- Philip Kitcher
Infobox academic
name = Philip Kitcher
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birth_date = 1947
birth_place =London ,England
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residence =New York ,New York ,United States
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nationality =United Kingdom
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field =Philosophy of Science ,Bioethics ,Philosophy of Mathematics
work_institutions =Columbia University
alma_mater = Christ's College,University of Cambridge (B.A.);Princeton University (Ph.D.)
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prizes = Lifetime Achievement Award (American Psychological Association ),
Distinguished Contribution Award (American Psychological Association ),
Prometheus Prize (American Philosophical Association )
religion =
footnotes =Philip Stuart Kitcher (born 1947) is a British
philosophy professor who specializes in thephilosophy of science .Born in
London , Kitcher spent his early life inEastbourne ,East Sussex , on the South Coast of theUnited Kingdom . He earned his B.A. in Mathematics/History and Philosophy of Science fromChrist's College, Cambridge in 1969, and his Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science fromPrinceton University in 1974.Kitcher is best known outside the academy for his work examining
bioethics ,creationism andsociobiology . His works attempt to connect the questions raised inphilosophy of biology andphilosophy of mathematics with the central philosophical issues ofepistemology ,metaphysics , andethics . He has also published papers onJohn Stuart Mill ,Kant and other figures in the history of philosophy. Lately he has become interested inJohn Dewey .Kitcher currently teaches at
Columbia University in the Department of Philosophy where he holds an appointment as theJohn Dewey Professor of Philosophy. As chair of Columbia's Contemporary Civilization program (part of its undergraduate Core Curriculum), he also holds the James R. Barker Professorship of Contemporary Civilization. Before moving to Columbia, Kitcher taught at theUniversity of Vermont ,Vassar College , TheUniversity of Minnesota ,University of Michigan , and for several years atUniversity of California, San Diego where he held the position of presidential professor of philosophy.Kitcher is past president of the
American Philosophical Association . In 2002, Kitcher was named a fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences , and he was awarded the inaugural Prometheus Prize from theAmerican Philosophical Association in 2006 in honor of extended achievement in thephilosophy of science .His wife,
Patricia Kitcher , is a well knownKant scholar and philosopher of mind who isMark Van Doren Professor of Humanities at Columbia.He has trained a number of prominent philosophers of science, including
Peter Godfrey-Smith at Harvard University andKyle Stanford at the University of California at Irvine.His appointments and service have included:
*Editorial Board, "Philosophy of Science", 1985-1994.
*Editor-in-Chief, "Philosophy of Science", 1994-1999.
*Governing Board,Philosophy of Science Association , 1987-1991.
*Member NIH/DOE Working Group on the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of theHuman Genome Project , 1995-1997.
*Representative of theAmerican Philosophical Association to Section L of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science , 1995-1998.
*Member, Board of Officers, American Philosophical Association, 1996-99.
*Philosophy Referee forJohn Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation , 1994—Publications
*"Abusing Science: The Case Against Creationism". MIT Press, 1982 (paperback 1983). ISBN 0-262-61037-X
*"The Nature of Mathematical Knowledge". Oxford University Press, 1983 (paperback 1984).
*"Vaulting Ambition: Sociobiology and the Quest for Human Nature". MIT Press, 1985 (paperback 1987).
*"The Advancement of Science", Oxford University Press, April 1993 (paper January 1995).
*"The Lives to Come: The Genetic Revolution and Human Possibilities" (Simon and Schuster [U.S.] , Penguin [U.K.] , January 1996, paperback editions 1997). The American paperback contains a postscript oncloning , almost identical with his article “Whose Self is it, Anyway?”.
*"Science, Truth, and Democracy", Oxford University Press, 2001; paperback 2003. ISBN 0-19-516552-7
*"In Mendel’s Mirror: Philosophical Reflections on Biology", Oxford University Press, 2003. (This is a collection of seventeen of his articles: articles numbers 21, 22, 24, 38, 43, 45, 51, 54, 55, 59, 70, 72, 82,83, 84, 92, 93).
*"Finding an Ending: Reflections on Wagner’s Ring", co-authored withRichard Schacht , Oxford University Press, February 2004. ISBN 0-19-517359-7
*"Living with Darwin: Evolution, Design, and the Future of Faith" , Oxford University Press, January 2007. ISBN 0-19-531444-1
*"Joyce's Kaleidoscope: An Invitation to Finnegans Wake" , Oxford University Press, July 2007. ISBN 0-19-532103-0External links
* [http://www.columbia.edu/~psk16/ Philip Kitcher website] via Columbia University.
* [http://human-nature.com/nibbs/04/kitcher.html Interview with Philip Kitcher] . "Human Nature Review". 2004 Volume 4: 87-92 (7 February).
* [http://www.pointofinquiry.org/?p=118 Interview by Point of Inquiry] July 13, 2007 (mp3/podcast). Kitcher "explores the implications of Darwinism for both literalist religion, and for liberal faith" and "discusses the role and benefits of religion, and explores alternatives to it, such as secular humanism, and offers ideas for how secular humanism might become more popular in society."
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