Catherine Elgin

Catherine Z. Elgin
Elgin in 2017
Born1948 (1948)
Education
EducationBrandeis University
Philosophical work
InstitutionsHarvard University
Main interests
epistemology and the philosophies of art and science

Catherine Z. Elgin (born 1948) is a philosopher working in epistemology and the philosophies of art and science. She is currently a professor of philosophy of education at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University.

Education and career

She holds a Ph.D. from Brandeis University where she studied with Nelson Goodman. She has held tenure-track and visiting positions at many universities, including Michigan State University, Vassar College, Princeton University, and MIT. In 2023, she was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Philosophical work

Elgin's work has considered such questions as "what makes something cognitively valuable?" As an epistemologist, she considers the pursuit of understanding to be of higher value than the pursuit of knowledge.

In Considered Judgment, Elgin argues for "a reconception that takes reflective equilibrium as the standard of rational acceptability."

Works

Awards

In 2023, Elgin was elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Harvard: Catherine Elgin". Harvard University. Archived from the original on 15 December 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  2. ↑ Curriculum vitae (Archived)
  3. ↑ "New Members". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  4. ↑ "Considered Judgment". Princeton University Press. 21 February 1999. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  5. ↑ "Catherine Z. Elgin | American Academy of Arts and Sciences". www.amacad.org. 12 December 2025. Retrieved 28 December 2025.