C. Kenneth Waters holds the Canada Research Chair in

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...

and the

Philosophy of Science Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ult ...

and is Professor of Philosophy at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

, where he specializes in philosophy of biology.

Education and career

Waters received his undergraduate education from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

and his M.A and PhD from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

. Waters has taught at the

since 2014, and has held previous appointments at

John Carroll University John Carroll University is a private Jesuit university in University Heights, Ohio. It is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts institution accompanied by the John M. and Mary Jo Boler College of Business. John Carroll has an enrollment of 3 ...

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

, and the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

. Waters was the Samuel Russell Chair of Humanities at the

and was Director of the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science from 1996 - 2014. Waters has been named an AAAS Fellow and served as president of the

Philosophy of Science Association The Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) is an international academic organization founded in 1933 that promotes research, teaching, and free discussion of issues in the philosophy of science from diverse standpoints. The PSA engages in activit ...

Philosophical work

Waters' research centers on the epistemology of biological sciences. He has written on reductionism, pluralism,

experimentation An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

, conceptual and investigative practices, and

causal reasoning Causal reasoning is the process of identifying causality: the relationship between a cause and its effect. The study of causality extends from ancient philosophy to contemporary neuropsychology; assumptions about the nature of causality may be ...

. He is a prominent figure in the

Philosophy of Biology The philosophy of biology is a subfield of philosophy of science, which deals with epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical issues in the biological and biomedical sciences. Although philosophers of science and philosophers generally have long ...

literature. His most prominent and influential philosophical research is focused on a historically informed epistemological account of how scientists succeed, and why this is philosophically important.

Publications

* "Shifting Attention From Theory to Practice in Philosophy of Biology" in M.C. Galavotti, D. Dieks, W.J. Gonzalez, S. Hartmann, T. Uebel, and M. Weber (eds.) New Directions in the Philosophy of Science, ed. by. Berlin: Springer International Publishing, 2014, pp. 121–139. * "Beyond Theoretical Reduction and Layer-cake Antireduction: How DNA Retooled Genetics and Transformed Biological Practice", in Michael Ruse (ed.) Oxford Handbook to the Philosophy of Biology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2008, pp. 238–62. * "Causes that Make a Difference", The Journal of Philosophy. Volume CIV, Number 11 (2007): 551–579. * "The Pluralist Stance" with Stephen Kellert and Helen Longino, in Scientific Pluralism, Volume XIX of the Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, edited with Stephen Kellert, Helen Longino, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2006, pp. 7–29 * "Why Genic and Multilevel Selection Theories are Here to Stay", Philosophy of Science 72 (2) (2005): 311–33. * "The Arguments in Darwin's Origin of Species", in The Cambridge Companion to Darwin, edited by Jonathan Hodge and Gregory Radick, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. 116–139.

References

External links

Philosophy.umn.edu

Chairs-chaires.gc.ca

Phil.ucalgary.ca

Aaas.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, C. Kenneth Canadian philosophers Living people Philosophers of science Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Indiana University alumni Academic staff of the University of Calgary University of Vermont alumni John Carroll University faculty Rice University faculty University of Minnesota faculty Year of birth missing (living people)