in Biological Systems: How Does Adaptation Fit?”, for Evolutionary Systems, Gertrudis van der Vijver, Stanley N. Salthe and Manuela Delpos (eds) (Dordrecht, Kluwer, 1998): 129-140.

“Looking Beyond the Veil of Natural Selection”, Biology and Philosophy 12 (1996): 89-99.

“The Emergence of the Internalist Perspective in Western Science” Contemporary Philosophy 24-11 (1996): 355-362 (in Japanese).

“Information originates in symmetry breaking” Symmetry: Culture & Science 7 (1996): 247-256.

“On the Necessity of Natural Kinds”, in Peter Riggs (ed) Natural Kinds, Laws of Nature and Scientific Reasoning (Dordrecht, Kluwer, 1996): 1-10.

“Whence the Motive for Collaboration?”, Behavioral and Brain Sciences 16 (1993): 517-518.

“Evolutionary Naturalism and the Objectivity of Morality”, John Collier and Michael Stingl, Biology and Philosophy 8 (1993): 47-60, reprinted in Paul Thompson, ed., Issues in Evolutionary Ethics, SUNY Press, Albany, 1995, pp. 409-429.

“Out of Equilibrium: New Approaches to Biological and Social Change”, Biology and Philosophy 8, (1993): 445-456.

“Critical Notice of Paul Thompson, The Structure of Biological Theories”, Canadian Journal of Philosophy 22, (1992): 285-296.

“Critical Notice of Richard Alexander, The Biology of Moral Systems”, Canadian Journal of Philosophy 21, (1991): 73-88.

“Could I Conceive Being a Brain in a Vat?”, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 68 (1990): 413-419.

“Two Faces of Maxwell's Demon Reveal the Nature of Irreversibility”, Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science, 21 (1990): 257-268.

“Intrinsic Information”, in Philip Hanson (ed) Information, Language and Cognition: Vancouver Studies in Cognitive Science, Vol. 1 (University of Oxford Press, 1990): 390-409.

“Entropy and Information in Biological Systems”, D.R. Brooks, John Collier, B.A. Maurer, J.D. Smith and E.O. Wiley, Biology and Philosophy 4, (1989): 407-432.

“A Non-Equilibrium Model of Evolution”, Proceedings of the 13th Annual Wittgenstein Conference (Verlag Holder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1989): 290-292.

“Supervenience and Reduction in Biological Hierarchies”, in M. Matthen and B. Linsky (eds) Philosophy and Biology: Canadian Journal of Philosophy Supplementary Volume 14 (1988): 209-234.

“Tachyons and Causal Theories of Space-Time” Steven Savitt and John Collier, Proceedings of the XVIIth World Congress of Philosophy Vol. III (Editions Montmorency, 1988) pp. 155-159.

“The Dynamics of Biological Order”, in B. Weber, D. Depew and J.D. Smith (eds) Entropy, Information and Evolution (MIT Press, 1988).

“How Not to Defend Metaphysical Realism”, Southwestern Phil. Rev. 3 (1987): 19-27.

“Theory Ladenness”, in P. Weingartner and G. Schurz (eds) Logic, Epistemology and Philosophy of Science, Proceedings of the 11th Annual Wittgenstein Congress (Vienna: Holder-Pichler-Tempsky: 1987): xx .

“Critical Notice of Philip Kitcher, Vaulting Ambition”, Canadian Journal of Philosophy 17 (1987): 881-894.

“Definitions of Terms and the Essence of Theories: A Rejoinder to Wicken”, D.R. Brooks, E.O. Wiley and John Collier, Systematic Zoology, (xx): xx.

“Pragmatic Incommensurability” in PSA 84, P. D. Asquith and P. Kitcher (eds) (East Lansing: Philosophy of Science Association, 1984): 146-153.

“Frequency-Dependent Causation: a Defense of Giere” Philosophy of Science 50 (1984): xx.

“Information as a Measure of Epistemic Utility” Methodology and Science, 12, #4, Dec. 1979.

“A Non-Equilibrium Perspective Linking Development and Evolution”, John Collier and Mishtu Banerjee, for Biosystems.

“Botanical Perspectives on Energy and Information Flows”, Jack Maze and John Collier, for Biosystems.

“System interpretable signs: Where mere information ends and meaning begins” Kazimierz Naturalized Epistemology Workshop 4, Kazimierz, Poland, September 2008.

“Is truth a value in naturalized epistemology? If so, is it a natural value?” Kazimierz Naturalized Epistemology Workshop 3, Kazimierz, Poland, September 2007.

“Autonomy and Anticipation” Workshop on artificial autonomy, San Sebastian, Spain, March 2007.

“Reaching for the Moon: Evolutionary Moral Realism”, with Michael Stingl, Seminar on Naturalistic Metaethics , Philosophy of Science Association, Vancouver Canada, November 2006.

“The significance of embodiment for knowledge”, Kazimierz Naturalized Epistemology Workshop 2, Kazimierz, Poland, September 2006.

“Do systems biology and biosemiotics have anything to tell each other?” Gatherings in Biosemiotics 6, Salzburg, Austria, July 2006.

“Autonomy and Anticipation”, and closing roundtable plenary discussion on the Future of Artificial Life, Artificial Life X, Bloomington, Indiana, June 2006.

“Conditions for a naturalized epistemology”, Kazimierz Naturalized Epistemology Workshop 1, Kazimierz, Poland, September 2005.

“Conditions for Fully Autonomous Anticipation” Computing Anticipatory Systems 2005, Liège August 2005.

“Generalizing Entropy and Information Concepts”, Foundations of Information Science, Paris July 2005.

“Functionality and Self-Organization in Biology”, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, January 2004

“Functionality and Autonomy”, University of Alabama, Birmingham, January 2004

“Tetralectics: Ancient and Modern Precursors”, Plenary Talk, Symmetry Festival, Budapest, August 2003.

“Two Approaches to Biological Function”, University of Natal, plenary talk to Human Sciences Graduate Student Conference, October 2002, Philosophy, University of Newcastle, February 2003.

“Holism and Emergence: Dynamical Complexity Defeats Laplace's Demon” Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft: Dynamik - Komplexität - menschliche Systeme, Vienna, May 2002; Faculty of Philosophy, University of Ghent, Workshop on Evolution and Complexity, June 2002.