1924 – 2018
Sylvain Bromberger (1924-2018) was a Belgian-American philosopher of science and language who taught at MIT for over four decades. He is best known for his work on the logic of explanation, the nature of scientific questions, and what he called 'p-predicaments'—situations in which one knows one does not know something. His collaborations with Noam Chomsky also contributed to foundational issues in the philosophy of linguistics.
Developed influential account of explanation and why-questions in philosophy of science
Introduced the concept of 'p-predicaments' concerning the structure of ignorance
Co-authored foundational work with Noam Chomsky on the philosophy of linguistics
Long tenure as professor of philosophy at MIT shaping analytic philosophy of science
Authored 'On What We Know We Don't Know' (1992), a major collection on explanation and questions