C. Kenneth Waters

C. Kenneth Waters is Canada Research Chair in Logic and the Philosophy of Science.^[1][2] and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Calgary.^[3][4] Recently Waters has been named AAAS Fellow^[5] and holds the title of president of the Philosophy of Science Association.^[6]

Career

Waters received his undergraduate education from the University of Vermont and his M.A and PhD from Indiana University. Waters has taught at the University of Calgary since 2014, and has held previous appointments at John Carroll University, Rice University, and the University of Minnesota. Waters was the Samuel Russell Chair of Humanities at the University of Minnesota^[7] and was Director of the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science from 1996 - 2014. Waters is currently President of the Philosophy of Science Association.

Research

Waters' research centers on the epistemology of biological sciences. He has written on reductionism, pluralism, experimentation, conceptual and investigative practices, and causal reasoning. He is a prominent figure in the Philosophy of Biology literature. His most prominent and influential philosophical research is focused on a historically informed epidemiological account of how scientists succeed, and why this is philosophically important.

Contributions

Waters was a member of the National Science Foundation Panel for Professional Development and Postdoctoral Fellowships in History and Philosophy of Science in the spring of 1991, was a member of the Editorial Board for Philosophy of Science from 1994-1999, was on the program committee for the Philosophy of Science Association from 2000-2001, was on the governing board from 2004-2005. Waters has also been a referee for Biology and Philosophy, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, Journal of Philosophical Logic, Linguistics and Philosophy, Philosophical Psychology, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy Research Archives, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Synthese, National Science Foundation, Israel Science Foundation as well as for Cambridge University Press, Harvard Press, and Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Press. He has been a keynote speaker at number conferences.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Publications

• “Shifting Attention From Theory to Practice in Philosophy of Biology” in M.C. Galavotti, D. Dieks, W.J. Gonzalez, S. Hartmann, T. Uebel, and M. Weber (eds.) New Directions in the Philosophy of Science, ed. by. Berlin: Springer International Publishing, 2014, pp. 121–139.^[12]
• “Beyond Theoretical Reduction and Layer-cake Antireduction: How DNA Retooled Genetics and Transformed Biological Practice”, in Michael Ruse (ed.) Oxford Handbook to the Philosophy of Biology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2008, pp. 238–62.^[13]
• “Causes that Make a Difference”, The Journal of Philosophy. Volume CIV, Number 11 (2007): 551–579.^[14]
• “The Pluralist Stance” with Stephen Kellert and Helen Longino, in Scientific Pluralism, Volume XIX of the Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, edited with Stephen Kellert, Helen Longino, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2006, pp. 7–29
• “Why Genic and Multilevel Selection Theories are Here to Stay”, Philosophy of Science 72 (2) (2005): 311–33.
• “The Arguments in Darwin’s Origin of Species”, in The Cambridge Companion to Darwin, edited by Jonathan Hodge and Gregory Radick, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. 116–139.

References

External links

• Philosophy.umn.edu
• Chairs-chaires.gc.ca
• Phil.ucalgary.ca
• Aaas.org