Professor Yaffe Named 2015 Guggenheim Fellow

Gideon Yaffe, a Professor of Law, Philosophy, and Psychology at Yale has been awarded a 2015 fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Professor Yaffe’s research interests include the philosophy of law, particularly criminal law; the study of metaphysics including causation, free will and personal identity; and the study of intention and the theory of action. He has also written about the history of early modern philosophy.

Guggenheim grants provide support to exceptional mid-career scholars, scientists, and artists, giving them the opportunity to work on projects with complete creative freedom anywhere in the world. Professor Yaffe’s grant will enable him to research the criminal responsibility of adolescents.

A diverse group of 175 fellows were chosen from a group of 3,100 applicants. Appointments were made on the basis of prior achievements and exceptional promise.

United States Senator Simon Guggenheim and his wife established the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 1925 as a memorial to a son who died April 26, 1922. The Foundation offers Fellowships to further the development of scholars and artists by assisting them to engage in research in any field of knowledge and creation in any of the arts, under the freest possible conditions and irrespective of race, color, or creed.

Professor Yaffe is also a member of the MacArthur Foundation’s Law and Neuroscience Project and collaborates with several neuroscientists to devise experiments that aim to be of legal and philosophical significance. His 2010 book Attempts concerns the philosophical foundations of the law governing attempted crimes.

Prior to joining Yale in 2012, he was a Professor of Philosophy and Law at the University of Southern California. Professor Yaffe holds an A.B. in philosophy from Harvard and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Stanford.