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Fred Dretske (1932-2013)
Frederick Irwin Dretske (December 9, 1932 -- July 24, 2013) was a
philosopher noted for his contributions to epistemology and the philosophy
of mind. His later work centered on conscious experience and
self-knowledge. Additionally, he was awarded the Jean Nicod Prize in 1994.
Dretske received his Ph.D from The University of Minnesota and taught for
a number of years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before moving to
Stanford University. After retiring from Stanford, he moved to Duke
University where he was Senior Research Scholar in Philosophy until his
death in 2013.
Dretske held externalist views about the mind, and thus he tried in
various writings to show that by means of mere introspection one actually
learns about his or her own mind less than might be expected.