Susan Haack
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{{Citations missing|date=December 2007}}
PragmatismCharles Sanders Peirce|notable_ideas =
FoundherentismPuzzle view of scienceFrancis Bacon{{·}} Willard Van Orman Quine>W.V.O. Quine | C.S. Peirce|influenced =
Luciano Floridi{{·}}
John Zeis}}
Susan Haack (born 1945,
England) is an
English professor of
philosophy and
law at the
University of Miami in the
United States. She has written on
logic, the
philosophy of language,
epistemology, and
metaphysics. Her
pragmatism follows that of
Charles Sanders Peirce.
Career
Haack is a graduate of the
University of Oxford and the
University of Cambridge. At Oxford, she studied at
St. Hilda's College, where her first philosophy teacher was
Jean Austin, the widow of
J. L. Austin. She also studied
Plato with
Gilbert Ryle and logic with
Michael Dummett.
David Pears supervised her B.Phil. dissertation on
ambiguity. At Cambridge, she wrote her Ph.D. under the supervision of
Timothy Smiley. She held the positions of Fellow of
New Hall, Cambridge and professor of philosophy at the
University of Warwick before taking her current position at the University of Miami.
Ideas
Haack's major contribution to philosophy is her
epistemological theory called
foundherentism, which is her attempt to avoid the logical problems of both pure
foundationalism (which is susceptible to infinite regress) and pure
coherentism (which is susceptible to circularity). She illustrates this idea with the metaphor of the crossword puzzle. A highly simplified version of this proceeds as follows: Finding an answer using a clue is analogous to a foundational source (grounded in empirical evidence). Making sure that the interlocking words are mutually sensible is analogous to justification through coherence. Both are necessary components in the justification of knowledge.She wrote a play,
We Pragmatists ...: Peirce and Rorty in Conversation, comprised entirely of quotes from both philosophers. She performed the role of Peirce. Haack published a vigorous
essay in the
New Criterion, taking strong exception to many of
Rorty's views, especially his claim to be a sort of pragmatist.Haack (1998) is highly critical of the view that there is a feminine perspective on reasoning, logic, scientific method, and scientific truth, stating that many feminist critiques of science and philosophy as being concerned that the outcomes of scientific inquiry be "politically correct".She has written for
Free Inquiry magazine and the "
Council for Secular Humanism". Haack's work has been reviewed and cited in the popular press, such as the
The Times Literary Supplement as well as in academic journals.
Memberships
Haack is an honorary member of
Phi Beta Kappa Society and
Phi Kappa Phi, a past President of the
Charles S. Peirce Society, and a past member of the U.S./UK Educational Commission.
Select Writings by Haack
- 1974. Deviant Logic.
- 1978. Philosophy of Logics.
- 1993, Evidence and Inquiry.
- 1997, "Vulgar Rortyism," The New Criterion 16.
- 1998. Manifesto of a Passionate Moderate: Unfashionable Essays.
- 2003. Defending Science: Within Reason Between Scientism and Cynicism. ISBN 1-59102-117-0).
- 2005, "Trial and Error: The Supreme Court's Philosophy of Science,," American Journal of Public Health.
- 2006 (edited with Robert Lane). Pragmatism, Old and New.
- 2008. Putting Philosophy to Work: Inquiry and Its Place in Culture
External links
Susan HaackSusan HaackSusan Haack
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