Adolf Grünbaum
Encyclopedia
Adolf Grünbaum is a philosopher of science
and a critic of psychoanalysis
. He is also well-known as a critic of Karl Popper
's philosophy of science.
He became the first permanent Andrew Mellon Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh
in 1960. In that year, he also became the founding Director of that University's Center for Philosophy of Science, serving as Director until 1978. Currently, at the University of Pittsburgh, besides being the Andrew Mellon Professor of Philosophy of Science, he is Chairman of its Center for Philosophy of Science (since 1978), Research Professor of Psychiatry (since 1979), and Primary Research Professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science (since 2006).
, Middletown
, Connecticut
in 1943. He obtained both his M.S. in physics (1948) and his Ph.D in philosophy (1951) from Yale University
.
He was a Selfridge Professor of Philosophy at Lehigh University
, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
, (1956 to 1960) after rising through the ranks there, starting in 1950, becoming a full professor in 1955.
In the fall of 1960, Grünbaum left Lehigh University to join the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh. He and the colleagues he recruited then built world-class Philosophy and History and Philosophy of Science Departments at the University. Several of these colleagues had come from Yale University
's Philosophy Department, starting in 1962. During this recruitment period the University of Pittsburgh appointed Nicholas Rescher
, Wilfrid Sellars
, Richard Gale, Nuel Belnap
, Alan Ross Anderson
, and Gerald Massey among others.
In 2003, Grünbaum resigned from the Department of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh, while retaining his lifetime tenured Mellon Chair and all of his other affiliations at that University.
(Eastern Division) and the Philosophy of Science Association
(two terms). He was the president of the Division of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science
(IUHPS) in 2004-2005 and then automatically became president of the IUHPS from 2006-2007. He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
.
(1990). Also, in May 1995, he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Konstanz in Germany.
" volumes) dealing with his work have been published to date:
Philosophy of science
The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. It is also concerned with the use and merit of science and sometimes overlaps metaphysics and epistemology by exploring whether scientific results are actually a study of truth...
and a critic of psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
. He is also well-known as a critic of Karl Popper
Karl Popper
Sir Karl Raimund Popper, CH FRS FBA was an Austro-British philosopher and a professor at the London School of Economics...
's philosophy of science.
He became the first permanent Andrew Mellon Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
in 1960. In that year, he also became the founding Director of that University's Center for Philosophy of Science, serving as Director until 1978. Currently, at the University of Pittsburgh, besides being the Andrew Mellon Professor of Philosophy of Science, he is Chairman of its Center for Philosophy of Science (since 1978), Research Professor of Psychiatry (since 1979), and Primary Research Professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science (since 2006).
Life
Grünbaum received a B.A. with twofold High Distinction in Philosophy and in Mathematics from Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
, Middletown
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
in 1943. He obtained both his M.S. in physics (1948) and his Ph.D in philosophy (1951) from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
He was a Selfridge Professor of Philosophy at Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
, (1956 to 1960) after rising through the ranks there, starting in 1950, becoming a full professor in 1955.
In the fall of 1960, Grünbaum left Lehigh University to join the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh. He and the colleagues he recruited then built world-class Philosophy and History and Philosophy of Science Departments at the University. Several of these colleagues had come from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
's Philosophy Department, starting in 1962. During this recruitment period the University of Pittsburgh appointed Nicholas Rescher
Nicholas Rescher
Nicholas Rescher is an American philosopher at the University of Pittsburgh. In a productive research career extending over six decades, Rescher has established himself as a systematic philosopher of the old style and author of a system of pragmatic idealism which weaves together threads of...
, Wilfrid Sellars
Wilfrid Sellars
Wilfrid Stalker Sellars was an American philosopher. His father was the Canadian-American philosopher Roy Wood Sellars, a leading American philosophical naturalist in the first half of the twentieth-century...
, Richard Gale, Nuel Belnap
Nuel Belnap
Nuel D. Belnap, Jr. is an American logician and philosopher who has made many important contributions to the philosophy of logic, temporal logic, and structural proof theory. He has taught at the University of Pittsburgh since 1961; before that he was at Yale University. His best known work is...
, Alan Ross Anderson
Alan Ross Anderson
Alan Ross Anderson was an American logician and professor of philosophy at Yale University and the University of Pittsburgh....
, and Gerald Massey among others.
In 2003, Grünbaum resigned from the Department of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh, while retaining his lifetime tenured Mellon Chair and all of his other affiliations at that University.
Offices and Positions
His offices include presidencies of the American Philosophical AssociationAmerican Philosophical Association
The American Philosophical Association is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarly activity in philosophy, to facilitate the professional work...
(Eastern Division) and the Philosophy of Science Association
Philosophy of Science Association
The Philosophy of Science Association is an academic organization which promotes further studies and free discussion from diverse standpoints in the field of philosophy of science....
(two terms). He was the president of the Division of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science
International Union of History and Philosophy of Science
The International Union of History and Philosophy of Science is one of the members of the International Council for Science . It was founded in 1955 by merging the International Union of History of Science and the International Union of Philosophy of Science , and consists of two divisions, the...
(IUHPS) in 2004-2005 and then automatically became president of the IUHPS from 2006-2007. He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
.
Awards
He has received the "Senior U.S. Scientist Prize" from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany, 1985), the "Fregene Prize" for science from the Italian Parliament (1998) and the "Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal" for outstanding achievement from Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
(1990). Also, in May 1995, he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Konstanz in Germany.
Works
He is the author of nearly 400 articles and book chapters as well as books on space-time and the critique of psychoanalysis, which include:- Modern Science and Zeno's Paradoxes (first edition, 1967; second edition, 1968)
- Geometry and Chronometry in Philosophical Perspective (1968)
- Philosophical Problems of Space and Time (first edition, 1963; second edition, 1973)
- The Foundations of Psychoanalysis. (1984)
- Validation in the Clinical Theory of Psychoanalysis: A Study in the Philosophy of Psychoanalysis, (1993)
Festschriften
Three celebratory books ("FestschriftFestschrift
In academia, a Festschrift , is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory writing...
" volumes) dealing with his work have been published to date:
- (1983) Physics, Philosophy and Psychoanalysis: Essays in Honor of Adolf Grünbaum. R.S. Cohen and L. Lauden (eds.). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: D. Reidel Publishing Co.
- (1993) Philosophical Problems of the Internal and External Worlds: Essays on the Philosophy of Adolf Grünbaum. J. Earman, A.I. Janis, G.J. Massey, and N. Rescher (eds.). Pittsburgh, PA/Konstanz, Germany: University of Pittsburgh Press/University of Konstanz Press.
- (2009) Philosophy of Religion, Physics, and Psychology: Essays in Honor of Adolf Grünbaum. Proceedings of the international conference, "The Adolf Grünbaum Symposium in Honor of the Works of Professor Adolf Grünbaum," Santa Barbara, CA, October 2002. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.