Richard Creath
President's Professor, School of Life Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
School of Life Sciences
Arizona State University
PO Box 874501
Tempe, AZ 85287-4501
Titles
- Senior Global Futures Scientist, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory
- President's Professor, School of Life Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Biography
Richard Creath is a philosopher of science primarily interested in what makes one scientific claim more worth believing than another. In particular he studies the role of logic, mathematics, scientific methods, and even philosophy within science. Scientific claims are to be tested by experience. However, the claims of logic, method, and the like seem to be presupposed in any such test, so the test cannot offer support to them.
Professor Creath’s approach in sorting this out involves the careful historical study of the clash between two of the most important and influential philosophers of science of the 20th century, Rudolf Carnap and W.V. Quine. Understanding and evaluating their developing arguments and perspectives provides important insights that are still relevant to the current understanding of scientific knowledge.
Education
- PhD, Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh, 1975
- MA, History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, 1974
- MA, Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh, 1972
- BA, Philosophy, Knox College, 1969
Journal Articles
2015
Creath, R. 2015. The logical and the analytic. Synthese 194:79-96. DOI: 10.1007/s11229-015-0685-5. (link )
2009
Creath, R. 2009. The role of history in science. Journal of the History of Biology 45(2):207-214. DOI: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40802740.
2007
Maienschein, J. and R. Creath. 2007. BODY WORLDS as education and humanism. The American Journal of Bioethics 7(4):26-27. DOI: 10.1080/15265160701220733. (link )
1998
Creath, R. 1998. Quine and the limit assumption in Peirce's theory of truth. Philosophical Studies 90:109-112. DOI: 10.1023/A:1004263318069. (link )
1995
Creath, R. 1995. Are dinosaurs extinct?. Foundations of Science 1:285-297. DOI: 10.1007/BF00124614. (link )
Creath, R. 1995. From Königsberg to Vienna: Coffa on the rise of modern semantics. Dialogue 34(1):113-118. (link )
1992
Creath, R. 1992. Carnap's conventionalism. Synthese 93(1/2):141-165. (link )
Creath, R. 1992. Induction and the Gettier problem. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 52(2):401-404. (link )
1991
Creath, R. 1991. Every dogma has its day. Erkenntnis 35(1/3):347-389. (link )
1990
Creath, R. 1990. The unimportance of semantics. PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1990(2):405-416. (link )
1989
Creath, R. 1989. Counterfactuals for free. Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition 57(1):95-101. (link )
1988
Creath, R. 1988. The pragmatics of observation. PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1988(1):149-153.
1987
Creath, R. 1987. Some remarks on "protocol sentences". Nous 21(4):471-475. DOI: 10.2307/2215668. (link )
Creath, R. 1987. The initial reception of Carnap's doctrine of analyticity. Nous 21(4):477-499. DOI: 10.2307/2215669. (link )
1985
Creath, R. 1985. Taking theories seriously. Synthese 62(3):317-345. (link )
1984
Creath, R. 1984. Smart, Salmon, and scientific realism. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 62(4):404-409. (link )
1980
Creath, R. 1980. Benacerraf and mathematical truth. Philosophilca Studies 37(4):335-340. DOI: 10.1007/BF00354902. (link )
Creath, R. 1980. Nominalism by theft. American Philosophical Quarterly 17(4):311-318. (link )
1978
Creath, R. 1978. A query on entrenchment. Philosophy of Science 45(3):474-477. DOI: 10.1086/288824. (link )
1977
Creath, R. 1977. The root of the problem. Linguistics and Philosophy 1(3):273-275. DOI: 10.1007/BF00351108. (link )
1976
Creath, R. 1976. On Kaplan on Carnap on significance. Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition 30(6):393-400. (link )
Books
2012
Creath, R. ed. 2012. Rudolf Carnap and the Legacy of Logical Empiricism. Springer Netherlands. ISBN: 978-94-007-3928-4.
2007
Friedman, M. and R. Creath eds. 2007. The Cambridge Companion to Carnap. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK. ISBN: 978-0521549455.
2000
Creath, R. and J. Maienschein. 2000. Biology and Epistemology. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 978-0521597012.
Book Chapters
2020
Creath, R. 2020. Logical empiricism. In: Zalta, E. N. ed., The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (link )
2019
Creath, R. 2019. Foreword. Pp. vii-xii In: Carus, A. W., M. Friedman, W. Kienzler, A. Richardson and S. Schlotter eds., Rudolf Carnap: Volume One Early Writings. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978-0198748403.
2017
Creath, R. 2017. Metaphysics and the unity of science: Two hundred years of controversy. Pp. 3-15 In: Stadler, F. ed., Integrated History and Philosophy of Science: Problems, Perspectives, and Case Studies. Springer International Publishing. ISBN: 978-3-319-53257-8.
2016
Creath, R. 2016. Carnap and ontology: Foreign travel and domestic understanding. Pp. 190-199 In: Blatti, S. and S. Lapointe eds., Ontology after Carnap. Oxford University Press. Oxford, UK. ISBN: 978-0199661985.
2014
Creath, R. 2014. Anti-metaphysics in the thirties: And why should anyone care now?. Pp. 67-76 In: Galavotti, M. C., E. Nemeth and F. Stadler eds., European Philosophy of Science - Philosophy of Science in Europea and the Viennese Heritage. Springer International Publishing Switzerland.
2012
Creath, R. 2012. Analyticity in the theoretical language is a different account really necessary?. Pp. 57-66 In: Creath, R. ed., Rudolf Carnap and the Legacy of Logical Empiricism. Springer Netherlands. ISBN: 978-94-007-3928-4.
Creath, R. 2012. Before explication. Pp. 161-174 In: Wagner, P. and M. Beaney eds., Carnap's Ideal of Explication and Naturalism. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN: 978-0-230-28259-9.
2011
Creath, R. 2011. Willard and Orman Quine. Pp. 786-797 In: Bernecker, S. and D. Pritchard eds., The Routledge Companion to Epistemology. Routledge. New York, NY. ISBN: 978-0415962193.
2010
Creath, R. 2010. The construction of reason: Kant, Carnap, Kuhn, and beyond. Pp. 493-509 In: Domski, M. and M. Dickson eds., Discourse on a New Method: Reinvigorating the Marriage of History and Philosophy of Science. Open Court Publications. Chicago and La Salle, IL. ISBN: 978-0812696622.
2008
Creath, R. 2008. The apparent a priori and four things to do about it. Pp. 13-24 In: Wrenn, C. B. ed., Naturalism, Reference, and Ontology: Essays in Honor of Roger F. Gibson. Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.. New York, NY. ISBN: 978-1433102295.
2007
Creath, R. 2007. Preface: Carnap's posthumous career. Pp. xiii-xvi In: Friedman, M. and R. Creath eds., The Cambridge Companion to Carnap. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK. ISBN: 978-0521840156.
Creath, R. 2007. Quine's challenge to Carnap. Pp. 316-335 In: Friedman, M. and R. Creath eds., The Cambridge Companion to Carnap. Cambridge University Press. Cambrdige, UK. ISBN: 978-0521549455.
Creath, R. 2007. Vienna, the city of Quine's dreams. Pp. 332-345 In: Richardson, A. and T. Uebel eds., The Cambridge Companion to Logical Empiricism. Cambridge University Press. New York, NY. ISBN: 978-0521796286.
2004
Creath, R. 2004. Carnap's program and Quine's question. Pp. 279-294 In: Awodey, S. and C. Klein eds., Carnap Brought Home: The View from Jena. Open Court . Peru, IL. ISBN: 978-0812695502.
Creath, R. 2004. Quine on the intelligibility and relevance of analyticity. Pp. 47-64 In: Gibson, Jr, R. F. ed., The Cambridge Companion to Quine. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge , UK. ISBN: 978-0521630566.
2003
Creath, R. 2003. The linguistic doctrine and conventionality: The main argument in "Carnap and Logical Truth". Pp. 234-256 In: Hardcastle, G. L. and A. W. Richardson eds., Logical Empiricism in North America. Vol 18. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN: 978-0816642212.
2000
Creath, R. 2000. Rudolf Carnap. Pp. 123-124 In: Craig, E. ed., Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Routledge. ISBN: 978-0415223645.
Creath, R. 2000. The gentle strength of tolerance: The Logical Syntax of Language and Carnap's philosophical programme. Pp. 203-214 In: Wagner, P. ed., Carnap's Longical Syntax of Language. Palgrave Macmillan. London. ISBN: 978-1-349-29966-9.
Creath, R. and J. Maienschein. 2000. Introduction. Pp. ix-xviii In: Creath, R. and J. Maienschein eds., Biology and Epistemology. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK. ISBN: 978-0521597012.
1999
Creath, R. 1999. Carnap's move to semantics: Grains and losses. Pp. 65-76 In: Wolenski, J. and E. Kohler eds., Alfred Tarski and the Vienna Circle: Austro-Polish Connections in Logical Empiricism. Springer. Netherlands. ISBN: 978-0-7923-5538-0.
1998
Creath, R. 1998. Rudolf Carnap. Pp. 208-215 In: Craig, E. ed., Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Vol. 2: Brahman - Derrida. Routledge. London. ISBN: 978-0415187077.
1997
Creath, R. 1997. Are dinosaurs extinct?. Pp. 285-297 In: Zytkow, J. ed., Machine Discovery. Springer. Dordrecht. ISBN: 978-90-481-4793-9.
1996
Creath, R. 1996. Every dogma has its day. Pp. 369-412 In: Sarkar, S. ed., Decline and Obsolescence of Logical Empiricism: Carnap vs. Quine and the Critics. Garland Publishing, Inc.. New York and London. ISBN: 978-0815322665.
Creath, R. 1996. Languages without logic. Pp. 251-265 In: Giere, R. N. and A. W. Richardson eds., Origins Of Logical Empiricism. Vol XVI. ISBN: 978-0816628346.
Creath, R. 1996. Rudolf Carnap. Pp. 68-70 In: Borchert, D. M. ed., The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Supplement. Macmillan. ISBN: 978-0028646299.
Creath, R. 1996. The unimportance of semantics. Pp. 389-400 In: Sarkar, S. ed., Logic, Probability, and Epistemology : The Power of Semantics. Vol 3. Garland Publishing. New York. ISBN: 978-0815322641.
Creath, R. 1996. The unity of science: Carnap, Neurath, and beyond. Pp. 158-169 In: Galison, P. and D. J. Stump eds., The Disunity of Science: Boundaries, Contexts, and Power. Stanford University Press. Stanford, CA. ISBN: 978-0804725620.
Creath, R. 1996. Verifiability principle. Pp. 578-580 In: Borchert, D. M. ed., The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Supplement. Macmillan. New York. ISBN: 978-0028646299.
1994
Creath, R. 1994. Functionalist theories of meaning and defense of analyticity. Pp. 287-304 In: Salmon, W. and G. Wolters eds., Language, Logic, and the Structure of Scientific Theories: The Carnap-Reichenbach Centennial. University of Konstanz Press. Konstanz, Germany. ISBN: 9780822937401.
1991
Creath, R. 1991. Introduction. In: Quine, W. V. and R. Carnap eds., Dear Carnap, Dear Van. University of California Press. ISBN: 9780520068476.
1990
Creath, R. 1990. Carnap, Quine, and the rejection of intuition. Pp. 55-66 In: Barrett, R. and R. Gibson eds., Perspectives on Quine. Basil Blackwell. Oxford. ISBN: 978-0631161356.
1987
Creath, R. 1987. Mowing the grass that's grue: What Carnap should have said to Goodman. Pp. 281-284 In: Rescher, N. ed., Scientific Inquiry in Philosophical Perspective. University Press of America. Lanham, MD.
1985
Creath, R. 1985. Carnap's scientific realism: Irenic or ironic?. Pp. 117-131 In: Rescher, N. ed., The Heritage of Logical Positivism. University Press of America. Lanham, MD. ISBN: 978-0819144713.
Conference Papers
1982
Creath, R. 1982. Was Carnap a complete verificationist in the Aufbau?. Pp. 384-393 PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association. Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association.