Paul Benacerraf

Paul Benacerraf
Born(1930-03-26)26 March 1930
Died13 January 2025(2025-01-13) (aged 94)
Education
EducationPrinceton University (PhD, 1960)
ThesisLogicism, Some Considerations (1960)
Doctoral advisorHilary Putnam
Philosophical work
EraContemporary philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolAnalytic philosophy
Doctoral studentsPaul Boghossian
John Earman
Alvin Goldman
Richard Grandy
Gideon Rosen
Ronald de Sousa
Main interestsPhilosophy of mathematics
Notable ideasMathematical structuralism (eliminative variety)
Benacerraf's identification problem for set-theoretic realism
Benacerraf's epistemological problem for mathematical realism

Paul Joseph Salomon Benacerraf (/bɪˈnæsərəf/; 26 March 1930 – 13 January 2025) was a French-born American philosopher working in the field of the philosophy of mathematics who taught at Princeton University his entire career, from 1960 until his retirement in 2007. Benacerraf was appointed Stuart Professor of Philosophy in 1974, and retired as the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy.