British Academy Fellow elected to prestigious Academy in Poland

A British Academy Fellow has been elected to the prestigious Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), in a rare example of a foreign member joining the Academy.

Professor Peter Simons FBA, a philosopher whose interests include metaphysics, ontology, the history of logic, the history of Central European Philosophy, and the application of metaphysics to engineering and other non-philosophical disciplines, has been elected in recognition of his contribution to scientific thought in Poland.

In a letter to Professor Simons, the PAN’s President, Professor Jerzy Duszyński, said: “The distinction constitutes a clear indication of our great appreciation and of your leading position in science, as well as of your significant contribution to the development of scientific cooperation with Poland.”

Foreign members are rare, especially in the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Peter Simons is the only philosopher who is a foreign member.

Commenting on the distinction, Professor Simons said: “Election as a Foreign Member is a rare privilege. Having studied the Polish tradition in philosophy and logic for many years and admired their tremendous intellectual achievement and moral fortitude, I am extremely delighted and honoured to have been elected to the Academy, whose former members include most of the great post-war Polish thinkers.”

Professor Simons has held teaching posts at the University of Bolton, the University of Salzburg, where he is Honorary Professor of Philosophy, the University of Leeds, and Trinity College Dublin. He has been President of the European Society for Analytic Philosophy and is current director of the Franz Brentano Foundation.

The Polish Academy of Sciences was founded in 1952 and is the most significant scientific institution in Poland.