Philip Kitcher
Photo: Annette Hornischer

John Dewey Professor of Philosophy, Columbia University

Daimler Fellow - Class of Fall 2015

Philip Kitcher teaches the philosophy of science at Columbia University. He is interested in the ethical and political constraints on scientific research, the evolution of altruism and morality, and the seeming conflict between science and religion. Kitcher’s most recent books include Life after Faith: The Case for Secular Humanism (2014), Deaths in Venice (2013), Preludes to Pragmatism (2012), The Ethical Project (2011), and Science, Truth, and Democracy (2001).

 

Kitcher earned his BA from Christ’s College, Cambridge, in mathematics and philosophy of science, and a PhD in philosophy from Princeton University. He was elected a fellow to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002, and the American Philosophical Association awarded him its inaugural Prometheus Prize in 2006 for lifetime achievement in “expanding the frontiers of science and philosophy.” Kitcher has also received grants from the American Council of Learned Societies, Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin, Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation, National Endowment of the Humanities, John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, and the Library of Congress.

Project Description

Renewing Pragmatism

At the Academy, Kitcher will work on his project “Renewing Pragmatism,” in which he expands upon American philosopher John Dewey’s version of American pragmatism. Following Dewey, Kitcher believes in the need to reconstruct philosophy so it does not become a “sentimental indulgence for the few.” Developing a general philosophical framework to address everyday implications of ethical issues, Kitcher will identify the continuing tension between religion and secular humanism, and consider the transformative power of literature and music in democratic societies.

Academy Activities

02 Nov 15

The Possibility of Social Progress

In this lecture, philosopher Philip Kitcher explores the concept of social progress by proposing that we should think of progress pragmatically, in terms of overcoming problems rather than as directed towards some ideal state. Following Dewey, he sees these problems as arising from changes in the en ...

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