Dr. C. Kenneth Waters
Positions
Chair: SSHRC Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Logic and Philosophy of Science
Professor
Contact information
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Background
Educational Background
B.A. , University of Vermont, 1979
Doctor of Philosophy , Indiana University, 1985
M.A. Philosophy, Indiana University, 1984
Biography
I received my PhD in History and Philosophy of Science from Indiana University (1985). I have taught at John Carroll University, Rice University, and the University of Minnesota. I currently hold the Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Logic and Philosophy of Science at the University of Calgary. I served as Director of the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science (1996 - 2014) and was the President of the Philosophy of Science Association (2015 - 2016). I have received numerous grants from the National Science Foundation and was co-principal investigator of a project funded by the Templeton Foundation.
My research concerns the nature of knowledge in the context of scientific practice and the conditions that make this knowledge possible. Much of my research examines biological sciences and the way biologists seek to investigate, manipulate, and understand life. My research is distinguished by an interest in the pluralistic nature of scientific investigation and knowledge, its shift towards analyzing scientific reasoning in the context of investigative practices, and most recently by the idea that metaphysics should be informed by the forms of scientific practice that work in our complex and changing world. I believe that philosophy of science is important because a philosophical understanding of science and its limitations can inform societies seeking solutions to complex problems.
My selected works include: The Language of Nature: Reassessing the Mathematization of Natural Philosophy in the Seventeenth Century, Scientific Pluralism, and Julian Huxley: Biologist and Statesman of Science. My journal articles and book chapters include “PSA Presidential Address: An Epistemology for Scientific Practice”, “Ask Not 'What is an Individual”, and "Shifting Attention From Theory to Practice in Philosophy of Biology". More is available at philpapers.
My personal webpage provides further information and resources.
Research
Participation in university strategic initiatives
Courses
| Course number | Course title | Semester |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL 609.10 | Topics in the History of Philosophy (John Dewey) | |
| PHIL 52309 LEC 01 01 | Advanced Topics in Metaphysics | |
| PHIL 62309 LEC 01 01 | Topics in Metaphysics | |
| PHIL 264 LEC 01 01 | How Do We Know? |
Awards
- Fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Science, 2015
- President of the Philosophy of Science Association, 2015
Publications
- Ask Not ‘What Is An Individual?. C. Kenneth Waters. in O. Bueno, M. B. Fagan, and R. Chen (eds.), Individuation, Process, and Scientific Practices, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018, pp. 91–113. DOI:10.1093/oso/9780190636814.003.0005 [pre-print on PhilSci-Archive.pitt.edu]. 91–113. (2018)
- No General Structure. C. Kenneth Waters. in Matthew Slater and Zanja Yudell (eds.) Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Science: New Essays, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017, pp. 81-108. [pre-print on PhilSci-Archive.pitt.edu]. 81–108. (2017)
- An Epistemology for Scientific Practice. C. Kenneth Waters. Philosophy of Science Vol. 86, no. 4 (2019): 585-611. DOI: n/a [open access on journal site]. 585–611. (2019)
- Beyond Theoretical Reduction and Layer-cake Antireduction: How DNA Retooled Genetics and Transformed Biological Practice. C. Kenneth Waters. in Michael Ruse (ed.) Oxford Handbook to the Philosophy of Biology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2008, pp. 238–62. [pre-print on PhilSci-Archive.pitt.edu]. 238–62. (2008)
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