-
Born
He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. The image is his first book "The Logic of Statistical Inference", Professor Hacking has sought to discover the simple principles which underlie modern work in mathematical statistics and to test them, both at a philosophical level and in terms of their practical consequences fort statisticians. amazon.com -
Major books "The Emergence of Probability" (1975)
Hacking invokes a wide intellectual framework involving the growth of science, economics, and the theology of the period. He argues that the transformations that made it possible for probability concepts to emerge have constrained all subsequent development of probability theory and determine the space within which philosophical debate on the subject is still conducted. Infofrom: amazon.com -
Major books "The Taming of Chance", (1990)
Hacking shows how by the late 19th century it became possible to think of statistical patterns as explanatory in themselves. Combining detailed scientific historical research with characteristic philosophic breath and verve, this book brings out the relations among philosophy, the physical sciences, mathematics and the development of social institutions, and provides a unique and authoritative analysis of the "probabilization" of the Western world.
Info from: amazon.com -
Ian Hacking video at University of Toronto
Ian Hacking talks about the impact of Sir Francis Bacon and Karl Popper on scientific inquiry. Ultimately, Professor Hacking concludes, science is neither all theory nor all experiment but, rather, an intimate interaction between what we do with our hands, what we do with our heads, and what we do by talking to each other. (link below) https://youtu.be/eIBAuE-Cbic -
Hacking known as "true bridge-builder"
His research is a central contribution to bridging the gap that characterized the academic debates of the latter decades of the 20th century on how to understand science. This gap often manifested itself in terms of contested understandings of scientific knowledge, and in particular around the degree to which scientific knowledge was to be seen as socially and historically constructed. info from: https://www.holbergprisen.no/en/ian-hacking/about-ian-hacking.html
