James Robert Brown (born 1949) is a Canadian

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 ...

. He is an emeritus professor of philosophy at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. 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 ...

, he has advocated

mathematical Platonism Mathematical Platonism is the form of realism that suggests that mathematical entities are abstract, have no spatiotemporal or causal properties, and are eternal and unchanging. This is often claimed to be the view most people have of numbers. ...

, visual reasoning, and in 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 has defended

scientific realism Scientific realism is the philosophical view that the universe described by science (including both observable and unobservable aspects) exists independently of our perceptions, and that verified scientific theories are at least approximately true ...

mostly against anti-realist views associated with

social constructivism Social constructivism is a sociological theory of knowledge according to which human development is socially situated, and knowledge is constructed through interaction with others. Like social constructionism, social constructivism states that ...

. He has also argued for the socialization of medical research (especially pharmaceutical research). He is largely known for his work on

thought experiments A thought experiment is an imaginary scenario that is meant to elucidate or test an argument or theory. It is often an experiment that would be hard, impossible, or unethical to actually perform. It can also be an abstract hypothetical that is ...

. Elected:

Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

(Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften) 2004,

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

2007, Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences 2010 Brown was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. He is married to the philosopher Kathleen Okruhlik.

Books

*1989 ''The Rational and the Social'' (Routledge 1989) *1991 ''The Laboratory of the Mind: Thought Experiments in the Natural Sciences'' (Routledge 1991, second edition 2010) *1994 ''Smoke and Mirrors: How Science Reflects Reality'' (Routledge 1994) *1999 ''Philosophy of Mathematics: An Introduction to the World of Proofs and Pictures'' (Routledge 1999, second edition 2008) *2001 ''Who Rules in Science? An Opinionated Guide to the Wars'' (Harvard 2001) *2012 ''Platonism, Naturalism, and Mathematical Knowledge'' (Routledge 2012) *2017 ''On Foundations of Seismology: Bringing Idealizations Down to Earth'' (with M. Slawinski) Books edited include: *2012 ''Thought Experiments in Philosophy, Science, and the Arts'' (ed. with M. Frappier and L. Meynell ) (Routledge 2012) *2018 ''The Routledge Companion to Thought Experiments'' (ed. with M. Stuart and Y. Fehige), (Routledge 2018)

References

External links

James Brown’s Homepage

"Plato's Heaven: A User's Guide - A conversation with James Robert Brown"
, ''Ideas Roadshow'', 2013 20th-century Canadian philosophers Academics from Montreal Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Living people Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Moral realists Philosophers of mathematics Canadian philosophers of science University of Guelph alumni Academic staff of the University of Toronto 1949 births {{Canada-philosopher-stub