Univ Record 2018

Univ in the future. In the end, the continuation of his Egyptological research, for which
he will have even more time after his retirement, will still require the support of hearty
College food and Common Room conversations.
Dr Luigi Prada
Supernumerary Fellow in Egyptology
PROFESSOR FRANK ARNTZENIUS
Sir Peter Strawson Fellow in Philosophy 2007-2015
Supernumerary Fellow in Philosophy 2015-2018
Professor Frank Arntzenius has retired this summer, having joined Univ as Sir Peter
Strawson Fellow in Philosophy in 2007 and serving as a tutorial fellow for eleven
years. He was educated at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, where he
studied Physics and then Philosophy, and at LSE in London, where he did his PhD
in Philosophy. Before coming to Univ, he held positions at Pittsburgh, Harvard, the
University of Southern California, and Rutgers. It was a great catch for Univ and Oxford
to attract him back to Europe.
At the time of his arrival in Oxford, Frank was working mainly in Philosophy of
Physics and in Decision Theory. (His job talk memorably included a rendition of Edith
Piaf’s song Je Ne Regrette Rien; he was arguing for the principle that a rational person
should not be able to foresee that she will regret her decisions.) He has continued to
work and publish in those fields; his recent book, Space, Time, and Stuff (OUP, 2012)
argues that physics is geometry: that the fundamental structure of the physical world
is purely geometrical structure. But alongside that, Frank has over the last few years
developed a new strand of research in Political Philosophy and Practical Ethics. Here, he
has worked amongst other things on Utilitarianism and on the foundations of effective
altruism, topics to which he has helped to bring a welcome level of precision and technical
sophistication.
He has been a wonderful and much-appreciated College tutor, teaching a huge range
of subjects, from Logic to Ethics to Epistemology
and Metaphysics to the Philosophies of Physics and
Mathematics. His involvement in undergraduate
admissions has embodied an unswerving
commitment to equality and widening participation.
And his generosity, collegiality, and sense of fun
have enlivened the Philosophical community at
Univ at every level. He will be much missed as a
tutor and colleague. Since he is planning to keep
working with the Centre for Effective Altruism in
Oxford, however, we hope we’ll continue to see him
often in Univ.
Professor Bill Child
Tutorial Fellow in Philosophy
and Professor of Philosophy
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