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From Slovakia to America
Ernest Nagel was born in November of 1901 in a town that is now part of Slovakia. When he was 10 years old his family immigrated to America. He grew up in New York where he gained his American citizenship in 1919. -
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Professor of Philosophy
From 1931 to 1970 Nagel spent his career at Columbia University. In 1955 he became the first John Dewey professor of philosophy. He was then awarded the position of University Professor in 1967 where he held the role until his retirement in 1970. Nagel had many honors throughout his career but what is most notable is "to many generations of students he was the outstanding spokesman of what philosophy could offer in terms of analysis of the scientific method." (Suppes, Patrick) -
The Structure of Science
In 1961 Ernest Nagel released his book "The Structure of Science". In his book he "analyzes the nature of explanation, the logic of scientific inquiry, and the logical structure of the organization of scientific knowledge." (Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia) He says that scientific language is universal in its meaning and should be taken as an ontology. He also stated that social sciences should be upheld with the same regard as natural sciences. -
Pantheon of Skeptics
Ernest Nagel was posthumously inducted into the Pantheon of skeptics for his contributions to skeptical science. Throughout his career he argued that science can be based on phenomenon and not empirical evidence.