Paul Griffiths is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sydney and works primarily in 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 more particularly

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 ...

. Born in England in 1962, he received a B.A. from the University of Cambridge in 1984 and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the Australian National University in 1989 under the supervision of

Kim Sterelny Kim Sterelny (born 1950) is an Australian philosopher and professor of philosophy in the Research School of Social Sciences at Australian National University and Victoria University of Wellington. He is the winner of several international prizes ...

. He taught previously at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Queensland and the University of Otago. He spends part of each year at the University of Exeter in the Egenis: the Centre for the Study of the Life Sciences. Griffiths is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and 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 Australia ...

. Griffiths, together with Russell Gray developed a theoretical perspective on biological development, heredity, and evolution known as

developmental systems theory Developmental systems theory (DST) is an overarching theoretical perspective on biological development, heredity, and evolution. It emphasizes the shared contributions of genes, environment, and epigenetic factors on developmental processes. DST ...

(DST). Together with his former advisor

, in 1999, Griffiths published '' Sex and Death'', a comprehensive treatment of problems and alternative positions in the philosophy of biology. This book incorporated a number of the positions developed in previous articles on the range of topics in the philosophy of biology. His latest book, published in 2013, in collaboration with

Karola Stotz Karola Stotz (September 8, 1963 – October 14, 2019) was a German scholar of philosophy of biology, cognitive science, and philosophy of science. With Paul E. Griffiths, she pioneered the use of experimental philosophy methods in the field of ...

, focuses on the philosophy of genetics.

Books

Monographs

* Griffiths, P. E. (1997). ''What Emotions Really Are: The Problem of Psychological Categories''. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. * Sterelny, K. and P. E. Griffiths (1999) ''Sex and Death: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Biology''. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. * Griffiths, P. E., & Stotz, K. (2013). ''Genetics and Philosophy: An introduction''. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Edited Volumes

* Griffiths, P.E (Ed.) (1992). ''Trees of Life: Essays in Philosophy of Biology''. Dordrecht, Kluwer. * Oyama, S., P. E. Griffiths and R.D. Gray (Eds.) (2001). ''Cycles of Contingency: Developmental Systems and Evolution''. MIT Press.

Awards and honors

In 2017, he was awarded an Australian Laureate Fellowship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Paul E. Australian philosophers Living people 1962 births Alumni of the University of Cambridge Australian National University alumni Philosophers of biology