James Robert Brown
James Robert Brown is a Canadian philosopher of science. He is an emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto. In the philosophy of mathematics, he has advocated mathematical Platonism, visual reasoning, and in the philosophy of science he has defended scientific realism mostly against anti-realist views associated with social constructivism. He has also argued for the socialization of medical research. He is largely known for his work on thought experiments.
Elected: Academy of Sciences Leopoldina 2004, Royal Society of Canada 2007, Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences 2010.
Brown was born in Montreal, Quebec. He is married to the philosopher Kathleen Okruhlik.
Books
- 1989 The Rational and the Social
- 1991 The Laboratory of the Mind: Thought Experiments in the Natural Sciences
- 1994 Smoke and Mirrors: How Science Reflects Reality
- 1999 Philosophy of Mathematics: An Introduction to the World of Proofs and Pictures
- 2001 Who Rules in Science? An Opinionated Guide to the Wars
- 2012 Platonism, Naturalism, and Mathematical Knowledge
- 2017 On Foundations of Seismology: Bringing Idealizations Down to Earth