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AriesBiography
Kit Fine (born 26 March 1946) is a British philosopher, currently University Professor and Silver Professor of Philosophy and Mathematics at New York University. Prior to joining NYU in 1997, he taught at the University of Edinburgh, University of California, Irvine, University of Michigan and UCLA. The author of several books and dozens of articles in international academic journals, he has made notable contributions to the fields of philosophical logic, metaphysics, and the philosophy of language and also has written on ancient philosophy, in particular on Aristotle's account of logic and modality.
He is also a Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Philosophy, University of Birmingham, UK.
Education and career
After graduating from the University of Oxford (B.A., 1967), Fine received his Ph.D. from the University of Warwick in 1969, under the supervision of A. N. Prior. He then taught at the University of Edinburgh, University of California, Irvine, University of Michigan, and UCLA, before moving to New York University.
He was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy in 2005 and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2006. He has held fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies and is a former editor of the Journal of Symbolic Logic.
Philosophical Work
In addition to his primary areas of research, he has written papers in ancient philosophy, linguistics, computer science, and economic theory.
Fine has described his general approach to philosophy as follows: "I’m firmly of the opinion that real progress in philosophy can only come from taking common sense seriously. A departure from common sense is usually an indication that a mistake has been made."
Fine has two daughters from his former marriage to Anne Fine. Anne Fine is an author of children's books; Cordelia Fine teaches at a university in Australia; Ione Fine is a professor at the University of Washington.