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Birth
Ian MacDougall Hacking was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on February 18, 1936 -
As a Teacher 1960-2011
Hacking started off teaching at Princeton University in 1960. He taught philosophy at various universities such as Cambridge, Oxford Princeton, and Stanford. In 1983, Hacking became the professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto. In 1991 he was promoted to University Professor. He ended his career in 2011 as a visiting professor at the University of Cape Town. -
University of Cambridge
Hacking completed his BA in mathematics and physics at the University of British Columbia in 1956 and then his BA, MA and PhD in Moral Sciences at the University of Cambridge by 1962. -
The Logic of Statistical Inference
Hacking's early ideas on central concepts and questions surrounding statistical reasoning. -
The Emergence of Probability
A philosophical critique of early ideas about probability, induction, and statistical inference and the growth of this new family of ideas in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries. He brings forth a wide intellectual framework involving the growth of science, economics, and the theology of the period. -
The Taming of Chance
Hacking discusses the history of probability and its increasing importance in our daily lives. He argues for a nineteenth-century "erosion of determinism," making room for genuine chance. Also named by The Modern Library as one of the best 100 non-fiction works of the 20th century -
An Introduction to Probability and Inductive Logic
This is an introductory textbook on probability and induction which is widely used and applies to many students (not only philosophy majors). -
Other Works 1975-2014
Why Does Language Matter to Philosophy? (1975)
Representing and Intervening, Introductory Topics in the Philosophy of Natural Science (1983)
Scientific Revolutions (1990)
Rewriting the Soul: Multiple Personality and the Sciences of Memory (1995)
Mad Travelers: Reflections on the Reality of Transient Mental Illnesses (1998)
The Social Construction of What? (1999)
Historical Ontology (2002)
Why Is There Philosophy of Mathematics at All? (2014) -
Hacking's Contributions
Hacking has made important contributions to areas as diverse as the philosophy and history of physics, the understanding of the concept of probability, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy and history of psychology and psychiatry. He believed that we have to know the historical context of how science is as it is and that knowing it is true isn't enough. He also showed that analytical and historical perspectives can work together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp7_iB9tsT8 -
Achievements
Killam Prize for the Humanities (2002)- Canada's most distinguished awards for outstanding career achievements.
Companion of the Order of Canada (2004)- Awarded for demonstrating the highest degree of merit to Canada and humanity, on the national or international scene.
Holberg International Memorial Prize (2009)- A Norwegian award that was earned for his work on how statistics and the theory of probability have shaped society.
Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (2012)
Balzan Prize (2014)