A. Thomas Tymoczko (September 1, 1943 – August 8, 1996) was a philosopher specializing in logic and the philosophy of mathematics. He taught at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts from 1971 until his death from stomach cancer in 1996, aged 52.[1][2]
His publications include New Directions in the Philosophy of Mathematics, an edited collection of essays for which he wrote individual introductions, and Sweet Reason: A Field Guide to Modern Logic, co-authored by Jim Henle. In addition, he published a number of philosophical articles, such as "The Four-Color Problem and its Philosophical Significance", which argues that the increasing use of computers is changing the nature of mathematical proof.
He is considered to be a member of the fallibilist school in philosophy of mathematics. Philip Kitcher dubbed this school the "maverick" tradition in the philosophy of mathematics. (Paul Ernest)[citation needed]
He completed an undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 1965, and his PhD from the same university in 1972.[1]
Tymoczko was married to comparative literature scholar Maria Tymoczko of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Their three children include music composer Dmitri Tymoczko and Smith College mathematics professor Julianna Tymoczko.[3][4]
