Rescher Prize for Contributions to Systematic Philosophy

Photo Credit: John D. Norton

The University of Pittsburgh has announced the establishment of the Nicholas Rescher Prize for Contributions to Systematic Philosophy. The details:

• Rescher Prize gold medal for work in philosophy
• $25,000 award
• Awarded every two years

The prize is being offered in part to establish an award in philosophy hoped to become comparable to the Field Medal, Pulitzer Prize, and Nobel Prizes in other fields. It is also being offered to combat the fracturing specialization of the field:

“The philosopher’s key job is to integrate philosophy and to provide a systematic picture of the whole field: Systematic thinking across frontiers is not fashionable but nevertheless crucial. Virtually all major contributors to philosophy have been systematic thinkers.” (Nicholas Rescher, press release)

Pittsburgh is honoring Rescher for his own contributions, which include over 100 books, 1000 articles, and half a century of systematic contributions from the perspective of American pragmatism. In return, Rescher is donating his extensive library to the University of Pittsburgh, which includes 40,000 pages of correspondence and volumes of original manuscripts by 20th century philosophers.

Thanks to Jonah at Choice & Inference for bringing this to my attention.

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