S5 E8 - Philip Kitcher on Philosophy for Science and the Common Good

The HPS Podcast - Conversations from History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science

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9d ago 47:35

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This week, Thomas Spiteri speaks with Professor Philip Kitcher, John Dewey Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Columbia University and one of the most influential philosophers of science of the past half-century.

Kitcher traces his intellectual journey from his early years at Cambridge and Princeton, where he studied with Thomas Kuhn, Carl Hempel, and Paul Benacerraf, to his later interventions in public debates over creationism, sociobiology, and the Human Genome Project. These experiences, he explains, shifted his understanding of philosophy’s role—from narrow technical problems to broader ethical and political questions.

He also reflects on his evolving views of scientific explanation, his collaborations with historians and sociologists of science, and the recognition of ethical and political dimensions long neglected in philosophy of science. Kitcher concludes with his vision of a pragmatist philosophy that reconnects ethics with politics and ensures science serves democratic ideals and human flourishing in the face of global crises.

In this episode, Kitcher:

Recounts his path from mathematics to philosophy of science at Cambridge and Princeton
Reflects on the influence of Thomas Kuhn, Carl Hempel, Paul Benacerraf, and Richard Rorty
Explains how public debates on creationism, sociobiology, and genomics redirected his work toward questions of science and society
Discusses his shift from unificationist to pluralist accounts of scientific explanation
Highlights the importance of history and sociology of science for philosophy’s self-understanding
Argues for philosophy’s responsibility to address ethical and political dimensions of science
Outlines his pragmatist vision for democracy, ethics, and science in the service of human flourishing

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