Dr. Peter Spirtes

Biography

Peter Spirtes is the Marianna Brown Dietrich Professor and head of the Department of Philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University. His research interests primarily lie in the intersection of epidemiology, econometrics, sociology, and political science, aiming to infer causal relationships from data gathered under fully controlled experimental conditions. One of the main projects he leads is the TETRAD project, which focuses on specifying and proving the necessary conditions for reliably inferring causal relationships given background knowledge and statistical data. Spirtes has developed computer programs, including TETRAD II, designed to infer causal structures under certain conditions, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of his work which involves philosophy, statistics, graph theory, and computer science. His research has important theoretical and practical implications for understanding the relationship between probability and causality, as well as providing tools for scientists to construct causal models.

Research Interests