Background
Pitt, Joseph Charles was born on September 12, 1944 in Hempstead, New York, United States. Son of Louis Antony and Miriam (Baumstein) Pitt.
(In this essay I am concerned with the problem of conceptu...)
In this essay I am concerned with the problem of conceptual change. There are, needless to say, many ways to approach the issue. But, as I see it, the problem reduces to showing how present and future systems of thought are the rational extensions of prior ones. This goal may not be attainable. Kuhn, for example, suggests that change is mainly a function of socio-economic pressures (taken broadly). But there are some who believe that a case can be made for the rationality of change, especially in science. Wilfrid Sellars is one of those. While Sellars has developed a full account of the issues involved in solving the problem of conceptual change, he is also a very difficult philosopher to discuss. The difficulty stems from the fact that he is a philosopher in the very best sense of the word. First, he performs the tasks of analyzing alternative views with both finesse and insight, dialectically laying bare the essentials of problems and the inadequacies of previous proposals. Secondly, he is a systematic philosopher. That is, he is concerned to elaborate a system of philosophical thought in the grand tradition stretching from Plato to White head. Now with all of this to his credit, it would appear that there is no difficulty at all, one should simply treat him like all the others, if he indeed follows in the footsteps of past builders of philosophic systems.
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Pitt, Joseph Charles was born on September 12, 1944 in Hempstead, New York, United States. Son of Louis Antony and Miriam (Baumstein) Pitt.
Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, College William and Mary, 1966. Master of Arts in Philosophy, University Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, 1968. Doctor of Philosophy, University Western Ontario, London, Canada, 1972.
Instructor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, 1971-1972; assistant professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1972-1978; visiting assistant professor, U. Pittsburgh, 1974; associate professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1978-1983; professor philosophy, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, since 1983. Founding director Center for Study of Science in Society, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1980-1981, founder, director humanities, science and technical program, 1979-1989, head department philosophy, 1992-1998, director graduate studies in philosophy, since 1998.
(In this essay I am concerned with the problem of conceptu...)
Member Philosophy of Science Association, Society for Philosophy and Technology (vice president, president-elect 1989-1991, president 1991-1993), History of Science Society, Society for History of Technology, Irish Wolfhound Association Mid South (vice president president 1999-2003, American Philosophical Association, Irish Wolfhound Club American (board directors 1987-1995, vice president pres-elect, 2004-2005), Sigma Xi.
Married Donna Hanlon Smith, February 25, 1946.