Literary award · since 1986

Lakatos Award

British award for an outstanding contribution to the philosophy of science (1986-). Established 1986.

About Lakatos Award

The Lakatos Award is given annually for an outstanding contribution to the philosophy of science, widely interpreted. The contribution must be in the form of a monograph, co-authored or single-authored, and published in English during the previous six years. The award is in memory of the influential Hungarian philosopher of science and mathematics Imre Lakatos, whose tenure as Professor of Logic at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) was cut short by his early and unexpected death. While administered by an international management committee organised from the LSE, it is independent of the LSE Department of Philosophy, Logic, and Scientific Method, with many of the committee's members being academics from other institutions.

From the Wikipedia article “Lakatos Award”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Recent winners

YearWinnerWinning work
2023Michela Massimi—
2022Catarina Dutilh Novaes—
2021Anya Plutynski—
2020Nicholas Shea—
2019Henk W. de Regt—
2017Craig Callender—
2016Brian A. Epstein—
2015Thomas Pradeu—
2014David Malament—
2014Gordon Belot—
2013David Wallace—
2013Laura Ruetsche—
2012Wolfgang Spohn—
2010Peter Godfrey-Smith—

From Wikidata; the list may be incomplete for some years.

Eligibility and entering

Check the official rules of the Lakatos Award for the current eligibility window, accepted formats, residency or language requirements and any entry fee. For most established prizes the publisher submits on the author's behalf, often with a limit on entries per imprint.

If you are self-published, look for an explicit statement that independently published books are accepted, and budget for entry fees and copies for judges.

Sources & data