Paul Humphreys (1950-2022) was a British professor of philosophy at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, specialising in

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, ...

, metaphysics, and epistemology. His interests included the

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

and

epistemology Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowle ...

emergence In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence occurs when a complex entity has properties or behaviors that its parts do not have on their own, and emerge only when they interact in a wider whole. Emergence plays a central rol ...

computational science Computational science, also known as scientific computing, technical computing or scientific computation (SC), is a division of science, and more specifically the Computer Sciences, which uses advanced computing capabilities to understand and s ...

empiricism In philosophy, empiricism is an epistemological view which holds that true knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from sensory experience and empirical evidence. It is one of several competing views within epistemology, along ...

and realism.

Education and career

Humphreys earned his undergraduate degree at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

, and then went to

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

where he received his Ph.D. in 1976. He joined the

faculty in 1978, where he spent the rest of his career (apart from visiting appointments at

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

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 ...

and others), rising to the rank of "Commonwealth Professor of Philosophy."

Philosophical work

He was a significant contributor to the philosophy of

emergent properties In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence occurs when a complex entity has properties or behaviors that its parts do not have on their own, and emerge only when they interact in a wider whole. Emergence plays a central role ...

, as well as other areas in the

and philosophy of probability. Humphreys published a substantial number of books and scholarly articles. He was Series Editor for the Oxford Studies in the Philosophy of Science. He serves on the editorial Boards of the '' American Philosophical Quarterly'', ''

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, ...

'', and ''

Foundations of Science Foundation(s) or The Foundation(s) may refer to: Common uses * Foundation (cosmetics), a skin-coloured makeup cream applied to the face * Foundation (engineering), the element of a structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads f ...

''.

Select publications

*''Emergence: Contemporary Readings in Science and Philosophy''. Mark Bedau and Paul Humphreys (eds). The MIT Press, 2007
''Extending Ourselves: Computational Science, Empiricism, and Scientific Method''
(Oxford, 2004) *''"Some Considerations on Conditional Chance,"'' British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (2004) *''"Computational Models"'', Philosophy of Science 69 (2002), S1-S11 *''"Are There Algorithms that Discover Causal Structure?"'' Synthese (1999, with David Freedman) *''"How Properties Emerge,"'' Philosophy of Science 64 (1997), 1-17 *''The Chances of Explanation'' (Princeton, 1989) *''"Why Propensities Cannot Be Probabilities,"'' The Philosophical Review 94 (1985), 557-570

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humphreys, Paul 1950 births Living people 21st-century British philosophers 20th-century British philosophers Alumni of the University of Sussex University of Virginia faculty