Hilary Kornblith

Hilary Kornblith is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has been a faculty member at UMass since 2003, after teaching for 24 years at the University of Vermont. He has also held visiting roles at the University of Michigan, University of Cologne, and Zhejiang University.

Education:

• BA, State University of New York at Buffalo (1975)
• PhD, Cornell University (1980)

Research Focus: Kornblith’s research integrates cognitive science with traditional epistemological problems. He explores how scientific understanding of the mind can reshape philosophical theories of knowledge, justification, and rationality. His work spans inductive inference, animal cognition, the role of reflection, and philosophical methodology.

Publications and Themes: His recent publications emphasize naturalistic epistemology, the limits of reflective endorsement, the epistemic role of disagreement, and the continuity between human and animal cognition. He critiques traditional reliance on intuition and armchair theorizing, advocating instead for empirically informed philosophy.

Scientific Awards: While no specific awards are listed, his extensive publication record and international recognition reflect significant scholarly impact.

Advising and Grants: Kornblith has directed over 20 PhD dissertations, many in epistemology and philosophy of mind. His students have gone on to contribute to debates in self-knowledge, memory, testimony, and moral epistemology.

Labs and Teams: While no lab is explicitly mentioned, his work aligns with interdisciplinary research in cognitive science and philosophy, often collaborating with scholars in psychology and neuroscience.