Alex Rosenberg (Ph.D. 1971, Johns Hopkins) joined the Duke faculty in 2000. He is the R. Taylor Cole Professor of Philosophy (with secondary appointments in the biology and political science departments). Rosenberg has been a visiting professor and fellow of the at the Center for the Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota, as well as the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Oxford University and a visiting fellow of the Philosophy Department at the Research School of Social Science, of the Australian National University. In 2016 he was the Benjamin Meaker Visiting Professor at the University of Bristol. Rosenberg has held fellowships from the National Science Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. In 1993 Rosenberg received the Lakatos Award in the philosophy of science. In 2006-2007 he held a fellowship at the National Humanities Center. He was also the Phi Beta Kappa-Romanell Lecturer for 2006-2007.

Rosenberg is the author of:

Microeconomic Laws: A Philosophical Analysis (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1976),
Sociobiology and the Preemption of Social Science/ (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1980; Basil Blackwell, 1981),
Hume and the Problem of Causation (Oxford University Press, 1981) (with T.L. Beauchamp),
The Structure of Biological Science (Cambridge University Press, 1985),
Philosophy of Social Science (Clarendon Press, Oxford and Westview Press, 1988, Second Edition, Revised, Enlarged, 1995, Third Edition, 2007, Fourth Edition, 2010, fifth edition, 2015
Economics: Mathematical Politics or Science of Diminishing Returns? (University of Chicago Press, 1992),
Instrumental Biology, or the Disunity of Science (University of Chicago Press, 1994),
Darwinism in Philosophy, Social Science and Policy (Cambridge University Press, 2000),
Philosophy of Science: A Contemporary Approach (Routledge, 2000, second edition 2005),
Darwinian Reductionism or How to Stop Worrying and Love Molecular Biology (University of Chicago Press, 2006),
The Philosophy of Biology: A Contemporary Introduction (with Daniel McShea, Routledge, 2007)
The Atheist's Guide to Reality (W.W. Norton, 2011)
and two novels, The Girl from Krakow, and Autumn in Oxford.

He has also written approximately 200 papers in the philosophy of biology, the philosophy of cognitive, behavioral and social science (especially economics), and causation.


Rosenberg is also co-director of Duke's Center for the Philosophy of Biology .

Office Location: 201J W Duke Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Fax:  (919) 660-3060
Email Address:
Web Page: https://scholars.duke.edu/person/alexrose

Education:
Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, 1971
B.A., City College of New York, 1967

Specialties:

Philosophy of Biology
946
Philosophy of Science
Metaphysics

Research Interests:

Alex Rosenberg (Ph.D. 1971, Johns Hopkins) joined the Duke faculty in 2000. He is the R. Taylor Cole Professor of Philosophy (with secondary appointments in the biology and political science departments). Rosenberg has been a visiting professor and fellow of the at the Center for the Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota, as well as the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Oxford University and a visiting fellow of the Philosophy Department at the Research School of Social Science, of the Australian National University. He has held fellowships from the National Science Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. In 1993 Rosenberg received the Lakatos Award in the philosophy of science. In 2006-2007 he held a fellowship at the National Humanities Center. He was also the Phi Beta Kappa-Romanell Lecturer for 2006-2007.

Rosenberg is the author of several books:

Microeconomic Laws: A Philosophical Analysis (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1976),
Sociobiology and the Preemption of Social Science/ (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1980; Basil Blackwell, 1981),
Hume and the Problem of Causation (Oxford University Press, 1981) (with T.L. Beauchamp),
The Structure of Biological Science (Cambridge University Press, 1985),
Philosophy of Social Science (Clarendon Press, Oxford and Westview Press, 1988, Second Edition, Revised, Enlarged, 1995, Third Edition, further enlarged, 2007),
Economics: Mathematical Politics or Science of Diminishing Returns? (University of Chicago Press, 1992),
Instrumental Biology, or the Disunity of Science (University of Chicago Press, 1994),
Darwinism in Philosophy, Social Science and Policy (Cambridge University Press, 2000),
Philosophy of Science: A Contemporary Approach (Routledge, 2000, second edition 2005),
Darwinian Reductionism or How to Stop Worrying and Love Molecular Biology (University of Chicago Press),
The Philosophy of Biology: A Contemporary Introduction (with Daniel McShea, Routledge, 2007)

He has also written approximately 180 papers in the philosophy of biology, the philosophy of cognitive, behavioral and social science (especially economics), and causation. Some of his recednt papers are available on his web site.

Rosenberg is also co-director of Duke's Center for the Philosophy of Biology .

Areas of Interest:

Philosophy of Biology,
Philosophy of Cognitive, Behavioral, & Social Science,
Causation
Hume

• PHIL 101.01, Introduction to philosophy Synopsis

  East Duke 108, MW 01:25 PM-02:40 PM

• POLSCI 331.01, Prisoner's dilemma/distr justi Synopsis

  Gross Hall 107, TuTh 01:25 PM-02:40 PM

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

• Rosenberg, A. "DOES HOMO SAPIENS NEED A RECIPE FOR SURVIVAL? DO WE HAVE ONE?." Social Philosophy and Policy 40.2 (May, 2023): 503-523. [doi]  [abs]
• Rosenberg, A. "THE INEVITABILITY OF A GENERALIZED DARWINIAN THEORY OF BEHAVIOR, SOCIETY, AND CULTURE." American Philosophical Quarterly 58.1 (January, 2021): 50-62.  [abs]
• Rosenberg, A. "Scientism versus the theory of mind." Think (UK) 19.56 (October, 2020): 59-73. [doi]  [abs]
• Rosenberg, A. Reduction and Mechanism. Cambridge University Press, June, 2020. 1-76 pp. [doi]  [abs]
• Rosenberg, A. "Philosophical challenges for scientism (and how to meet them?)." Scientism: Prospects and Problems. Oxford University Press, 2018. 83-105. [doi]  [abs]

Conferences Organized

• Editorial board, Biology and Philosophy, member, July 31, 2007 - present  
• Ethics, emotions, evolution II, Conference co-organizer (with Jesse Prinz), February 19, 2005