Nelson Goodman (7 August 1906 - 25 November 1998) was an American philosopher, known for work on counterfactuals, mereology, and the problem of induction.

He was born in Somerville, Maryland. He graduated from Harvard University in 1928. He then ran an art gallery on Boston, Massachusetts for 11 years; and obtained a Ph. D. in 1941. He joined the US Army until the end of World War II.

After the war he spent 18 years teaching at the University of Pennsylvania. He was a research fellow at the Harvard Center for Cognitive Studies from 1962 to 1963 and was a Professor at several universities from 1964 to 1967, being appointed Professor of Philosophy at Harvard in 1968.

Goodman proposed the "new riddle of induction", so called by analogy with Hume's classical "problem of induction". It was introduced in the book Fact, Fiction, and Forecast. A popular form is often stated in terms of the predicate grue or bleen.

Bibliography

I. Books

A Study of Qualities. Diss. Harvard U., 1941. In book form: New York: Garland, 1990. Harvard Dissertations in Philosophy Series.

The Structure of Appearance. Harvard UP, 1951. 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1966. 3rd ed. Boston: Reidel, 1977. In Italian: La struttura dell'apparenza. Trans. Alberto Emiliani. Bologna: Il Mulino 1985.

Fact, Fiction, and Forecast. University of London: Athlone Press, 1954. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1955. 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1965. 3rd. ed. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1973. 4th ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1983. In German: Tatsache, Fiktion, Voraussage. Trans. Hermann Vetter. Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp, 1975. In French: Faits, Fiction et Prediction. Trans. Martin Abran. Paris: Edition de Minuit, 1985. In Italian: Fatti, ipotesi e previsioni. Trans. C. Marletti. Bari: Laterza, 1985. In Japanese: Tokyo: Keiso Shobo, 1987. In Portuguese: Lisbon: Presença, forthcoming, 1991.

Languages of Art: An Approach to a Theory of Symbols. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1968. 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1976. In Great Britain: Brighton: Harvester, 1981. In German: Sprachen der Kunst: Ein Ansatz zu einer Symboltheorie. Trans. Jurgen Schlaeger. Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp, 1973. Also in German: Sprachen der Kunst : Entwurf einer Symboltheorie. Trans. Bernd Philippi. Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp 1997. In Spanish: Los lenguajes del arte: Aproximacion a la teoria de los simbolos. Barcelona: Editorial Seix Barral, 1976. In Italian: I linguaggi dell'arte. Milano: Il Saggiatore, 1976. Rpt. Milano: Arnoldo Mondadori, forthcoming 1991. In Japanese: Tokyo: Keiso Shobo, 1985. In French: Les Langages de l'Art. Nimes: Editions Jacqueline Chambon, 1990.

Problems and Projects. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1972. Currently available from Hackett. In Italian: Turin: Bollati Boringhieri (in preparation).

Basic Abilities Required for Understanding and Creation in the Arts: Final Report (with David Perkins, Howard Gardner, and the assistance of Jeanne Bamberger et al.) Cambridge: Harvard University, Graduate School of Education: Project No. 9-0283, Grant No. OEG-0-9-310283-3721 (010), 1972.

Ways of Worldmaking. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1978. In Great Britain: Hassocks, Sussex: Harvester Press, 1978. Paperback: Indianapolis: Hackett, 1985. In German: Weisen der Welterzeugung. Trans. Max Looser. Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp, 1984. In Japanese: Sekai-Seisaku No Hoho. Trans. Tateki Sugeno and Masayuki Nakamura. Tokyo: Misuzu Shobo, 1987. In Italian: Vedere e costruire il mondo. Trans. C. Marletti. Bari: Laterza, 1988. In Spanish: Maneras de hacer mundos, Madrid, Visor, 1990. Trans.: Carlos Thiebaut..

Of Mind and Other Matters. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1984. In German: Vom Denken und anderen Dingen. Trans. Bernd Philippi. Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp, 1987. In Spanish: De la mente y otras materias, Madrid, Visor, 1995. Trans.: Rafael Guardiola.

Reconceptions in Philosophy and other Arts and Sciences (with Catherine Z. Elgin). Indianapolis: Hackett; London: Routledge, 1988. Paperback Edition, London: Routledge, Indianapolis: Hackett, 1990. In German: Revisionen: Philosophie und andere Kunste und Wissenschaften. Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp, 1989. In Italian: Turin: Bollati Boringhieri, 1991