CASBS fellow James Woodward was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) at a ceremony held October 8, 2016, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Woodward is the latest of more than 150 CASBS fellows inducted into AAAS over the Center’s 62-year history. Current CASBS fellows Steve Feld, Jack Rakove, and Arnold Rampersad previously have been elected AAAS fellows, as well as visiting scholar Kit Fine.
Founded in 1780, AAAS is one of the country’s oldest learned societies and independent policy research centers. With the induction of 212 members into its 236th class, AAAS now includes more than 4600 Fellows and 600 Foreign Honorary Members. Among the Academy's Fellows are more than 250 Nobel laureates and 60 Pulitzer Prize winners.
Woodward, Distinguished Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh, was among 54 arts and humanities scholars inducted in 2016, and among just eight drawn from the philosophy and religious studies category. His expertise lies primarily in the philosophy of science, with particular emphasis on causal and explanatory reasoning. His 2003 book Making Things Happen: A Theory of Causal Explanation (Oxford Univ. Press) won the 2005 Lakatos Award. He also served as president of the Philosophy of Science Association from 2010-2012. During his CASBS fellowship year, Woodward is working on a book project that extends an interventionist framework for understanding causation, integrating his ideas with recent research in the empirical psychology of causal cognition. Learn more about his work here and here.
“I am very honored to be inducted into the Academy,” said Woodward. “I hope that my work in the future will measure-up to the incredibly high standards that I associate with membership in this organization.”
On October 19 members of the 2016-17 class and CASBS staff gathered for a celebration in Woodward’s honor. The celebration included a rousing tribute from fellow Teppei Yamamoto, who acknowledged Woodward as one of his intellectual heroes.
