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The Metaphysical Society of America
Founded in 1950
Constituent of the American Council of Learned Societies

Awards and Prizes of the Society

Aristotle Prize - started in 1997, this prize is awarded to "the best paper submitted to the annual conference of the Metaphysical Society of America." Persons who have not yet earned a Ph.D. or whose Ph.D. was earned within the previous five years at the time of submission will be considered for the Aristotle Prize if the Program Committee is alerted to eligibility.  The prize carries a cash award of $500, inclusion in the program, and a travel grant to help defray expenses.

Findlay Book Prize - started in 1992, The John N. Findlay Book Prize in Metaphysics is awarded to "the best work of metaphysics." It was established in honor of its name sake, John Niemeyer Findlay (1903-1987), who was President of the Metaphysical Society in 1975. 

Recent recipients of the Findlay Book Prize: 

Paul Weiss Founder's Medal

Paul Weiss was not only the founder of the Metaphysical Society of America, but also an extraordinary philosopher who made a lasting contribution to metaphysics. The Founder’s Medal honors philosophers who, like Paul Weiss, have made an outstanding contribution over their lifetimes. A contribution cannot be measured by the quantity of publications or citations. Rather, the Founder’s Medal recognizes a lifetime of work that engages classical or contemporary problems of metaphysics in innovative ways that transform our understanding of those problems and open new possibilities for their solutions. The most important criteria for the award are the (1) quality and content of the work and its (2) innovativeness. The prize committee is also looking to recognize those whose work has had (3) an impact on metaphysics, such as changing the direction of metaphysical thought or recovering it, and (4) provoked other philosophers to do creative work in metaphysics. Additionally, (5) concrete activities that have promoted metaphysical research, such as, organizing conferences and leading societies and, more specifically, (6) active participation in the Metaphysical Society of America are noteworthy qualifications for the award, though neither necessary nor sufficient in themselves.

Previous recipients of the Founder's Medal

  • 1987 - Charles Hartshorne
  • 1989 - Ivor Leclerc
  • 1990 - Errol E. Harris  
  • 1992 - Edward Pols
  • 1993 - Henry Veach
  • 1994 - Norris Clarke
  • 1996 - John E. Smith
  • 1997 - Ernin McMullin
  • 2012 - Robert C. Neville
  • 2016 - Nicholas Rescher and David Weissman
  • 2018 - Donald Phillip Verene
  • 2022 - George Lucas, Jr.

 

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