Simon Allzén

04 / Curriculum vitae

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Stockholm, Sweden simon.allzen@philosophy.su.se ORCID 0000-0002-6124-8152

Research

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Research profile

Focus on evidence, confirmation, and scientific realism in contemporary physics, with particular focus on dark matter, astrophysics, cosmology, and the historical organisation of frontier research. I combine philosophical analysis and historical case studies with computational methods, including bibliometrics, natural language processing, and data visualisation.

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Areas of Specialization

Philosophy of science and physics; history of science and physics; confirmation theory; philosophy of astrophysics; philosophy of cosmology.

Academic Appointments and Career Breaks

2026–present

Parental Leave

Following completion of the Swedish Research Council International Postdoc.

2023–2025

Postdoctoral Researcher in Theoretical Philosophy

Department of Philosophy, Stockholm University
Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam
Vossius Center for the History of Humanities and Sciences, University of Amsterdam

Three-year international research project funded by the Swedish Research Council; appointment concluded 31 December 2025.

Education

2022

Ph.D. in Theoretical Philosophy

Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

Thesis: Reassessing Realism: On the Ontology of the Unobservable. Degree awarded 20 December 2022.

Opponent: Michaela Massimi. Committee: James Ladyman, Karen Crowther, Åsa Wikforss, and Edvard Mörtsell.

2017

M.A. in Theoretical Philosophy, with distinction

University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

2016

M.A. in Practical Philosophy

University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

2014

B.A. in Theoretical Philosophy, with distinction

University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

2014

B.A. in Practical Philosophy, with distinction

University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

Publications

Peer-reviewed journal articles

  1. Allzén, Simon (2026). “Dark Matter Realism: How Referential Semantics Restricts Realism in Contemporary Fundamental Physics.” Synthese. doi:10.1007/s11229-026-05589-8.
  2. Allzén, Simon (2023). “Against Methodological Continuity and Metaphysical Knowledge.” European Journal for Philosophy of Science 13, 5. doi:10.1007/s13194-022-00505-6.
  3. Allzén, Simon (2022). “From Unobservable to Observable: Scientific Realism and the Discovery of Radium.” Journal for General Philosophy of Science 53, 307–321. doi:10.1007/s10838-022-09614-5.
  4. Allzén, Simon (2021). “Scientific Realism and Empirical Confirmation: A Puzzle.” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 90, 153–159. doi:10.1016/j.shpsa.2021.10.008.

Book chapter

  1. Allzén, Simon (2023). “Extragalactic Reality Revisited: Astrophysics and Entity Realism.” In N. Mills Boyd, S. De Baerdemaeker, V. Matarese, and K. Heng (eds.), Philosophy of Astrophysics: Stars, Simulations, and the Struggle to Determine What Is Out There, 277–293. Synthese Library 472. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-26618-8_15.

Manuscripts and preprints

  1. Allzén, Simon (2026). “Diverging Paths to Dark-Matter Discovery.” Manuscript.
  2. Allzén, Simon (2026). “Evidential Reconfiguration as Bayesian Confirmation for Dark Matter: How Known Data Becomes New Evidence.” Manuscript.
  3. Allzén, Simon (2026). “Historical Continuity as Justification for Dark Matter: How History Becomes an Epistemic Strategy.” Manuscript.
  4. Allzén, Simon. “Modest Scientific Realism and Belief in Astronomical Entities.” Manuscript.

Research Funding and Awards

2023–2025

Dark Matter Diagnostics

Swedish Research Council, International Postdoc Grant

Approximately EUR 360,000; three-year international research project.

2020–2022

Establishing the Philosophy of Supersymmetry

Stockholm–Cambridge Collaborative Research Grant

Project grant of approximately EUR 6,500.

2021

New Directions in Philosophy of Cosmology

Templeton Foundation Seed Grant

USD 4,000.

2021

Junior Fellowship Award

Vossius Center for the History of Humanities and Sciences, University of Amsterdam

EUR 3,000.

2020

Research Visit Scholarship

Bergströms Stiftelse

SEK 20,000.

Visiting and Interdisciplinary Appointments

2023–2025

Postdoctoral Resident

Institute of Physics and Vossius Center for the History of Humanities and Sciences, University of Amsterdam

Member of Amsterdam Philosophy and History in Gravity (AMPHIG), Gravitation and Astroparticle Physics Amsterdam (GRAPPA), the Dutch Black Hole Consortium, and the History and Philosophy of Physics group.

2022

Short-term Research Visitor

Final Theory Research Group, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin

2021

Junior Fellow

Institute of Physics and Vossius Center, University of Amsterdam

Two-month fellowship.

2020

Research Visitor

Department of Philosophy, University of Bristol

Two-month research visit.

Teaching Experience

2026

Philosophy of Science and Scientific Method

Ph.D. | Karolinska Institutet; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

2025

Philosophy of Science and Scientific Method

Ph.D. + Master’s course | Karolinska Institutet.

2022, 2025

Philosophy of Science and Scientific Method

Ph.D. | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

2022

Epistemology; Philosophy of Science

Introductory course + summer course | Stockholm University.

2018–2020

Epistemology and Philosophy of Science

Introductory course | Stockholm University.

2018

Scientific Method and Research Ethics

Advanced-level | Stockholm University.

2018

Knowledge and Science

Upper-secondary teacher education programme | Stockholm University.

Selected Invited Talks

2025

Dark Matter Realism: How Referential Semantics Restricts Realism in Contemporary Fundamental Physics

Higher Seminar in Theoretical Philosophy, Stockholm University.

2025

From Particles to Pluralism: The Changing Ontology and Epistemology of Dark Matter

The Epistemology of Dark Matter and Modified Gravity, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

2024

When, How, and Why Dark Matter Became a Particle

Philosophy of Physics Seminar, University of Bristol.

2024

Is There a Coherent History of Dark Matter?

On the Interface Between Physics and Metaphysics: Does Matter Matter?, Amsterdam.

2024

History and Philosophy as Justification of Dark Matter

Vossius Center for the History of Humanities and Sciences, University of Amsterdam.

2023

Whig History as Justification of Scientificality: A Case Study of Dark Matter

Colloquium of Philosophy of Astronomy and Cosmology, Utrecht University.

2022

Scientific Realism and Empirical Confirmation: A Puzzle

University of Gothenburg; Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin.

2021

Entity Realism and Dark Matter

Vossius Center and Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam.

2020

Against Methodological Continuity

Department of Philosophy, University of Bristol.

Conference and Workshop Presentations

2023

History as Justification: A Case Study of the History of Dark Matter

Amsterdam Meetings in Philosophy and History of Gravitation, University of Amsterdam.

2022

Modest Scientific Realism and Belief in Astronomical Entities

Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting, Pittsburgh.

2021

Dark Matter, Evidence, and Theory Confirmation

Philosophy of Dark Matter, Epistemology of the LHC, Bonn.

2019

Scientific Realism and Dark Matter

University of Manchester.

2018

A Meta-inductive Argument for the Viability of Abduction in Science

Workshop presentation, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.

Public Engagement and Digital Projects

forthcoming

Commissioned Public-facing Article

The Institute of Art and Ideas (IAI).

2026

Interview on Dark-Matter Research

Interviewed in June 2026 for a forthcoming article in Scientific American.

2025

Podcast Guest: “25. Vetenskapsfilosofi”

Filosofisk podcast, 15 October 2025; discussion of philosophy of science with Erik Angner. Podcast website.

2024

Public-facing article on dark matter, “Vad tror man på, om man tror på mörk materia?”

Svensk Filosofi, 4 December 2024. Magazine website.

2020

Public-facing Article on Everettian Quantum Mechanics and Explanatory Power

Loupe Magazine, Bristol.

2023–2026

DAMADIA: Dark Matter Diagnostics

Created the project’s public research website and interactive atlas. damadia.com.

2025–present

Interactive Bibliometric Analysis Dashboard

R Shiny dashboard for bibliometric exploration of dark-matter research. Project website.

2025–present

Comparative Dark-Matter Funding Database and Data Report

Quarto report comparing public dark-matter research funding across regions. Project website.

Academic Service

2021–present

Peer Reviewer

British Journal for the Philosophy of Science; Philosophy of Science; Perspectives on Science; Foundations of Science; Synthese

Reviews completed in 2026 for Perspectives on Science, Foundations of Science, and Synthese.

2021–2022

Workshop Organiser

Philosophy of Supersymmetry, Cambridge–Stockholm

2019

Organiser

Doctoral Conference, Stockholm University

2018

External Committee Member

Swedish Higher Education Authority

Evaluation of the doctoral programme at the Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science, University of Gothenburg.

Last updated: August 2026.