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World-renowned science philosopher to deliver lectures at St. Olaf College

By David Gonnerman '90
January 6, 2005

St. Olaf College will host world-renowned science philosopher Bastiaan van Fraassen, who will present his two-part lecture, "Seeing and Measuring: Connecting Science to Experience," at St. Olaf as part of the Belgum Lecture series, Jan. 12 and 13 at 3:30 p.m. in Holland Hall 501. The first lecture, on Wednesday, will focus on "Representation and Perspective in Science." The second lecture, on Thursday, is "The Visible and Invisible World." The lectures, intended for a general audience, will be interconnected but each can be understood independently. Both lectures are free and open to the public.

"For the past several years I have been preoccupied with a philosophical question about philosophy: 'What is Empiricism, and What Could It Be?,'" van Fraassen writes on his website. "But like most philosophers, I began with the ambition to arrive at a coherent view of everything -- some day, within my lifetime -- and I am still cherishing that idea.

Van Fraassen is currently the McCosh Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University and is the editor of The Journal of Philosophical Logic and The Journal of Symbolic Logic.

The Eunice Belgum Memorial Lectures were established by family and friends to honor Eunice Belgum, who graduated from St. Olaf in 1967 and died only 10 years later.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.