Philip Stuart Kitcher (born 1947) is a British philosophy professor who specializes in the philosophy of science. Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... Philosophy of science studies the philosophical assumptions, foundations, and implications of science, including the formal sciences, natural sciences, and social sciences. ...

Born in London, Kitcher spent his early life in Eastbourne, East Sussex, on the South Coast of the United Kingdom. He earned his B.A. in Mathematics/History and Philosophy of Science from Christ's College, Cambridge in 1969, and his Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science from Princeton University in 1974. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Shown within East Sussex Geography Status: Borough Region: South East England Historic County: Sussex Admin. ... East Sussex is a county in South East England. ... Full name Christs College Motto Souvent me Souvient I Often Remember Named after Christ Previous names Gods-house (1437), Christs College (1505) Established 1505 Sister College(s) Wadham College Master Prof. ... Year 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Princeton University is a coeducational private university located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States of America. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

Kitcher is best known for his work examining bioethics, creationism and sociobiology. His works attempt to connect the questions raised in philosophy of biology and philosophy of mathematics with the central philosophical issues of epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics. He has also published papers on John Stuart Mill, Kant and other figures in the history of philosophy. Lately he has become interested in John Dewey. Bioethics is the ethics of biological science and medicine. ... The Creation of Light by Gustave Doré. Creation refers to the concept that all humanity, life, the Earth, or the universe as a whole was created by a deity (often referred to as God). ... Sociobiology is a synthesis of scientific disciplines that explains behaviour in all species by considering the evolutionary advantages of social behaviours. ... Philosophy of biology (also called, rarely, biophilosophy) is a subfield of philosophy of science, which deals with epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical issues in the biological and biomedical sciences. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Plato and Aristotle (right), by Raphael (Stanza della Segnatura, Rome). ... Ethics (from the Ancient Greek ἠθικός (ethikos), meaning theory of living), a major branch of philosophy, is the study of values and customs of a person or group and covers the analysis and employment of concepts such as right, wrong, good, evil, and responsibility. ... John Stuart Mill (20th May 1806 – 8th May 1873), a British philosopher and political economist, was an influential liberal thinker of the 19th century. ... Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (April 22, 1724 – February 12, 1804) was a Prussian philosopher, generally regarded as one of Europes most influential thinkers and the last major philosopher of the Enlightenment. ... John Dewey (October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer, whose thoughts and ideas have been greatly influential in the United States and around the world. ...

Kitcher is currently the John Dewey Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. 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. He is a past president of the American Philosophical Association. His wife, Patricia Kitcher, is a well known Kant scholar and philosopher of mind who is Mark van Doren Professor of Humanities at Columbia and chair of the university's philosophy department. Before moving to Columbia Kitcher taught at the University of Vermont, Vassar College, The University of Minnesota, University of Michigan, and for several years at UCSD where he held the position of presidential professor of philosophy. John Dewey (October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer, whose thoughts and ideas have been greatly influential in the United States and around the world. ... Columbia University is a private research university whose main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of the Borough of Manhattan in New York City. ... In education, a core curriculum is a curriculum, or course of study, which is deemed central and usually made mandatory for all students of a school or school system. ... The American Philosophical Association is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. ... Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (April 22, 1724 – February 12, 1804) was a Prussian philosopher, generally regarded as one of Europes most influential thinkers and the last major philosopher of the Enlightenment. ... UVM redirects here. ... Vassar College is a private, coeducational, highly selective liberal arts college situated in Poughkeepsie, New York. ... Washington Avenue Bridge at night The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, almost always abbreviated U of M, and sometimes referred to as The U by locals, is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system. ... The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (UM or U of M) is a coeducational public research university in the U.S. state of Michigan. ... The University of California, San Diego (popularly known as UCSD) is a public, coeducational university located in La Jolla, California. ...

In 2006, Kitcher was awarded the inaugural Prometheus Prize from the American Philosophical Association in honor of extended achievement in the philosophy of science. The American Philosophical Association is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. ...

His teaching positions have included:

• Vassar College: Assistant Professor 1973-1974
• University of Vermont: Assistant Professor 1974-1978
• University of Michigan: Visiting Assistant Professor 1979
• University of Vermont: Associate Professor 1979-1983
• University of Minnesota: Professor 1983-1986
• University of California, San Diego: Professor 1986-1999
• Columbia University: Professor 1998-present

His appointments and service have included: Vassar College is a private, coeducational, highly selective liberal arts college situated in Poughkeepsie, New York. ... UVM redirects here. ... The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (UM or U of M) is a coeducational public research university in the U.S. state of Michigan. ... Washington Avenue Bridge at night The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, almost always abbreviated U of M, and sometimes referred to as The U by locals, is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system. ... The University of California, San Diego (popularly known as UCSD) is a public, coeducational university located in La Jolla, California. ... Columbia University is a private research university whose main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of the Borough of Manhattan in New York City. ...

• 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 the Human Genome Project, 1995-1997.
• Representative of the American Philosophical Association to Section L of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1995-1998.
• Member, Board of Officers, American Philosophical Association, 1996-99.
• Philosophy Referee for John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, 1994—

The Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) is an academic organization which promotes further studies and free discussion from diverse standpoints in the field of philosophy of science. ... The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for medical research. ... The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy and nuclear safety. ... The Human Genome Project (HGP) is a project to code 3 billion nucleotides contained in the human genome and to identify all the genes present in it. ... The American Philosophical Association is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. ... The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an organization that promotes cooperation between scientists, defends scientific freedom, encourages scientific responsibility and supports scientific education for the betterment of all humanity. ... The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Mr. ...

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 on cloning, almost identical with his article “Whose Self is it, Anyway?”. Cloning is the process of creating an identical copy of something. ...

• 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 with Richard 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

External links

• Philip Kitcher website via Columbia University.
• Interview with Philip Kitcher. Human Nature Review. 2004 Volume 4: 87-92 (7 February).