Alan Francis Chalmers (; born 1939) is a British-Australian

philosopher of science Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and associate professor at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

.Alan Chalmers Website at the University of Sydney
/ref>

Education

Chalmers was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England in 1939, and was awarded a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

in 1961, and his

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

in physics from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

in 1964. His PhD on the

electromagnetic theory In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interact ...

James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism an ...

was awarded by the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

in 1971.

Career

Chalmers went to Australia as a postdoctoral fellow in 1971. He was a member of the Department of General Philosophy from 1972 to 1986, and from 1986 to 1999 was the head of the Department of the History and Philosophy of Science at the

, where he remains an honorary associate professor. Since 1999 Chalmers has been a visiting scholar at the

Flinders University Flinders University, established as The Flinders University of South Australia is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across a number of locations in South Australia and ...

Philosophy Department. Chalmers was elected a fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australi ...

in 1997. He was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Australian government for ‘Services to the Humanities in the area of History and Philosophy of Science’. From 1999 to 2010, Alan Chalmers became a visiting scholar in the Department of Philosophy at

, and was also a visiting fellow in the Center of Philosophy of Science at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

from 2003 to 2004.Alan Chalmers Website at the University of Pittsburgh
/ref> His primary research interest is the philosophy of science and he is author of the best-selling textbook '' What Is This Thing Called Science?'' which has been translated into many languages.

Publications

*''Science and Its Fabrication'' *'' What Is This Thing Called Science?'' *''The Scientist's Atom and the Philosopher's Stone – How Science Succeeded and Philosophy Failed to Gain Knowledge of Atoms'' *''One Hundred Years of Pressure: Hydrostatics from Stevin to Newton''Springer International Publishing, 2017, pp. 197+ix.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chalmers, Alan Living people 1939 births Academic staff of the University of Sydney Alumni of the University of Bristol Alumni of the University of Manchester Alumni of the University of London Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities