Richard Boyd

Richard Boyd
Richard Boyd
Born
Richard Newell Boyd

(1942-05-19)May 19, 1942
DiedFebruary 20, 2021(2021-02-20) (aged 78)
SpouseBarbara Koslowski
Education
EducationMIT
ThesisA Recursion-Theoretic Characterization of the Ramified Analytical Hierarchy (1970)
Doctoral advisorRichard Cartwright
Philosophical work
EraContemporary philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolAnalytic
Scientific realism
Moral realism
Naturalism
InstitutionsCornell University
Doctoral studentsPaul Horwich, J. D. Trout
Main interestsPhilosophy of science, philosophy of mind, ethics
Notable ideasCausal theory of reference-fixing for theoretical terms, definition of biological natural kinds

Richard Newell Boyd (May 19, 1942 – February 20, 2021) was an American philosopher, who spent most of his career teaching philosophy at Cornell University where he was Susan Linn Sage Professor of Philosophy and Humane Letters. He specialized in epistemology, the philosophy of science, language, and mind.