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William Herbert Newton-Smith (May 25, 1943 – April 8, 2023) was a Canadian philosopher of science.

Biography

Newton-Smith's undergraduate degree from Queen's University was in Mathematics and Philosophy, in 1966. He took an MA from Cornell University in Philosophy, in 1968, and a DPhil in philosophy from Balliol College, Oxford, in 1974. His working life before retirement was mainly as a Fellow of Balliol.

Newton-Smith's 1980 book The Structure of Time focuses on the philosophy of time. In the 1980s he led a small team of British philosophers, including Kathy Wilkes and Roger Scruton, who travelled to Czechoslovakia to give unauthorized philosophy lectures.

Newton-Smith led Central European University from its foundation in 1991 until Alfred Stepan was elected rector in 1993.

Newton-Smith had two daughters with his first wife Dorris Heffron. His daughter Rain Newton-Smith is an economist who became the Director General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in April 2023.

In 2003, Newton-Smith and his second wife Nancy Durham were the first to grow lavender on a field scale in Wales. They became the sole distillers of lavender oil in Wales. Their company, Welsh Lavender Ltd, produces face and body creams.

Newton-Smith died of throat cancer on April 8, 2023, at the age of 79.

Works

• The Structure of Time (1980)
• The Rationality of Science (1981)
• Logic (1984)
• Modelling the Mind (1990) editor with K. V. Wilkes
• Popper in China (1992) editor with J. Tianji
• Chapter 1 - Popper, ciência e racionalidade. In Karl Popper: Filosofia e problemas (1997), organized by Anthony O'Hear, translated to Portuguese by Luiz Paulo Rouanet. Editora Unesp. Cambridge University Press.
• The Companion to the Philosophy of Science (2000)

References

1. Williams, Malcolm (2000). Science and social science an introduction. London: Routledge. p. 40. ISBN 9780631230205.
2. Brown, James Robert (1994). Smoke and mirrors : how science reflects reality (1. publ. ed.). London: Routledge. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-415-09180-0. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
3. Schlesinger, George N. (1983). "Reviewed Work: The Structure of Time. by W. H. Newton-Smith". Mind. 92 (366): 293–296.
4. Weinberg, Justin (14 April 2023). "William Newton-Smith (1943-2023)". Daily Nous. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
5. "Shalini Randeria Elected CEU's 6th Rector and President | Central European University". www.ceu.edu.
6. "W. H. Newton-Smith Obituary". The Globe and Mail. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
7. "William Herbert Newton-Smith 1943–2023 | Balliol College, Oxford".
8. "Bill Newton-Smith obituary". The Times. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.

External links

• Welsh Lavender

• 1943 births
• 2023 deaths
• Central European University
• Cornell University alumni
• Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford
• Canadian philosophers of science
• Philosophers of time