Alan R. Baker is a professor of philosophy in

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

(

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States), specializing in the

philosophy of mathematics Philosophy of mathematics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of mathematics and its relationship to other areas of philosophy, particularly epistemology and metaphysics. Central questions posed include whether or not mathem ...

and the

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...

. He is also a former U.S.

shogi , also known as Japanese chess, is a Strategy game, strategy board game for two players. It is one of the most popular board games in Japan and is in the same family of games as chess, Western chess, chaturanga, xiangqi, Indian chess, and janggi. ...

champion.

Academic career

Baker did his undergraduate studies at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, earning a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in philosophy with

first class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

in 1991. He then moved to the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

for graduate school, earning a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in 1995 and a Ph.D. in 1999, both in philosophy from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. His doctoral supervisors were

Paul Benacerraf Paul Joseph Salomon Benacerraf (; 26 March 1930 – 13 January 2025) was a French-born American philosopher working in the field of the philosophy of mathematics who taught at Princeton University his entire career, from 1960 until his retirement ...

and

Gideon Rosen Gideon Rosen (born 1963) is an American philosopher. He is a Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University, where he specializes in metaphysics, philosophy of mathematics, and ethics. Education and career Rosen graduated from Columb ...

. After working as an assistant professor at

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

, he moved to Swarthmore in 2003.Curriculum vitae (October 2012)
, retrieved 2014-04-08. Philosophically, Baker is a mathematical realist who has used examples from

evolutionary biology Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes such as natural selection, common descent, and speciation that produced the diversity of life on Earth. In the 1930s, the discipline of evolutionary biolo ...

to show the necessity of mathematics in scientific reasoning. In 2005 ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' published an excerpt from the exam from his ''"Introduction to Metaphysics and Epistemology"'' course in its ''"pop quiz"'' column.

Shogi

In 2005, Baker founded a shogi club at Swarthmore College, outside

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, which is one of only two college-based shogi clubs in the United States. The other club is

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

Shogi Club, which was founded in August 2017. Baker is also a former U.S. shogi champion, having won the 13th U.S. Shogi Championship in 2008.. his ELO rating of 2107 placed him in 20th place on the Federation of European Shogi Associations (FESA) bi-annual rating list.Alan Baker: FESA profile
/ref> Tournament results: * 2008: Winner, 13th U.S.

Shogi , also known as Japanese chess, is a Strategy game, strategy board game for two players. It is one of the most popular board games in Japan and is in the same family of games as chess, Western chess, chaturanga, xiangqi, Indian chess, and janggi. ...

Championship. * 2008: 3rd place, Individual Tournament, 4th International Shogi Forum ( Tendō). * 2009: 2nd place, British Open Shogi Championship. * 2014: Winner, Group B Individual Tournament, 6th International Shogi Forum ( Shizuoka)6th International Shogi Forum, Shizuoka
/ref>

Personal life

Baker's father is British philosopher Gordon Park Baker.

References

21st-century American philosophers Philosophers from Pennsylvania American shogi players Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American philosophers of mathematics American philosophers of science Philosophical realism Swarthmore College faculty {{US-philosopher-stub