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Birth & Education
Ian Hacking was born in Vancouver, British Columbia on the 18th of February 1936. Hacking holds degrees from the University of British Columbia and Cambridge University and completed his Ph.D. in Moral Sciences in 1962. He has taught and lectured in many places abroad, in the United States, and Canda. (Grandy) -
Early Works
Hacking published his first book "The Logic of Statistical Inference" in 1965. He would go on to publish many more books and articles. In regard to Philosophy, he published "Why Does Language Matter to Philosophy?" in 1975. This book detailed was meant to help undergraduate students understand the part of language in Philosophy. (Walker) He divides the history of the subject in three categories: the heyday of ideas, the heyday of meanings, and the heyday of sentences. (Grandy) -
The Social Contruction of What?
In 1999 wrote "The Social Contruction of What?" providing an overview of "the science wars." (Grandy) In his book, Hacking addresses the social construction of scientific ideas. He discusses how scientific ideas and theories may have a socially biased interpretation of reality. In his words, "a quark does not care what we call it." (Jasanoff) -
Awards
Hacking has received many awards and honors. He holds a permanent chair at the College de France, is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, was named a Companion of the Order of Canada, has received the Molson Prize, and won the Killam Prize. (Grandy)
