ABSTRACT

Speaking at the official opening of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy, Dr. Philip Kitcher gave this lecture entitled “Alienation and its Dangers”. This was the second of two lectures, under the collective title, “Science in a Democratic Society”, engaged with Kitcher’s ideas about the two forces of democracy and science, and how they interact with each other. Information on the first lecture, entitled “”Authority, Responsibility, and Democracy” can be found here.

SPEAKER PROFILE

Philip Stuart Kitcher is a British philosopher who specializes in the philosophy of science. Kitcher worked closely with Thomas Kuhn while at Princeton, where he earned his Ph.D in 1974. Kitcher is best known for his work examining bioethics, creationism and sociobiology. Kitcher currently teaches at Columbia University in the Department of Philosophy where he holds an appointment as the John Dewey Professor of Philosophy. As chair of Columbia’s Contemporary Civilization program, he also holds the James R. Barker Professorship of Contemporary Civilization. Kitcher is past president of the American Philosophical Association. Kitcher’s most recent books include Living with Darwin: Evolution, Design, and the Future of Faith (Oxford University Press, 2009), and Science, Truth, and Democracy (Oxford University Press, 2001).

Read more about Philip Kitcher.

VIDEO