Nancy Cartwright is the First Woman to Receive the Carl Gustav Hempel Award

Nancy Cartwright, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego, is the recipient of the Carl Gustav Hempel Award from the Philosophy of Science Association. She is the first woman to receive the award.

In addition to her roles at the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Cartwright is a professor and co-director of the Centre for Humanities Engaging Science and Society at Durham University in the United Kingdom. She is also a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, the German Academy of Sciences, the British Academy, and is a MacArthur Fellow and member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Cartwright’s current research specializes in philosophy and methodology of the social sciences with special attention to economics. She is the author of Nature, the Artful Modeler: Lectures on Laws, Science, How Nature Arranges the World and How We Can Arrange It Better (Open Court, 2019).

“This support makes a big difference,” said Dr. Cartwright in accepting the award, “when we work together and encourage each other to bring out the best in our own work, and that of others. I think it is also important that we learn and think seriously about lots of different topics, as that not only helps us engage with the rest of the world, but it brings to our philosophy a far broader perspective.”

Dr. Cartwright is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where she majored in mathematics. She holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Illinois at Chicago.