All Topics  
Susan Haack

 
Susan Haack

   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link






 

Susan Haack



 
 
Susan Haack (born 1945, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
) is an English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 professor of philosophy
Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
 and law
LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
 at the University of Miami
University of Miami

The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 in the city of Coral Gables, Florida, Florida, United States, a historic suburb of Miami, Florida....
 in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. She has written on logic
Logic

Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and inference. Logic is a branch of philosophy, a part of the classical Trivium . The word derives from Greek language ?????? , fem....
, the philosophy of language
Philosophy of language

Philosophy of language is the reasoned inquiry into the nature, origins, and usage of language. As a topic, the philosophy of language for Analytic philosophys is concerned with four central problems: the nature of Meaning , language use, language cognition, and the relationship between language and reality....
, epistemology
Epistemology

Epistemology or theory of knowledge is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge. It addresses the questions:...
, and metaphysics
Metaphysics

Metaphysics investigates principles of reality transcending those of any particular science. cosmology and ontology are traditional branches of metaphysics....
. Her pragmatism
Pragmatism

Pragmatism is the philosophy of considering practical consequences or real effects to be vital components of meaning and truth. Pragmatism is generally considered to have originated in the late nineteenth century with Charles Peirce, who first stated the pragmatic maxim....
 follows that of Charles Peirce
Charles Peirce

Charles Sanders Peirce was an American logician, mathematics, Philosophy, and science, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Peirce was educated as a chemist and employed as a scientist for 30 years....
.

k is a graduate of the University of Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
 and the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge , located in Cambridge, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in the Anglosphere....
. At Oxford, she studied at St. Hilda's College
St. Hilda's College

St Hilda's College may refer to:* St Hilda's College, Oxford, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom....
, where her first philosophy teacher was Jean Austin, the widow of J. L. Austin
J. L. Austin

John Langshaw Austin was a British philosophy of language, born in Lancaster, Lancashire and educated at Shrewsbury School and Balliol College, Oxford....
. She also studied Plato
Plato

Plato , was a Classical Greece Greeks philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Platonic Academy in Ancient Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the western world....
 with Gilbert Ryle
Gilbert Ryle

Gilbert Ryle , was a United Kingdom philosopher, and a representative of the generation of British ordinary language philosophys influenced by Ludwig Wittgenstein's insights into language, and is principally known for his critique of Cartesian dualism, for which he coined the phrase "the ghost in the machine"....
 and logic with Michael Dummett
Michael Dummett

Knight Bachelor Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett Fellow of the British Academy Doctor of Letters is a leading British philosopher. He has both written on the history of analytic philosophy, and made original contributions to the subject, particularly in the areas of philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of logic, philosophy of language and me...
. David Pears supervised her B.Phil.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Susan Haack'
Start a new discussion about 'Susan Haack'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Susan Haack (born 1945, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
) is an English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 professor of philosophy
Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
 and law
LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
 at the University of Miami
University of Miami

The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 in the city of Coral Gables, Florida, Florida, United States, a historic suburb of Miami, Florida....
 in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. She has written on logic
Logic

Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and inference. Logic is a branch of philosophy, a part of the classical Trivium . The word derives from Greek language ?????? , fem....
, the philosophy of language
Philosophy of language

Philosophy of language is the reasoned inquiry into the nature, origins, and usage of language. As a topic, the philosophy of language for Analytic philosophys is concerned with four central problems: the nature of Meaning , language use, language cognition, and the relationship between language and reality....
, epistemology
Epistemology

Epistemology or theory of knowledge is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge. It addresses the questions:...
, and metaphysics
Metaphysics

Metaphysics investigates principles of reality transcending those of any particular science. cosmology and ontology are traditional branches of metaphysics....
. Her pragmatism
Pragmatism

Pragmatism is the philosophy of considering practical consequences or real effects to be vital components of meaning and truth. Pragmatism is generally considered to have originated in the late nineteenth century with Charles Peirce, who first stated the pragmatic maxim....
 follows that of Charles Peirce
Charles Peirce

Charles Sanders Peirce was an American logician, mathematics, Philosophy, and science, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Peirce was educated as a chemist and employed as a scientist for 30 years....
.

Career

Haack is a graduate of the University of Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
 and the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge , located in Cambridge, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in the Anglosphere....
. At Oxford, she studied at St. Hilda's College
St. Hilda's College

St Hilda's College may refer to:* St Hilda's College, Oxford, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom....
, where her first philosophy teacher was Jean Austin, the widow of J. L. Austin
J. L. Austin

John Langshaw Austin was a British philosophy of language, born in Lancaster, Lancashire and educated at Shrewsbury School and Balliol College, Oxford....
. She also studied Plato
Plato

Plato , was a Classical Greece Greeks philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Platonic Academy in Ancient Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the western world....
 with Gilbert Ryle
Gilbert Ryle

Gilbert Ryle , was a United Kingdom philosopher, and a representative of the generation of British ordinary language philosophys influenced by Ludwig Wittgenstein's insights into language, and is principally known for his critique of Cartesian dualism, for which he coined the phrase "the ghost in the machine"....
 and logic with Michael Dummett
Michael Dummett

Knight Bachelor Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett Fellow of the British Academy Doctor of Letters is a leading British philosopher. He has both written on the history of analytic philosophy, and made original contributions to the subject, particularly in the areas of philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of logic, philosophy of language and me...
. David Pears supervised her B.Phil. dissertation on ambiguity
Ambiguity

Ambiguity is the property of being ambiguous, where a word, term, notation, sign, symbol, phrase, Sentence , or any other form used for communication, is called ambiguous if it can be interpreted in more than one way....
. At Cambridge, she wrote her Ph.D. under the supervision of Timothy Smiley
Timothy Smiley

Professor Timothy John Smiley FBA is Emeritus Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy at Clare College, Cambridge UniversityHe has edited publications such as Mathematics and Necessity: Essays in the History of Philosophy and Studies in the Philosophy of Logic and Knowledge....
. She held the positions of Fellow of New Hall, Cambridge
New Hall, Cambridge

Murray Edwards College is a women-only college in the University of Cambridge. It was founded as New Hall in 1954, at a time when Cambridge had the lowest proportion of women undergraduates of any university in the UK and when only two other colleges could admit women students....
 and professor of philosophy at the University of Warwick
University of Warwick

The University of Warwick is a British campus university located on the outskirts of Coventry, West Midlands , England and is University of Warwick#Academic standards as one of the country's leading universities....
 before taking her current position at the University of Miami.

Ideas

Haack's major contribution to philosophy is her epistemological
Epistemology

Epistemology or theory of knowledge is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge. It addresses the questions:...
 theory called foundherentism
Foundherentism

In epistemology, foundherentism is a theory of justification that combines elements from the two rival theories addressing infinite regress, foundationalism prone to arbitrariness and coherentism prone to circularity, hence the name....
, which is her attempt to avoid the logical problems of both pure foundationalism
Foundationalism

Foundationalism is any theory in epistemology that holds that beliefs are justified based on what are called basic beliefs . Basic beliefs are beliefs that give justificatory support to other beliefs, and more derivative beliefs are basing relation in epistemology on those more basic beliefs....
 (which is susceptible to infinite regress) and pure coherentism
Coherentism

There are two distinct types of coherentism. One refers to the coherence theory of truth. The otheris belief in the coherence theory of justification — an Epistemology theory opposing foundationalism and offering a solution to the regress argument....
 (which is susceptible to circularity). She illustrates this idea with the metaphor of the crossword puzzle. A highly simplified version of this proceeds as follows: Finding an answer using a clue is analogous to a foundational source (grounded in empirical evidence). Making sure that the interlocking words are mutually sensible is analogous to justification through coherence. Both are necessary components in the justification of knowledge.

She wrote a play, We Pragma­tists ...: Peirce
Charles Peirce

Charles Sanders Peirce was an American logician, mathematics, Philosophy, and science, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Peirce was educated as a chemist and employed as a scientist for 30 years....
 and Rorty
Richard Rorty

Richard McKay Rorty was an American philosopher. He had a long and diverse career in Philosophy, Humanities, and Literature departments. His complex intellectual background gave him a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the analytic philosophy tradition in philosophy he would later famously reject....
 in Conversation
, comprised entirely of quotes from both philosophers. She performed the role of Peirce. Haack published a vigorous in the New Criterion, taking strong exception to many of Rorty's
Richard Rorty

Richard McKay Rorty was an American philosopher. He had a long and diverse career in Philosophy, Humanities, and Literature departments. His complex intellectual background gave him a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the analytic philosophy tradition in philosophy he would later famously reject....
 views, especially his claim to be a sort of pragmatist.

Haack (1998) is highly critical of the view that there is a feminine perspective on reasoning, logic, scientific method, and scientific truth. However, in her objections to feminist epistemology
Feminist epistemology

Feminist epistemology is concerned with the way "in which gender does and ought to influence our conceptions of knowledge, the knowing subject, and practices of inquiry and justification", and comes under the umbrella of social epistemology - a broad set of approaches to the study of knowledge....
, she often represents feminist critiques of science and philosophy as being concerned that the outcomes of scientific inquiry be "politically correct".

She has written for Free Inquiry magazine and the "Council for Secular Humanism
Council for Secular Humanism

The Council for Secular Humanism is a Secular humanism organization headquartered in Amherst, New York. In 1980 CODESH issued A Secular Humanist Declaration, an argument for and statement of belief in Democratic Secular Humanism....
". Haack's work has been reviewed and cited in the popular press, such as the The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement

The Times Literary Supplement is a weekly literary review published in London by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation....
 as well as in academic journals.

Memberships

Haack is an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa Society
Phi Beta Kappa Society

The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society with the mission of "fostering and recognizing excellence" in the undergraduate liberal arts and sciences....
 and Phi Kappa Phi
Phi Kappa Phi

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is the oldest all-discipline honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1897, fourth after other similar academic societies: Phi Beta Kappa for the Liberal Arts and Sciences, Tau Beta Pi for Engineering, and Sigma Xi for Scientific Research, chronologically ....
, a past President of the Charles S. Peirce Society, and a past member of the U.S./UK Educational Commission.

Select Writings by Haack

  • 1974. Deviant Logic.
  • 1978. Philosophy of Logics.
  • 1993, Evidence and Inquiry.
  • 1997, "" The New Criterion 16.
  • 1998. Manifesto of a Passionate Moderate: Unfashionable Essays.
  • 2003. Defending Science: Within Reason Between Scientism and Cynicism. ISBN 1-59102-117-0).
  • 2005, "," American Journal of Public Health.
  • 2006 (edited with Robert Lane). Pragmatism, Old and New.
  • 2008. Putting Philosophy to Work: Inquiry and Its Place in Culture


External links

  • at University of Miami
    University of Miami

    The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 in the city of Coral Gables, Florida, Florida, United States, a historic suburb of Miami, Florida....
    .