Michael Friedman (philosopher)

Michael Friedman
Born(1947-04-02)April 2, 1947
DiedMarch 24, 2025(2025-03-24) (aged 77)
NationalityAmerican
SpouseGraciela De Pierris
AwardsMatchette Prize, Lakatos Award, Humboldt Research Award
Education
EducationQueens College, City University of New York
Princeton University
Philosophical work
EraModern philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolAnalytic philosophy
InstitutionsHarvard University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Illinois at Chicago, Indiana University, UC Berkeley, University of Western Ontario, University of Konstanz
Notable studentsAndrew Janiak, Eric Winsberg
Main interestsPhilosophy of science, philosophy of physics, history of philosophy, Kantianism
Notable worksFoundations of Space-Time Theories, Kant and the Exact Sciences, "A Parting of the Ways: Carnap, Cassirer, and Heidegger", Dynamics of Reason
Notable ideasDynamics of reason, retrospective communicative rationality, relativized (constitutive) a priori principles as paradigms
Websitephilosophy.stanford.edu/people/michael-friedman

Michael Friedman (April 2, 1947 – March 24, 2025) was an American philosopher who was Emeritus Patrick Suppes Professor of Philosophy of Science and Professor, by courtesy, of German Studies at Stanford University. Friedman was best known for his work in the philosophy of science, especially on scientific explanation and the philosophy of physics, and for his historical work on Immanuel Kant. Friedman has done historical work on figures in continental philosophy such as Martin Heidegger and Ernst Cassirer. He also served as the co-director of the Program in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology at Stanford University.