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Birth
Ian Hacking was born on February 18th, 1936, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. -
Degrees in Moral Sciences
In 1962, Ian Hacking earned both his Master's and Doctoral degrees in Moral Sciences from the University of Cambridge in England. -
Logic of Statistical Inference
In 1965, Hacking published his first book, Logic of Statistical Inference, where he "...took a philosophical approach to an analysis of statistics by examining the fundamental principles behind statistical reasoning." Cantara, Annie. "Ian Hacking" Britannica, 10 May 2023.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ian-Hacking -
The Emergence of Probability
Another work of Hacking's, The Emergence of Probability, was published in 1975. In this, he examined how probability theory had been historically developed, and how statistics had been applied to a variety of domains in recent centuries. This examination "...transformed the way in which people conceive if natural events and reality in general." Cantara, Annie. "Ian Hacking" Britannica, 10 May 2023.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ian-Hacking -
The Taming of Chance
Considered by some to be the sequel to The Emergence of Probability, Hacking's work, The Taming of Chance suggested that an increase in the accessibility of statistics led to the discovery of human behavioral patterns that previously went unnoticed. These patterns soon came to show correlation to external factors that weren't analyzed initially. Cantara, Annie. "Ian Hacking" Britannica, 10 May 2023.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ian-Hacking -
Rewriting the Soul: Multiple Personality and the Science of Memory
In 1995, Hacking published Rewriting the Soul: Multiple Personality and the Science of Memory, where he discusses the creation, alteration, and use of labels by human beings, and the "...social and cultural characteristics associated with it." Cantara, Annie. "Ian Hacking" Britannica, 10 May 2023.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ian-Hacking -
Hacking Awarded the Molson Prize
In 2001, Hacking was awarded the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize, with the citation accompanying it stating he is "considered to be among the very top rank philosophers in the world." Grady, Kevin. "Ian Hacking" The Canadian Encyclopedia 16 Dec 2013.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ian-hacking -
The Holberg Prize
On November 25, 2009, Hacking was awarded the Holberg Prize by the government of Norway. The link below leads to a video of Hacking giving a lecture at the Holberg Prize Symposium. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOkuVqe3WBs Cantara, Annie. "Ian Hacking" Britannica, 10 May 2023.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ian-Hacking -
Death
Ian Hacking passed away May 10th, 2023, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.