Peter Caws

Peter J. Caws was born in Southall, Middlesex, England, in 1931. He earned a B.Sc. in Physics from the University of London in 1952 and a PGCE in 1953. In 1953, he moved to the United States and completed his Ph.D. in Philosophy at Yale University in 1956. Caws began his academic career teaching natural science at Michigan State University in 1956, later moving to the University of Kansas in 1957 to teach philosophy, where he also chaired the Philosophy Department from 1961 to 1962. From 1962 to 1967, he worked at the Carnegie Corporation of New York. He then spent significant time at the City University of New York from 1965 to 1982, serving as chair of the Hunter College Philosophy Department and as executive officer of the Ph.D. Program in Philosophy at the Graduate Center. In 1982, he was appointed University Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Human Sciences at George Washington University. Caws was also a visiting professor at several other institutions. He held leadership roles in various academic societies, including president of the Society for General Systems Research and vice-president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He received several grants and fellowships, including a Fulbright travel grant and a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship. Caws was married twice and had children from both marriages. He passed away at home on April 20, 2020.