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Bas Van Fraassen is born on 5th April, 1941 in Goes, Netherlands. He is born almost a year into the Nazi occupation. The English channel is part of the War zone but due to the isolation of the Zeeland Penisula Van Fraassen's first few years are somewhat safe. His father how ever for his industrial background is taken as slave labor to the Third Reich. *Image credit: WikimediaCommons -
Fraassen father escapes captivity but must return under threats of time in a concentration camp so he remains in Hamburg. In summer of 1944 a combined allied invasion of western Europe took place. By fall the war is more or less right next door in neighboring areas of the Dutch Countryside. In October Goes was liberated and this relatively quiet backwater was sparred the horrors of the Dutch Turnip Winter where thousands starved. Image Credit: BenneBroek.nl -
After Fraassen's father escaped from captivity for good the family was reunited post war. In 1956 at the age of 15 Bas and his family immigrated to Canada.
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Over the course of 4 years starting in the 1962 Fraassen gets his Bachelors in Philosophy from the University of Alberta. Then attends The University of Pittsburg for his Masters and P.H.D. in Philosophy.
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During his adult life Fraassen picks up organized religion. Many of his works display a more agnostic approach.
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In 1980 Fraassen publishes his acclaimed work The Scientific Image. In his book he takes stabs at established methods of scientific thought. He goes on to speak of Constructive empiricism and how most studies try to provide results that are empirically "good enough." Examples would be Newtons description of Energy or the Electron in physics models. These things are non tangible that need abstract methods for observation or falsifiability. For Fraassen once a theory passes its just beginning. -
After publishing his ideas Fraassen lectured across the world. He has taught at Yale, University of Toronto, University of Southern California, the University of Princeton and San Francisco University. To this day he continues to teach and apply his approach to many fields of science. This has positive ends and leads to more abstract realism and eventually observable results for the world to see.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brAOVfAoimQ Bas C. van. “CV of Bas C. Van Fraassen.” Princeton University, The Trustees of Princeton University, https://www.princeton.edu/~fraassen/cv/. Byrne, Peter. “Why Science Should Stay Clear of Metaphysics - Issue 40: Learning.” Nautilus, 8 Sept. 2016, https://nautil.us/issue/40/learning/-why-science-should-stay-clear-of- Godfrey-Smith, Peter. Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. The University of Chicago Press, 2021.