Ilkka Niiniluoto

Ilkka Maunu Olavi Niiniluoto
Born March 12, 1946, Helsinki.

Master of Arts (Applied Mathematics), 1968, Licentiate of Philosophy, 1971, and Doctor of Philosophy (Theoretical Philosophy), University of Helsinki, 1974

Professor of Theoretical Philosophy, University of Helsinki, 1977–2014
Chancellor, University of Helsinki, 2008–2013
Rector, University of Helsinki, 2003–2008
Associate Professor of Mathematics, University of Helsinki, 1973–1977

Publications, research projects and other academic activities

Research interests: philosophy of science, philosophical logic, theory of knowledge, cultural philosophy, history of philosophy

Main works: Is Science Progressive? (1984), Truthlikeness (1987) and Critical Scientific Realism (1999). In addition to two hundred academic articles and edited works, a dozen Finnish-language textbooks and essay collections, including Tiede, filosofia ja maailmankatsomus (‘Knowledge, philosophy and world-view’, 1984), Maailma, minä ja kulttuuri (‘The world, me and culture’, 1990), Järki, arvot ja välineet (‘Reason, values and means’, 1994) and Totuuden rakastaminen (‘Loving truth’, 2003).

Awards and special achievements
University of Helsinki’s award for public information, 1986
Chydenius Prize, 1990
Prometheus Prize, 2004
Honorary Doctorate, Helsinki School of Art and Design, 2007

Written by Ilkka Niiniluoto (Riitta-Ilona Hurmerinta, ed.)
Translated by John Calton

The world congress of logic and the philosophy of science

I am Chair of the local organising committee for the 15th Congress of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science, which takes place at the University of Helsinki in August, 2015.

I have attended this major event of my field regularly since 1971. It is organised every four years in a different country. There are around 750 presentations in the conference. It is a great honour for Helsinki to host this world-class event in which we can demonstrate not only the strong tradition of Finnish research but also our gift for organisation.