Peter Achinstein

Peter Achinstein is a Professor of Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University.

Biography

Professor Achinstein received his B.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard. He specializes in philosophy of science and also has interests in the history of science.

Professor Achinstein has held Guggenheim, NEH, and NSF fellowships, and has served as a visiting professor at MIT, Stanford, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is a founder and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for History and Philosophy of Science. In Fall 2008, Professor Achinstein will begin to teach at Yeshiva University.

His "Particles and Waves", which received the Lakatos Award, is a study of methodological problems arising from three episodes in 19th century physics: the wave-particle debate about light, the development of the kinetic-molecular theory, and the discovery of the electron.

He is currently married to Linda Brown.

Publications

Monographs and Collected Papers

*"Concepts of Science: A Philosophical Analysis" (1968)
*"Law and Explanation: An Essay in the Philosophy of Science" (1971)
*"The Nature of Explanation" (1983)
*"The Concept of Evidence" (1983)
*"Particles and Waves: Historical Essays in the Philosophy of Science" (1991)
*"The Book of Evidence" (2003)

Edited Volumes

*"The Legacy of Logical Positivism in the Philosophy of Science" (co-editor with Stephen F. Barker, 1969)
*"Studies in the philosophy of science; essays by Peter Achinstein [and others] " (1969)
*"Explanations: Papers and Discussions" (Achinstein, et al.; edited by Stephan Körner. 1975)
*"Observation, Experiment, and Hypothesis in Modern Physical Science" (co-editor with Owen Hannaway, 1985)
*"Kelvin's Baltimore Lectures and Modern Theoretical Physics: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives" (co-editor with Robert Kargon, 1987)
*"Scientific Methods: Conceptual and Historical Problems" (co-editor with Laura J. Snyder, 1994)
*"Science Rules: A Historical Introduction to Scientific Methods" (editor, 2004)
*"Scientific Evidence: Philosophical Theories and Applications" (editor, 2005)

Selected Articles

*"Is There a Valid Experimental Argument for Scientific Realism?" "Journal of Philosophy" (2002).

Former students of Peter Achinstein

Many of Professor Achinstein's students have gone on in careers as philosophers. They include:

*Fred Kronz, University of Texas, Austin;
*Marshall Spector, Stony Brook University;
*Alexander Rosenberg, Duke University;
*Gregory J Morgan, Spring Hill College;
*Gerald Doppelt, University of California, San Diego;
*John Meixner, Central Michigan University;
*Helen Longino, Stanford University;
*Richard Richards, University of Alabama;
*Kent Staley, St Louis University.

External links

* [http://web.jhu.edu/philosophy/Faculty/achinstein.html Official Page]