Graham Oddie is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

philosopher who lives and works in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He has been Professor of Philosophy at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

since 1994.

Biography

Oddie was educated at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

, where he received a first class honors degree in philosophy, and at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, where he received a PhD in logic and philosophy of science (1979). His teachers at the

included Pavel Tichý and

Alan Musgrave Alan Musgrave (; born 1940) is an English-born New Zealand philosopher. Biography Musgrave was educated at the London School of Economics with a BA Honours Philosophy and Economics 1961. Karl Popper supervised Musgrave's PhD which was complet ...

, and at the LSE, John Watkins (his supervisor), and

Colin Howson Colin Howson (1945 – 5 January 2020) was a British philosopher. He was Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto, where he joined the faculty on 1 July 2008. Previously, he was Professor of Logic at the London School of Economics. H ...

. Before moving to the United States he held positions at the University of Otago Oddie wrote a PhD on his new idea of truthlikeness which transformed into his book, ''Likeness to Truth''. and

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

(where he was Professor and Chair of Philosophy from 1988 to 1994). At the

he was elected Chair of Philosophy in 1997, and appointed Associate Dean for Humanities and the Arts in 2002. He is a past President of the Australasian Association of Philosophy, and has held visiting positions at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

, Tantur Institute Jerusalem, the University of London,

the Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and i ...

the University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, the University of Canterbury, and

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Oddie is best known for his work in the theory of value—including the nature of value, the logic of value and our knowledge of value. He is also known for work on cognitive values (truth, truthlikeness and probability). His books include ''Likeness to Truth'' (the first monograph on the notion of verisimilitude, or closeness to the truth), and ''Value, Reality, and Desire'' (an extended defense of the thesis that value is real and irreducible).

Publications

Books

*''Likeness to Truth'', (Reidel, 1986), . *''Justice, Ethics and New Zealand Society'', co-edited with Roy Perrett, (Oxford University Press, 1992), . *''What's Wrong? Applied Ethicists and Their Critics'', co-edited with David Boonin, (Oxford University Press, 2004 and 2009), . *''Value, Reality and Desire'' (Oxford University Press, 2005 and 2009), .

Selected papers

*“Thinking Globally, Acting Locally: Partiality, Preferences and Perspective”, ''Les Ateliers De L’Éthique (La Revue de Créum)'' Volume 9, numéro 2, été 2014, pp. 57–81. *"The content, consequence and likeness approaches to verisimilitude: compatibility, trivialization, and underdetermination", ''Synthese'' June 2013, Volume 190, Issue 9, pp 1647–1687. *"Truthlikeness", ''The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (Summer 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.) *“The fictionalist’s attitude problem”, (with Dan Demetriou) in ''Ethical Theory and Moral Practice'', (2007), 10: 485-98.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oddie, Graham Living people New Zealand philosophers University of Otago alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics University of Otago faculty Massey University faculty University of Colorado faculty Year of birth missing (living people)