Margaret P. Gilbert, Abraham I. Melden Chair in Moral Philosophy and professor of philosophy at the University of California, Irvine, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which recognizes leaders from the academic, business and government sectors who are responding to challenges facing the nation and the world. Three other UCI professors were elected.
“We are incredibly proud of Margaret for being elected to the AAAS,” said Georges Van Den Abbeele, dean of the School of Humanities. “A trailblazer in the field of moral philosophy, Margaret's work on social phenomena has brought to light new ways for us to understand the implicit and explicit bonds we have in a society."
“Congratulations to these four brilliant individuals, who exemplify the innovation and excellence that are the hallmarks of the research, education and outreach in which AAAS plays an important role,” Chancellor Howard Gillman said. “This is another wonderful measure of the tremendous strength of the UCI faculty.”
With her UCI colleagues, Gilbert will be inducted at a ceremony on Oct. 8, 2016, in Cambridge, Mass.
Gilbert is recognized for her distinguished contributions to the field of philosophy, particularly her founding contributions to the philosophy of social phenomena. Her theoretical approach to how the world comes into being through the activities in which we regularly engage has had applications within moral, political and legal philosophy and social and political science.
"It is a great honor to be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. I am privileged to be doing the work that I do—focusing on a relatively new and growing field that I call the 'philosophy of social phenomena.' Students who study this type of philosophy often comment that it helps them better understand many central aspects of their lives in society, including social conventions, agreements and promises, and the rights and obligations to each other that people have in such contexts.”
Gilbert is the author of six books, including Joint Commitment: How We Make the Social World (Oxford University Press, 2013 and 2015) and A Theory of Political Obligation: Membership, Commitment, and the Bonds of Society (Oxford University Press, 2006 and 2008).
Also elected this year in humanities and the arts was Yusef Komunyakaa, alumnus of the School of Humanities’ MFA Programs in Writing (1980). Komunyakaa won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for his collection of poetry, Neon Vernacular.
With this year’s class, UCI has 32 living AAAS fellows.
The full list of the 236th class can be found here.
To learn more about all UCI faculty elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences this year, click here