Rom Harré facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rom Harré
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Harré in Tartu (2011)
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| Born |
Horace Romano Harré
18 December 1927 Āpiti, New Zealand
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| Died | 17 October 2019 (aged 91) |
| Education | University of New Zealand (now University of Auckland; BSc, 1948; MA, 1952) |
| Era | Contemporary philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Analytic philosophy Scientific realism |
| Institutions | Georgetown University |
| Notable students | E. J. Lowe, Alison Wylie |
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Main interests
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Philosophy of the social sciences Philosophy of physics |
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Notable ideas
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Ethogenics, positioning theory, referential realism |
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Influences
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Influenced
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Horace Romano "Rom" Harré (born December 18, 1927 – died October 17, 2019) was a smart thinker from New Zealand and Britain. He was known as a philosopher and a psychologist. This means he studied big questions about life and how people think and behave.
Contents
Rom Harré's Life Story
Rom Harré was born in a place called Āpiti in New Zealand. Even though he was born there, he also had British citizenship.
Early Education and Teaching
He first studied chemical engineering. Then, he earned a degree in mathematics in 1948. Later, in 1952, he got a Master's degree in Philosophy. Both of these degrees were from the University of New Zealand, which is now called the University of Auckland.
After his studies, he started teaching. He taught mathematics at King's College, Auckland from 1948 to 1953. He also taught at the University of the Punjab in Pakistan for a year.
Studying and Teaching at Oxford
In 1956, Rom Harré went to University College, Oxford in England. There, he completed another degree in philosophy. He then worked at the University of Birmingham and the University of Leicester.
In 1960, he returned to Oxford. He became a special lecturer in the philosophy of science. At Oxford, he helped start a new program called "Physics and Philosophy." He also became very involved in social psychology. This is a field that looks at how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by others.
Later Career and Global Teaching
After leaving Oxford in 1995, Rom Harré joined the psychology department at Georgetown University in the United States. He continued to be a respected professor there until 2016.
He also taught short courses at many other universities around the world. These included places like Binghamton University in the US, Aoyama University in Japan, and universities in Spain, Peru, Belgium, and Denmark. From 2009 to 2011, he was also a director at the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science in London.
Rom Harré's Big Ideas
Rom Harré was a very busy and important thinker. He wrote about many different topics. These included the philosophy of mathematics (the ideas behind numbers), the philosophy of science (how science works), and psychology (how minds work). He also wrote about sociology (how societies work) and even chemistry.
Understanding Reality
He was a key person in a philosophical idea called "critical realism." This idea suggests that there is a real world out there, even if we can't always see it directly. He believed that science helps us understand these hidden parts of reality.
How We Understand Ourselves
One of his special ideas was called "ethogenics." This method helps us understand why people act the way they do. It looks at the beliefs and rules that make people give meaning to their actions. It also explores how people form their own identities based on cultural rules.
Return to Chemistry
In his later years, Rom Harré went back to his first love, which was chemistry. He became the honorary president of the International Society for the Philosophy of Chemistry. He gave many talks and wrote articles about it. He even organized two big international meetings on the philosophy of chemistry.
Personal Life
Rom Harré was part of an interesting family. He was the uncle of Laila Harré, who is a politician and trade unionist in New Zealand. He was also the uncle of Niki Harré, who is a psychology professor and works to protect the environment.
Awards and Honours
Rom Harré received many awards and special recognitions for his work:
- Honorary doctorate from Helsinki (1986)
- Honorary doctorate from Brussels (1986)
- Honorary doctorate from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru (1998)
- Honorary doctorate from Aarhus University, Denmark (1998)
- Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association (2010)
- Honorary doctorate from Massey University (2012)
- Theodore Sarbin Award from the American Psychological Association (2014)
See also
- Ethogenics
- Philosophical realism
