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Birth and Education
Ian Hacking was born in Vancouver on 18 February, 1936. Hacking obtained a BA in Physics and Mathematics from the University of British Columbia. Hacking then proceeded to attend Cambridge University where he acquired a BA, MA, and Ph. D in Moral Sciences. -
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Written Works
Hacking has written many works throughout his lifetime. "The Logic of Statistical Inference" was written in 1965. "The Emergence of Probability" was written in 1975. "The Taming of Chance" was written in 1990 and named one of the 100 best works of the 20th century by The Modern Library (Grandy 2007). "An Introduction to Probability and Inductive Logic" was written in 2001. -
"The Erosion of Determinism"
"The Emergence of Probability" had a major effect on the idea of probability. Hacking argued that probability had a dual nature. There is an element branching from degrees of belief, which is epistemic. The other nature is ontological, The epistemic nature stems from knowledge from deduction, not from actual observations. The ontological nature stems from observations. His world view and writings lead to understanding that the world is not deterministic. -
"The Taming of Chance"
In "The Taming of Chance", Hacking comments that the shift from determinism to modern thinking was not quick. As modern discoveries were made, it was seen that the past did not exactly determine what happened. Hacking's writings have also influenced other philosophers. Laplace even commented after Hacking's works that, ""The word 'chance,' then expresses only our ignorance of the causes of the phenomena that we observe to occur and to succeed one another in no apparent order." ("Ian Hacking") -
"The Taming of Chance"
"The Taming of Chance" explains how the shift from determinism began. The "big cause" was not a scientific revelation. The world as a whole made a shift. "Society became statistical. "("Ian Hacking") In his work, Hacking goes on to describe how this shift in the everyday world help shape a change in the scientific world. These changes have lead to the indeterminism of today. -
Works Used Cited
Grandy, Karen. “Ian Hacking.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 30 Apr. 2007, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ian-hacking. “Ian Hacking.” The Information Philosopher, https://www.informationphilosopher.com/solutions/philosophers/hacking/. TVO Docs. "Ian Hacking on the Mathematical Animal". YouTube, 10 March 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8f-5Ipdy5U -
Famous Works
Hacking, Ian. Logic of Statistical Inference. 1965.
Hacking, Ian. The Emergence of Probability: a Philosophical Study of Early Ideas About Probability, Induction and Statistical Inference. 1975.
Hacking, Ian. The Taming of Chance. 1990.
Hacking, Ian. An Introduction to Probability and Inductive Logic. 2001. -
Lecture Video