Theo A.F. Kuipers (1947) studied mathematics and philosophy in Eindhoven and Amsterdam. He got his PhD in 1978 in Groningen, based on Studies in Inductive Probability and Rational Expectation (Synthese Library 123). From 1988 till 2010 he was full professor of philosophy of science at the University of Groningen. A synthesis of his work on confirmation, empirical progress, and truth approximation, entitled From Instrumentalism to Constructive Realism appeared in 2000 as Volume 287 in the Synthese Library of Kluwer AP. A twin synthesis of his work on the structure of theories, research programs, explanation, reduction, and computational discovery and evaluation, entitled Structures in Science, appeared in 2001 as Volume 301 in the Synthese Library.
He was for two years (1982/3, 1996/7) a regular fellow of the Netherlands Institute of Advanced Study (NIAS) in Wassenaar (since 2016 in Amsterdam). Several short stays followed. In fall 2009 he was Guest-of-the-Rector.
In December 2005 there appeared two volumes of Essays in Debate with Theo Kuipers, with in total 34 essays related to the books of 2000 and 2001, respectively. Both volumes start with a synopsis of the corresponding book and each essay is followed by a reply of Kuipers:
- Roberto Festa, Atocha Aliseda and Jeanne Peijnenburg (eds.), Confirmation, Empirical Progress, and Truth Approximation, Essays in Debate with Theo Kuipers. Vol. 1 (Poznan Studies in the Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities, vol. 83). Amsterdam / New York: Rodopi, 2005.
- Roberto Festa, Atocha Aliseda and Jeanne Peijnenburg (eds.), Cognitive Structures in Scientific Inquiry, Essays in Debate with Theo Kuipers. Vol. 2 (Poznan Studies in the Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities, vol. 84). Amsterdam / New York: Rodopi, 2005.
In 2007 appeared General Philosophy of Science: Focal Issues, Handbook of the Philosophy of Science, Vol 1, edited by Theo Kuipers. Series editors Dov Gabbay, Paul Thagard and John Woods. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
In 2009 he became Ridder in de Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw (Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion) and in 2010 he became a member of the Koninklijke Hollandse Maatschappij der Wetenschappen (Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities). He retired in 2010 with the farewell lecture “Waarheidsbenadering in theorie en praktijk” (“Truth approximation in theory and practice”).
