Bas C. van Fraassen
Encyclopedia
Bastiaan Cornelis van Fraassen (born Goes
, the Netherlands, 5 April 1941) is a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy
at San Francisco State University
, teaching courses in philosophy of science, the role of models in scientific practice and philosophical logic. He previously taught at Yale University
, the University of Southern California
(USC), the University of Toronto
, and Princeton University
. He coined the term "constructive empiricism
" in his 1980 book The Scientific Image. Van Fraassen earned his B.A.
(1963) from the University of Alberta
and his M.A.
(1964) and Ph.D.
(1966, under the direction of Adolf Grünbaum
) from the University of Pittsburgh
.
A philosopher of science
, van Fraassen's 1989 book Laws and Symmetry attempted to lay the ground-work for explaining physical phenomena without using the assumption that such phenomena are caused by rules or laws which can be said to cause or govern their behavior. Focusing on the problem of underdetermination
, he argued for the possibility that theories could have empirical equivalence but differ in their ontological
commitments. He rejects the notion that the aim of science is to produce an account of the physical world that is literally true, and instead insists its aim is to produce theories that are empirically adequate. Van Fraassen has also done work on the philosophy of quantum mechanics
, philosophical logic, and epistemology.
Paul M. Churchland is a vocal critic of van Fraassen, who in his essay "The Anti-Realist
Epistemology of Bas van Fraassen's The Scientific Image", contrasted van Fraassen's idea of unobservable phenomena with the idea of merely unobserved phenomena, among other theories.
Van Fraassen is also known for his pioneering work in philosophical logic
.
He is the laureate of the 1986 Lakatos Award
for his contributions to the philosophy of science.
Van Fraassen is an adult convert to the Roman Catholic Church.
He has been active as editor of the Journal of Philosophical Logic and co-editor of the Journal of Symbolic Logic, as well as in the American Philosophical Association, the Philosophy of Science Association, Society for Exact Philosophy, Evert Willem Beth Stichting, Association for Symbolic Logic, and the International Union for History and Philosophy of Science, and as McCosh Professor of Philosophy (Princeton University); D. Lett (hon), (University of Lethbridge); LL. D.(hon),(University of Notre Dame), Ph. D. (hon), (Kath. Univ. Leuven), Foreign Member of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences); Titular Member of the Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences; Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy; Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
is more apt and convenient to explain the natural language.
Instead of any unique formalization, though, he simply adjusts the axioms of a standard predicate logic such as that found in Quine's Methods of Logic. Instead of an axiom like
he uses 
. Thus, if a name fails to refer, then it will be assigned a truth value here—which, naturally, will be true, because the existential claim of the antecedent is false.
He then shows that such a free logic is complete, but if one uses the free logic to accommodate supervaluationism then it is not.
Goes
Goes is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands in Zuid-Beveland, in the province Zeeland. The city of Goes has approximately 27,000 residents.-History of Goes:...
, the Netherlands, 5 April 1941) is a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
, teaching courses in philosophy of science, the role of models in scientific practice and philosophical logic. He previously taught at 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...
, the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
(USC), the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, and Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. He coined the term "constructive empiricism
Constructive empiricism
In philosophy, constructive empiricism is a form of empiricism. Bas van Fraassen is nearly solely responsible for the initial development of constructive empiricism; its historically most important presentation appears in his The Scientific Image...
" in his 1980 book The Scientific Image. Van Fraassen earned his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(1963) from the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
and his M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
(1964) and Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
(1966, under the direction of Adolf Grünbaum
Adolf Grünbaum
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....
) from 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...
.
A philosopher of science
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...
, van Fraassen's 1989 book Laws and Symmetry attempted to lay the ground-work for explaining physical phenomena without using the assumption that such phenomena are caused by rules or laws which can be said to cause or govern their behavior. Focusing on the problem of underdetermination
Underdetermination
In scientific theory, underdetermination refers to situations where the evidence available is insufficient to identify which belief we should hold about that evidence...
, he argued for the possibility that theories could have empirical equivalence but differ in their ontological
Ontology
Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...
commitments. He rejects the notion that the aim of science is to produce an account of the physical world that is literally true, and instead insists its aim is to produce theories that are empirically adequate. Van Fraassen has also done work on the philosophy of quantum mechanics
Interpretation of quantum mechanics
An interpretation of quantum mechanics is a set of statements which attempt to explain how quantum mechanics informs our understanding of nature. Although quantum mechanics has held up to rigorous and thorough experimental testing, many of these experiments are open to different interpretations...
, philosophical logic, and epistemology.
Paul M. Churchland is a vocal critic of van Fraassen, who in his essay "The Anti-Realist
Anti-realism
In analytic philosophy, the term anti-realism is used to describe any position involving either the denial of an objective reality of entities of a certain type or the denial that verification-transcendent statements about a type of entity are either true or false...
Epistemology of Bas van Fraassen's The Scientific Image", contrasted van Fraassen's idea of unobservable phenomena with the idea of merely unobserved phenomena, among other theories.
Van Fraassen is also known for his pioneering work in philosophical logic
Philosophical logic
Philosophical logic is a term introduced by Bertrand Russell to represent his idea that the workings of natural language and thought can only be adequately represented by an artificial language; essentially it was his formalization program for the natural language...
.
He is the laureate of the 1986 Lakatos Award
Lakatos Award
The Lakatos Award is given annually for a contribution to the philosophy of science which is widely interpreted as outstanding. The contribution must be in the form of a book published in English during the previous six years....
for his contributions to the philosophy of science.
Van Fraassen is an adult convert to the Roman Catholic Church.
He has been active as editor of the Journal of Philosophical Logic and co-editor of the Journal of Symbolic Logic, as well as in the American Philosophical Association, the Philosophy of Science Association, Society for Exact Philosophy, Evert Willem Beth Stichting, Association for Symbolic Logic, and the International Union for History and Philosophy of Science, and as McCosh Professor of Philosophy (Princeton University); D. Lett (hon), (University of Lethbridge); LL. D.(hon),(University of Notre Dame), Ph. D. (hon), (Kath. Univ. Leuven), Foreign Member of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences); Titular Member of the Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences; Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy; Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Singular Terms, truth-value Gaps, and Free Logic
In his paper Singular Terms, truth-value Gaps, and Free Logic, van Fraassen opens with a very brief introduction of the problem of non-referring names. He indicates that he sees no good reason to call statements which employ them either true or false. Some have attempted to solve this problem by means of many-valued logics, and van Fraassen states that he would not argue against such a thing. However, he thinks that free logicFree logic
A free logic is a logic with fewer existential presuppositions than classical logic. Free logics may allow for terms that do not denote any object. Free logics may also allow models that have an empty domain...
is more apt and convenient to explain the natural language.
Instead of any unique formalization, though, he simply adjusts the axioms of a standard predicate logic such as that found in Quine's Methods of Logic. Instead of an axiom like
he uses . Thus, if a name fails to refer, then it will be assigned a truth value here—which, naturally, will be true, because the existential claim of the antecedent is false.He then shows that such a free logic is complete, but if one uses the free logic to accommodate supervaluationism then it is not.
Published books
- Scientific Representation: Paradoxes of Perspective, OUP, 2008.
- Possibilities and Paradox (with JC Beall), OUP, 2003.
- The Empirical Stance, Yale University Press, 2002.
- Quantum Mechanics: An Empiricist View, Oxford University Press, 1991.
- Laws and Symmetry, Oxford University Press 1989.
- French translation and introduction by C. Chevalley. Paris: Vrin, 1994.
- The Scientific Image, Oxford University Press 1980.
- Co-winner, Franklin J. Matchette Prize for Philosophical Books, 1982.
- Co-winner, Imre Lakatos Award for 1986.
- Italian Edition, with new preface, Bologna 1985.
- Japanese Edition, with new preface, Tokyo 1987.
- Spanish Edition, Mexico, 1995.
- Chinese Edition, Shanghai, 2002
- Derivation and Counterexample: An Introduction to Philosophical Logic (with Karel Lambert), Dickenson Publishing Company, Inc. 1972.
- Formal Semantics and Logic, Macmillan, New York 1971
- Spanish Translation, Mexico (Universitat Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), tr. J.A. Robles, 1987.
- An Introduction to the Philosophy of Time and Space, Random House, New York 1970.
- Spanish Translation, Barcelona (Editorial Labor, S.A.), tr. J-P.A. Goicoechea, 1978.
- Second edition, with new preface and postscript. Columbia University Press, 1985.