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Birth and Early Childhood
Bas Van Fraassen was born in the German-occupied Netherlands on the 5th of April in 1941. Bas and the rest of his family emigrated to Canada in the summer of 1956 (Britannica (n.d.). Bas' father was forced to work in Hamburg for the Nazis after the conclusion of the war. During this time, Bas was not with his father and were only reunited once they emigrated to Canada (Fraassen, n.d.). -
Education and awards
Van Fraassen earned his Bachelor's in Arts from the University of Alberta, and his Masters and Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburg. Bas van Fraassen was most noted for his contributions to philosophy after receiving the Lakatos award in 1986, and the inaugural Hempel award for a "lifetime achievement in philosophy of science. Van Fraassen has also taught at Yale, Southern California, and Toronto. He currently teaches at Princeton. (Fraassen, n.d.). -
The Scientific Image
Bas Van Fraasen is most well known for the publication of his book, The Scientific Image. This book focuses on the subject of " Scientific Anti-Realism." Fraasen's defines the view of constructive empiricism like this, "Science aims to give us theories which are empirically adequate; and acceptance of a theory involves as belief only that it is empirically adequate." (1980, 12). -
Constructive Empiricism -- Explained
Scientism is the theory that all knowledge comes from science. The following is a video of Bas Van Fraassen in an interview, talking about the scope and limits of science. Van Fraassen talks about empiricism and how he doesn't believe in "scientific realism." He calls himself a "anti-realists."
Van Fraassen explains what exactly that means. YouTube: Link text -
Bas Van Fraassen Today
Bas van Fraassen is still alive today. He is currently a professor of philosophy at San Francisco University and holds the title of McCosh Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Princeton University. Van Fraassen, through the publication of books, has really contributed to the subject of philosophy as a whole. Bas also attempts to answer all questions he can today, and leaves his email open to the public. Bas van Fraassen is currently 80 years old. -
References
Van Fraassen, Bas (n.d.). Cirriculum Vitae. Retrieved from: https://www.princeton.edu/~fraassen/cv/ Stanford, 01 Oct. 2008. Encycolpedia of Philosophy. Constructive Empiricism. Retrieved from: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/constructive-empiricism/ Britannica (n.d.). Bas van Fraassen. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bas-van-Fraassen