Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 18, 2026

Alan Baker (philosopher)

Alan R. Baker is a professor of philosophy in Swarthmore College, specializing in the philosophy of mathematics and the philosophy of science. In 2026, he was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. Baker is also a former U.S. shogi champion.

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Alan R. Baker is a professor of philosophy in Swarthmore College (Pennsylvania, United States), specializing in the philosophy of mathematics and the philosophy of science. In 2026, he was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. Baker is also a former U.S. shogi champion.

Academic career

Baker did his undergraduate studies at the University of Cambridge, earning a bachelor's degree in philosophy with first class honours in 1991. He then moved to the U.S. for graduate school, earning a master's degree in 1995 and a Ph.D. in 1999, both in philosophy from Princeton University. His doctoral supervisors were Paul Benacerraf and Gideon Rosen. After working as an assistant professor at Xavier University, he moved to Swarthmore in 2003.12

Philosophically, Baker is a mathematical realist who has used examples from evolutionary biology to show the necessity of mathematics in scientific reasoning.3

In 2005 The New York Times published an excerpt from the exam from his "Introduction to Metaphysics and Epistemology" course in its "pop quiz" column.45

Shogi

In 2005, Baker founded a shogi club at Swarthmore College, outside Philadelphia, which is one of only two college-based shogi clubs in the United States. The other club is Cornell University Shogi Club, which was founded in August 2017.6

Baker is also a former U.S. shogi champion, having won the 13th U.S. Shogi Championship in 2008.6 As of January 2017, his ELO rating of 2107 placed him in 20th place on the Federation of European Shogi Associations (FESA) bi-annual rating list.78 Since 2017, Baker has been captain of the United States 1st Team in the A Division of the online World Shogi League. Under his captaincy, the time has won the division twice, most recently in 2025.

Tournament results:

  • 2008: Winner, 13th U.S. Shogi Championship.
  • 2008: 3rd place, Individual Tournament, 4th International Shogi Forum (Tendō).9
  • 2009: 2nd place, British Open Shogi Championship.7
  • 2014: Winner, Group B Individual Tournament, 6th International Shogi Forum (Shizuoka)10

Personal life

Baker's father was British philosopher Gordon Park Baker.

References

References

  1. Curriculum vitae (October 2012) Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2014-04-08.
  2. Alan R. Baker at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  3. Bangu, Sorin Ioan (2008), "Inference to the Best Explanation and Mathematical Realism", Synthese, 160 (1): 13–20, doi:10.1007/s11229-006-9070-8, S2CID 10014456.
  4. Alan Baker (November 6, 2005). "Pop Quiz: I Think, Therefore I Pass". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 28, 2014.
  5. Alan Baker (November 6, 2005). "Quiz answers". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  6. Shogi and me, Swarthmore College Feature Stories Archive, May 14, 2008.
  7. Alan Baker: FESA profile
  8. FESA Rating list for 2017-01
  9. 4th International Shogi Forum(in Russian)
  10. 6th International Shogi Forum, Shizuoka