Michael Strevens

Professor Of Philosophy

Michael Strevens (Ph.D., Rutgers), Professor of Philosophy, works on the philosophy of science, where his interests include explanation, complex systems, probability,  confirmation, and the social structure of science and its role in science’s success; the psychology of concepts; and the philosophical applications of cognitive science, including philosophical methodology.

Education

Ph.D., Rutgers

Areas of Research/Interest

philosophy of science, concepts, philosophical applications of cognitive science

Recent Representative Publications

  • The Knowledge Machine: How Irrationality Created Modern Science, Liveright, 2020.
  • Thinking Off Your Feet: How Empirical Psychology Vindicates Armchair Philosophy, Harvard University Press, 2019.
  • Tychomancy: Inferring Probability from Causal Structure, Harvard University Press, 2013.
  • Depth: An Account of Scientific Explanation, Harvard University Press, 2008.
  • Bigger than Chaos: Understanding Complexity through Probability, Harvard University Press, 2003.

Selected Courses

Undergraduate
 
  • How Science Works
  • Philosophy of Science
  • Philosophical Applications of Cognitive Science
Graduate
 
  • Conceptualizing the World
  • Explanation in Art, History, and Science
  • Psychology of Philosophy