Philip Kitcher is a philosopher whose work has covered the philosophy of mathematics and science and developed towards pragmatic naturalism. He is John Dewey Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Columbia University, having previously taught at the University of California at San Diego. He was an undergraduate at Christ’s and has been an Honorary Fellow of the College since 2018.
Philip came up to Christ’s in 1966 and studied Mathematics and Natural Sciences. After graduating in 1969 he went to Princeton University where he obtained a PhD in Philosophy/History and Philosophy of Science in 1974 with his thesis on Mathematics and Certainty. He went on to teach at Vassar College, the University of Vermont, the University of Minnesota, and the University of California at San Diego. In 1999 he moved to Columbia University in the City of New York, where he is now John Dewey Professor Emeritus of Philosophy. He was Chair of Contemporary Civilization from 2004 to 2007 and Director of Undergraduate Studies from 2008 to 2011, most of his teaching therefore being undergraduate classes, but he later returned to teaching both undergraduate and graduate students. His interest in pragmatism developed after his arrival at Columbia, with a particular appreciation of the work of American philosophers and psychologists William James and John Dewey.
Philip is interested in the ethical and political constraints on scientific research, the evolution of altruism and morality, and the apparent conflict between science and religion. He has published extensively on the philosophy of science, the philosophy of biology, the social reception of science and the place of science within democratic society. His work also includes books on naturalistic ethics and philosophical themes in literature and music.
His work has been honoured with several awards, including the University of Pittsburgh 2019 Nicholas Rescher Medal for contributions to systematic philosophy and the 2020 Carl Gustav Hempel Award for lifetime achievement in the philosophy of science from the Philosophy of Science Association. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the American Philosophical Society, a fellow of the British Academy, has an honorary doctorate from Erasmus University, Rotterdam, and in 2018 was elected to an Honorary Fellowship at Christ’s.