Robert Nola

New Zealand philosophy academic

Robert Nola

Born| (1940-06-25)25 June 1940
Died| 23 October 2022(2022-10-23) (aged 82)

Auckland, New Zealand

Alma mater| University of Auckland
Australian National University
Spouse| Jan Crosthwaite
Scientific career
Fields| Philosophy of science
Institutions| University of Auckland
Thesis|

* Theoretical change in the physical sciences: a study of theory reduction and theory replacement in science (1968)

Robert Nola (25 June 1940 – 23 October 2022) was a New Zealand philosophy academic, and was an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Auckland.[1][2] His work focussed on the philosophy and history of science, on epistemology and on metaphysics.

## Early life

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Nola's mother was New Zealand-born and his father was an immigrant from Dalmatia in Croatia. His family were nominally Catholic, his mother becoming a Catholic to marry his father. Nola attended a state school, rather than a Catholic school. He studied mathematics and philosophy at the University of Auckland.[3]

## Academic career

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After a 1968 PhD titled Theoretical change in the physical sciences: a study of theory reduction and theory replacement in science at the Australian National University, Nola moved to the University of Auckland, rising to full professor.[1]

Nola was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2009 and was a Fellow of the New Zealand Academy of the Humanities.[4]

In July 2021, in the context of a review of the NCEA (New Zealand's National Curriculum), Nola, along with six other University of Auckland Professors and Emeritus Professors published a controversial letter "In Defence of Science" in the New Zealand Listener.[5] Along with Professor Garth Cooper, Nola resigned from the Royal Society Te Āparangi in March 2022 regarding the controversy.[6]

## Selected works

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* Nola, Robert (1988). Relativism and Realism in Science. Springer.
* Nola, Robert (1998). Foucault. F. Cass.
* Nola, Robert, and Howard Sankey (2000). After Popper, Kuhn, and Feyerabend: Recent Issues in Theories of Scientific Method. Springer.
* Nola, Robert (2003). Rescuing Reason: A Critique of Anti-rationalist Views of Science and Knowledge. Kluwer.
* Nola, Robert, and Gürol Irzik (2006). Philosophy, Science, Education and Culture. Vol. 28. Springer Science & Business Media.
* David Braddon-Mitchell, Robert Nola (2008). "Introducing the Canberra Plan". In Conceptual Analysis and Philosophical Naturalism. MIT Press.
* Irzik, Gürol, and Robert Nola (2011). "A family resemblance approach to the nature of science for science education". Science & Education 20, no. 7: 591-607.
* Nola, Robert, and Howard Sankey (2014). Theories of Scientific Method: An Introduction. Routledge.
* Irzik, Gürol, and Robert Nola (2014). "New directions for nature of science research". In International Handbook of Research in History, Philosophy and Science Teaching, pp. 999–1021. Dordrecht: Springer.
* Nola, R. (2018). Demystifying Religious Belief. In H. van Eyghen, R. Peels, G. van den Brink (Eds.) New Developments in the Cognitive Science of Religion: The Rationality of Religious Belief (pp. 71-92). Heidelberg: Springer.
* Nola, R. (2019). Definition: Atheism. In J. Koterski, G. Oppy (Eds.) Theism and Atheism: Opposing Arguments in Philosophy (pp. 19-34). Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference USA.

## References

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1. ^ a b "Emeritus Professor Robert Nola". University of Auckland. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
2. ^ "Robert NOLA Obituary (2022) The New Zealand Herald". Legacy.com. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
3. ^ Jacobsen, Scott Douglas (31 March 2019). "Interview with Robert Nola – Member and Honorary Associate of the New Zealand Association of Rationalists & Humanists (Inc.) (NZARH)". Canadian Atheist. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
4. ^ "Fellows: M–O". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
5. ^ Kendall Clements, Garth Cooper, Michael Corballis, Douglas Elliffe, Robert Nola, Elizabeth Rata, and John Werry. “In Defence of Science.” New Zealand Listener, 31 July 2021. p.4
6. ^ "New Zealand professors in Māori science row quit Royal Society". Times Higher Education (THE). 28 March 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.

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