Repository: ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title: Ronald Anderson Papers
Creator: Anderson, Ronald
Collection Number: ASP.2008.01
Extent: 3.8 Linear Feet (5 document boxes)
Date: 1987-2006
Abstract: Ronald Anderson was a member of the Society of Jesus, a physicist, and a philosopher of science. He studied particle physics with Girish Joshi at the University of Melbourne for his PhD in Physics. He then studied with Abner Shimony at Boston University for his PhD in Philosophy. He joined the faculty of Boston College as an Assistant Professor in 1987 and he then served as an Associate Professor from his promotion in 1993 until his death in 2007. Anderson's areas of specialization included particle physics, the history of electromagnetism, the philosophy of physics, and the philosophy of mathematics.
Language: English .
Author: Rand Hall and Lance Lugar.
Publisher: ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address: University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

Custodial History

All materials were transfered by the Jesuits of the Boston Province to the Archives of Scientific Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh in June of 2008.

Acquisition Information

All materials were donated to the University of Pittsburgh by the Society of Jesus in June of 2008. Father Francis X. Clooney, Parkmen Professor of Divinity at the Harvard Divinity School, conducted and authorized the transfer.

Scope and Content Notes

The collection includes professional correspondence, annotated drafts of articles, handwritten journals tracking the progress of Anderson's philosophy dissertation, outlines and manuscripts for talks (including papers, speaking notes, overhead slides, etc.), as well as handouts, and work produced by Anderson as a graduate student. Also included are Anderson's original physics dissertation and the first half of his philosophy dissertation. The second half was not present in the donation. Most of the material dates from the beginning of Anderson's graduate studies in philosophy in the late 1980s to his last year teaching, in 2007.

Copyright

Property and intellectual rights reside with the University of Pittsburgh. For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Archives of Scientific Philosophy, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh.

Processing Information

Rand Hall, Jr., processed all materials between September 2008 and January 2009.

Previous Citation

Ronald Anderson Papers, 1950-2007, ASP.2008.01, Archives of Scientific Philosophy, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh

Preferred Citation

Ronald Anderson Papers, 1950-2007, ASP.2008.01, Archives of Scientific Philosophy, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Biography

Ronald Anderson was born in New Zealand, in the town of Hokitika. He was the son of Gideon and Nancy Anderson. For his undergraduate education he attended the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics. Proceeding to Australia to pursue graduate studies, he then earned a PhD in Physics from the University of Melbourne studying with Girish Joshi. He came to the United States, settling in New England in the Boston area. He received a Masters of Divinity degree from Boston University's Weston School of Theology. He also studied Philosophy of Science under Abner Shimony at Boston University, earning a PhD in Philosophy in 1991.

Ronald Anderson joined the Society of Jesus on February 24, 1974 and was ordained on September 1, 1984. Father Anderson was -- among his other priestly duties -- an assistant pastor at Our Lady, Star of the Sea Parish in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Fr. Anderson joined the faculty of Boston College in 1987 and served on their faculty until his death in 2007. He published articles in both physics and philosophy, and taught courses at Boston College in both of these areas. He was a gifted teacher.

Subjects

Corporate Names

University of Melbourne
Jesuits
Boston University
Boston College

Personal Names

Joshi, Girish C.
Shimony, Abner
Anderson, Ronald

Genres

Correspondence
Manuscripts (Document genre)

Other Subjects

Physics -- Philosophy
Mathematics -- Philosophy
Nuclear physics
Philosophy
Electromagnetism

Container List

Series I. Professional Correspondence, 1991-2003

Scope and Content Notes

This series contains Anderson's professional correspondence, especially his correspondence with his theses advisors. Some letters are arranged topically and these are found in Subseries 2.

Subseries 1. Professional Correspondence, 1991-2003

Scope and Content Notes

This section of the correspondence includes letters to and from people with whom Anderson had close professional ties. These include his thesis advisor for his physics Ph.D.,Girish Joshi, and his history and philosophy of science Ph.D. advisor, Abner Shimony.

Brumby, Steven and Girish Joshi, 1994

Containers: box 1, folder 1

Gooding, David, 1992

Containers: box 1, folder 2

Joshi, Girish, 1991

Containers: box 1, folder 3

Shimony, Abner, 1990-1992

Containers: box 1, folder 4; box 1, folder 4, unknown_item

Staley, Kent, 1997

Containers: box 1, folder 5

Stedman, Geoffrey, 1991

Containers: box 1, folder 6

Subseries 2. Topical Correspondence, 1991-2003

Scope and Content Notes

These letters contain exchanges on Anderson's interests in nineteenth century British Physics and its history, and in twentieth century particle physics.

Faraday/Whewell, 1991-1995

Containers: box 1, folder 7

Quaternions, 1993-2003

Containers: box 1, folder 8

Series II. Manuscripts, 1992-2006

Scope and Content Notes

These manuscripts are versions of papers that Anderson wrote on topics in philosophy, physics, and the intersection of these two areas of academic endeavor with his spiritual life as a Jesuit. There are also manuscripts that he received from others on topics in physics and philosophy. Some of the articles were written by Anderson alone, others in conjunction with his thesis advisor or other collaborators.

Subseries 1. Manuscripts by Anderson, 1992-2006

Scope and Content Notes

The manuscripts here are specialized articles principally concerning topics in philosophy of science and history of science. There are manuscripts dealing with investigations into Faraday's electrical concepts, on Boole's thought and other historical examinations of 19th century British physics and mathematics.

Some Historical and Foundational Issues Pertaining to the Role of Quaternions in Physics, 1992

Containers: box 2, folder 1

Referee's Report on Faraday's Electromagnetic Induction Report of 1831, undated

Containers: box 2, folder 2

Role of Synchronisation in Special Relativity, 1993

Containers: box 2, folder 3

Ghost States and interpreting the significance of gauge invariance in Quantum Field Theories, undated

Containers: box 2, folder 4

Conventionality of synchronisation, gauge dependence and test theories of relativity, 1996

Containers: box 2, folder 5

Exploring the Mathematical Strategies of Maxwell's "Treatise", 1999

Containers: box 2, folder 6

Mathematics, Logic, and Language: tracing influences of interpreting symbolic structures and the study of language on theoretical practices in 19th century British electromagnetism, 2002

Containers: box 2, folder 7

Studying Physics and Jesuit Life: Worldliness and Life as an Immigrant, undated

Containers: box 2, folder 8

DeMorgan's inaugural lecture Introductory Lecture delivered to the opening of the Mathematical Classes in the University of London (by Augustus deMorgan), 2006

Containers: box 2, folder 9

Interpreting Mathematics in Physics: Charting the Applications of SU(2) in 20th Century Physics, 2006

Containers: box 2, folder 10

Faraday's Concept of the electrotonic state The Constraint of Nature: The Electro-Tonic State and Magnetic Action in Faraday's Physics, undated

Containers: box 3, folder 1-2

Interpreting Mathematics: physical significance of potentials in nineteenth century British electromagnetism, undated

Containers: box 3, folder 3

Mathematics and Interpretation: The Role of the Vector Potential in Maxwell's Electromagnetism, undated

Containers: box 3, folder 4

Notes on Boole's An Investigation of the Laws of Thought, undated

Containers: box 3, folder 5

Notes on Structural Realism, undated

Containers: box 3, folder 6

On Constructing the Manuscript, undated

Containers: box 3, folder 7

Whewell-Faraday correspondence on electromagnetism; An Anticipation of the Application of Dynamic Categories to the Magnetic Field: A Note on the Whewell Faraday Correspondence of September 1835, undated

Containers: box 3, folder 8

Subseries 2. Manuscripts from Others, undated

Scope and Content Notes

There are only two manuscripts in this subseries, both on topics in physics

Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies from Faraday to Hertz Darrigol, Olivier, undated

Containers: box 3, folder 9

Archetypal Vortx Topology in Nature - Reed Donald, 1993

Containers: box 3, folder 10

Series III. Pre-Prints, 1976-2006

Scope and Content Notes

These pre-prints are of articles written by Anderson, often with collaborators such as his thesis Advisor. They are predominantly from that period of his academic life where he was working as a physicist.

Pomeron/f Coupling Universality and the Topological Expansion (with Joshi, G.C.), 1976

Containers: box 4, folder 1

Regge Trajectories with nonplanar cylinder corrections in Broken Su(4) (with Joshi, G.C.), 1977

Containers: box 4, folder 2

Factorisation of Regge Slopes for Multi-Quark Hadrons (with Joshi, C.G.), 1979

Containers: box 4, folder 3

Baryonium and nonexotic hadron trajectories from a color dependent potential (with Joshi, C.G.), 1979

Containers: box 4, folder 4

Electromagnetic decay widths for L=1, J(pc)=1--baryonia (with Ellis, Robert G., McKellar, Bruce H.J.., and Joshi, C.G.), 1980

Containers: box 4, folder 5

Quaternions and the Heuristic Role of Mathematical Structures in Physics. (with Joshi, C.G.), 1993

Containers: box 4, folder 6

Crafting of Scientific Meaning and Identity: Exploring the Performative Dimensions of Michael Faraday's Texts, undated

Containers: box 4, folder 7

Series IV. Talks, 1996-2003

Scope and Content Notes

Manuscripts of talks given by Anderson are found in this series. The talks cover topics in physics as well as history and philosophy of science. There are talks on the relationship of mathematics to the empirical sciences, and on the thought of Charles Sanders Pierce.

Ghost States and interpreting the significance of gauge invariance in Quantum Field Theories:outline of a possible project, , 1996

Containers: box 4, folder 8

Post Structuralist Resources for Tracing Developments in Mathematical Physics, 2002

Containers: box 4, folder 9

Shaping Spaces: The Development of Differential Geometry Formulations of Gauge Field Theories, 2002

Containers: box 4, folder 10

Mapping Disciplinary identities and boundaries: some points of theory and illustrations from episodes in 19th and 20th Century Physics, 2002

Containers: box 4, folder 11

Language and Representation in Faraday's "Experimental Researches in Electricity", 2003

Containers: box 4, folder 12

Issues of Interpretation Associated with Potentials in 19th Century Electromagnetism, undated

Containers: box 4, folder 13

Mathematics and the Empirical Sciences: Charles Sanders Peirce on the Status and Application of Mathematics, undated

Containers: box 4, folder 14

Series V. Dissertations, 1979-1991

Scope and Content Notes

This series contains the materials relating to Anderson's two Ph.D.s. There are manuscripts of the dissertations and notebooks used to gather and arrange materials and to clarify his thinking on the topics involved.

Subseries 1. Ph.D. Dissertations, 1979-1991

Scope and Content Notes

Ph.D. Dissertations for both his Ph.D. in Physics and that in History and Philosophy of Science

Study of Baryonium and Multiquark States, 1979

Containers: box 5, folder 1

Ontological Status of Potentials within Classical Electrodynamics, 1991

Containers: box 5, folder 2

Subseries 2. Student Work: Dissertation Notes, 1987-1990

Scope and Content Notes

Notebooks for Anderson's work towards his Ph.D. dissertations that specifically relate to the dissertation's topics.

Thesis: Invariance Aug. 1987 - 1990, 1979-1990

Containers: box 5, folder 3

Thesis Notes: Vol. 1 Dec. 1987 - July 1988, 1987

Containers: box 5, folder 4

Thesis Notes: Vol. 2 March 1988 - Nov. 1989, 1988

Containers: box 6, folder 1

Thesis Notes: Vol. 3. Apr 1989 - Nov. 1989, 1989

Containers: box 6, folder 2

Journal of Progress May 1989 - March 1990, 1989

Containers: box 6, folder 3

Series VI. Student Work - class notes and notebooks, 1976-1982

Scope and Content Notes

Generalized class notes and notebooks from Anderson's graduate work.

Cylinder Corrrections in the Topological Expansion July 1976, 1976

Containers: box 6, folder 4

Writings on Henri Bergson. The Role of the Intellect in the Moral Philosophy of Henri Berson, 1982

Containers: box 6, folder 5

Mathematics and the Description of Nature, Undated

Containers: box 6, folder 6

Guide to the Ronald Anderson Papers, 1987-2006 ASP.2008.01

Arrangement

Custodial History

Acquisition Information

Scope and Content Notes

Copyright

Processing Information

Previous Citation

Preferred Citation

Access Restrictions

Biography

Subjects

Corporate Names

Personal Names

Genres

Other Subjects

Container List

Scope and Content Notes

Scope and Content Notes

Scope and Content Notes

Scope and Content Notes

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