Dr. Michael Titelbaum receives the 2014 Gustave O. Arlt Award in the Humanities.
Dr. Michael Titelbaum receives the 2014 Arlt Award in the Humanities.

In December, Cal alumnus Dr. Michael Titelbaum was awarded the 2014 Gustave O. Arlt Award in the Humanities. Titelbaum received his Ph.D. in Philosophy in 2008.

Presented by the Council of Graduate Schools, the Arlt Award is given to a recent doctoral recipient and teacher who has authored a book on the topic of humanities. Titelbaum’s book, “Quitting Certainties,” deals with tackling epistemology and introduces his “Certainty-Loss Framework” with respect to the Bayesian epistemology.

My department chair submitted my book to the Council of Graduate Schools, according to Titelbaum. “I was incredibly surprised and flattered when I learned I was awarded,” he said, adding that Berkeley and former Philosophy Professor Branden Fitelson were instrumental in helping me research epistemology. “The book originally grew out of my dissertation while at Cal.”

Suzanne T. Ortega, CGS President, Dr. Michael Titelbaum and John McCarthy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School at University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Suzanne T. Ortega, CGS President, Dr. Michael Titelbaum and John McCarthy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School at University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Today, he is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Titelbaum is the 44th recipient of this award and receives a $1,000 honorarium.