Philosophy professor Philip Kitcher delivers the first of four lectures on secular humanism.

Kitcher, who was born in London in 1947, received his B.A. from Cambridge University and his Ph.D. from Princeton. He has taught at several American universities and is currently John Dewey Professor of Philosophy at Columbia.

He is the author of books on topics ranging from the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of biology, the growth of science, the role of science in society, Wagner's Ring and Joyce's Finnegans Wake.

A Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Kitcher was the first recipient of the Prometheus Prize, awarded by the American Philosophical Association for work in expanding the frontiers of science and philosophy. He has been President of the American Philosophical Association (Pacific Division) and Editor-in-Chief of Philosophy of Science.