Bas van

Bas C. Van Fraassen

By bsnook24
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    Born

    In April 5 1941 Bas Van Fraassen was born in Goes, Netherlands. His family moved to Canada in 1956. Still currently alive. https://www.princeton.edu/~fraassen/cv/
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    Schooling

    In 1963 he attended the University of Alberta studying philosophy. 1964 he received his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh.

  • The Scientific Image

    He wrote his most famous book The Scientific Image. In it he popularizes the term “Constructive Empiricism”. He argued for agnosticism about the reality of unobservable entities. His book the Scientific Image is credited with reawakening the scientific anti-realism.
    YouTube
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFSEMap5AiY https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/constructive-empiricism/
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    Teaching

    From 1982 to 2008 he taught at the Universities of Southern California, the University of Yale, and the University of Toronto.

  • The Laws and Symmetry

    In it he attempted to try and explain physical phenomena without assuming that such phenomena are caused by rules or laws. He had 3 goals when writing the book one was to show failure in the philosophical accounts of the law of nature, second was to argue against the laws of nature, and finally to contribute the philosophy of science antithetical to such metaphysical notions. Fraassen, B. (1989-11-02). Laws and Symmetry. : Oxford University Press. https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com

  • The Scientific Representation: Paradoxes of Perspective

    In this book he tries to present a different way of looking into science. In it he presents a view of measurement outcome as a representation achieved in a process of mutual stabilization of theory and empirical inquiry.
    Van Fraassen, B. (2008-08-07). Scientific Representation: Paradoxes of Perspective. : Oxford University
    Press. Retrieved 6 Jul. 2022, from
    https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199278220.001.0001/acprof-
    9780199278220

  • Hempel Award

    He received the Philosophy of Science Associations Hempel Award for his lifetime achievement in the field of Philosophy of Science.