We are gratified that philosophers are members of a group that take care of each other in times of emergency. We have one of these times. To our great regret, Nancy Cartwright told us on Sunday that she had to fly back to England for a family emergency. We will miss her tonight, and hope that the emergency resolves itself well.

We are very happy to announce that Professor Philip Kitcher, a friend of Professor Cartwright's and himself a highly distinguished philosopher, agreed to step in and to give the 2009 Frumkes Lecture, now entitled "Understanding Darwin".

Philip Kitcher received his B.A. from Cambridge University and his Ph.D. from Princeton. He has taught at several American Universities, and is currently John Dewey Professor of Philosophy at Columbia. He is the author of ten books on topics ranging from the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of biology, the growth of science, the role of science in society, Wagner’s Ring and Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. He has been President of the American Philosophical Association (Pacific Division) and Editor-in-Chief of Philosophy of Science. A Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he was also the first recipient of the Prometheus Prize, awarded by the American Philosophical Association for work in expanding the frontiers of Science and Philosophy. He has been named a “Friend of Darwin” by the National Committee on Science Education, and received a Lannan Foundation Notable Book Award for Living With Darwin.

Again, we hope that Professor Cartwright's difficult situation will end happily, and we are deeply grateful to Professor Kitcher for his friendship to Professor Cartwright and to us.

The lecture is made possible by the generosity of Lewis Burke Frumkes.