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Early Life
Bas Van Fraassen (short for Bastiaan Cornelis van Fraassen) was born in Goes, Netherlands, during the German occupation. His father, a steam fitter, was forced to work for the Nazis. Fraassen's family reunited after World War II and in 1956 immigrated to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. As a high school student, Fraassen immersed himself in philosophy, religion, and psychology. It was in his Canadian undergraduate studies that he decided to become a professional philosopher (Byrne). -
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Topics of Philosophy
Fraassen received his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1966 at 25 years old. Since then, he has published a number of articles and books on various philosophical topics such as religion, literature, art, empiricism, epistemology, metaphysics, logic (like quantum logic and probabilities), and science. He has also critiqued other philosophies and has replied to critics (Fraassen). Fraassen's most famous book is The Scientific Image, published in 1980. -
The Scientific Image
In both "The Scientific Image" and in an interview (see video by Kuhn), Fraassen outlines an important philosophical distinction between two philosophies with respect to observable phenomena. He says that a scientific realist claims: "If you accept a theory, then you believe that the elements behind the theory are real." Fraassen is a constructive empiricist who claims: "If you accept a theory, then you believe that the elements behind the theory are empirically adequate" (Monton and Mohler). -
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Fraassen in the Present
Bas van Fraassen is currently a distinguished professor at San Francisco State University teaching courses in philosophical logic, philosophy of science, and the role of models in scientific practice (University). Fraassen also sometimes enjoys his hobby of rock climbing. Fraassen is remembered as one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century, and he will continue to inspire students around the world to consider how they view science in everyday life. -
Fraassen's Approach to Scientific Theories
This picture is a diagram that follows Bas van Fraassen's constructive empiricist approach for rationalizing scientific theories (Afriza, Lorenzano, and Aduriz-Bravo). -
Views on Religion
In another interview (see video by Kuhn), Fraassen, a Roman Catholic, outlines his views on religion. He says that believing in God is not necessarily identical to scientific realism. In the interview, Fraassen says, "Faith is not a matter of inference from data to hypotheses." Rather, faith is in part something experienced through personal meaningful encounters. He also believes that philosophy can remove obstacles between science and religion. -
References #1
Afriza, Yefrin, Lorenzano, Pablo, and Aduriz-Bravo, Agustin. "Meta-Theoretical Contributions to the Constitution of a Model-Based Didactics of Science." Science & Education 25 (2016): 747-773.
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Byrne, Peter. "Why Science Should Stay Clear of Metaphysics." Nautilus, Nautilus, 2016 September 8, https://nautil.us/issue/40/learning/-why-science-should-stay-clear-of-metaphysics -
References #2
Fraassen, B. "Publications Arranged by Topic." Princeton, Bas Fraassen, n. d., https://www.princeton.edu/~fraassen/pubs/pub-top.htm#art
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Kuhn, Robert Lawrence. "Bas van Fraassen - Can Philosophy Clarify Science vs. Theology?" YouTube, uploaded by Closer to Truth, 22 March 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-QUO_9LqMM -
References #3
Kuhn, Robert Lawrence. "Bas van Fraassen - What are the Scope and Limits of Science?" YouTube, uploaded by Closer to Truth, 1 April 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brAOVfAoimQ
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Monton, Bradley, and Mohler, Chad. "Constructive Empiricism." Stanford, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2017 January 17, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/constructive-empiricism/
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University, S. F. S. "New tenure-track factulty 2008-09." CampusMemo 56.2 (2008).
