James F. Conant
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James Ferguson Conant (b. June 10, 1958) is an American philosopher who has written extensively on topics in philosophy of language, ethics, and metaphilosophy. He is perhaps best known for his writings on Wittgenstein, and his association with the New Wittgenstein school of Wittgenstein interpretation. He has also written on Stanley Cavell, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Soren Kierkegaard, edited two volumes of Hilary Putnam's papers, and edited (with John Haugeland) one volume of Thomas Kuhn's papers.
Conant was born in Kyoto, Japan to American parents. He lived in Japan and Korea until the age of 14, at which point he moved to the United States and attended Phillips Exeter Academy. He received his B.A. in Philosophy and History of Science from Harvard College in 1982, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Harvard University in 1990. He joined the philosophy faculty at the University of Pittsburgh from 1991-1999, and then became Professor of Philosophy at the University of Chicago, where he continues to teach. At Chicago, he organizes and runs the University of Chicago Wittgenstein Workshop, which meets on a weekly basis during the academic year and serves as a forum for discussion of philosophical topics related to the work of Wittgenstein.
Conant is the grandson of former Harvard University president James Bryant Conant
