Chris Dorst

I'm an associate professor in the philosophy department at the University of Florida. Before that, I got my PhD from UNC Chapel Hill, and spent a year as a lecturer at Washington University in Saint Louis.

​

My research interests are in philosophy of science, philosophy of physics, and philosophy of AI. Much of my work has focused on developing and defending a Humean theory of laws of nature, which I call the "Best Predictive System Account." Some of my recent publications focus on showing how that account can be used to (1) accommodate the role of laws in scientific explanation, (2) explain why the laws are held fixed in the evaluation of counterfactuals, (3) dissolve the quantum measurement problem, and (4) address the nomological status of the Past Hypothesis. 

 

Some of my current projects explore topics such as (5) how we should think about the question of consciousness in AI, (6) the conceptual foundations of arguments about an AI takeover, (7) which values of the GRW collapse parameters should count as "philosophically unsatisfactory," (8) how to understand talk of the laws "governing."

​

I teach classes on a range of subjects, from Logic to Bioethics to Philosophy of Physics. In Fall 2026, I am on sabbatical. You can find syllabi and evals from past courses on my teaching page.