Rate My Professor Richard Creath

Richard Creath is Emeritus President's Professor of Philosophy and Life Sciences at Arizona State University, where he began as Assistant Professor in 1974, advancing through Associate Professor (1984-1992) to Professor of Philosophy (1992-present), Professor of Life Sciences (2003-present), Director of the Program in History and Philosophy of Science (2003-present), and President's Professor (2011-present). He also serves as Senior Global Futures Scientist and holds affiliations with the Center for Biology and Society, School of Life Sciences, and School for the Future of Innovation in Society. Creath earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Knox College in 1969, M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh in 1972, M.A. in History and Philosophy of Science from Pittsburgh in 1974, and Ph.D. in Philosophy from Pittsburgh in 1975, with a dissertation titled 'Science, Syntax and Semantics: An Examination of the Philosophy of Language of Rudolf Carnap.' Earlier roles include Teaching Assistant and Fellow at Pittsburgh (1970-1973), Visiting Instructor at Carnegie-Mellon University (1973), Visiting Associate Professor at Stanford University (1987), and Adjunct Scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (2010-2013). His numerous grants include Danforth Graduate Fellowship (1969-1974), NSF Traineeship and grants (1969-1998), and NEH Fellowship (1987-1988).

A philosopher of science who employs historical methods to examine fundamental questions about logic, mathematics, scientific methods, and observation, Creath is a leading authority on Rudolf Carnap and W.V.O. Quine. He edited seminal volumes such as 'Dear Carnap, Dear Van: The Quine-Carnap Correspondence and Related Work' (University of California Press, 1990), 'Biology and Epistemology' with Jane Maienschein (Cambridge University Press, 2000), 'The Cambridge Companion to Carnap' with Michael Friedman (Cambridge University Press, 2007), and 'Carnap and the Legacy of Logical Empiricism' (Springer, 2012). Key articles include 'Carnap's Conventionalism' (Synthese, 1992), 'Quine's Challenge to Carnap' (2007), and recent works like 'Biology as Involving Laws and Inconceivable Without Them' (Theory in Biosciences, 2023). Awards encompass Phi Beta Kappa (1969), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2009), President's Professor (2011), and teaching honors including Dean’s Quality of Instruction Award (2004). Creath has chaired Section L (History and Philosophy of Science) of AAAS (2010-2011), served on editorial boards for Philosophical Studies (1992-present) and Philosophy of Science (2004-2009), and is General Editor of the Carnap Collected Works (2000-present). His integrated approach to teaching and research has influenced thousands of students over five decades at ASU.