Scienceאורון שגריר

Oron Shagrir

Oron Shagrir is an Israeli philosopher and cognitive scientist, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who became its rector in 2025.

born 1961Philosophy of computationFoundations of cognitive scienceRector of the Hebrew University

Occupation: philosopher, historian
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of California, San Diego

Oron Shagrir was born in 1961 in Abu Tor

Oron Shagrir was born in 1961 and grew up in the Abu Tor neighborhood of Jerusalem. His father, Micha Shagrir, was a director and producer born in Austria. His mother, Aliza, a film editor, was murdered in the 1980 bombing of the Paris synagogue on rue Copernic.

He finished Rehavia Gymnasium in 1979. At the Hebrew University he earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and computer science and a master's degree in history and philosophy of science, supervised by Itamar Pitowsky. He completed a doctorate at the University of California, San Diego, under Patricia Churchland.

After postdoctoral work, he became a lecturer at the Hebrew University in 1998 and a full professor in 2013. He headed the cognitive science department, served as vice rector, and from 2017 as vice president for international affairs. In 2025 the university senate chose him as rector.

His research deals with the philosophical foundations of computational sciences, including brain and cognitive sciences, and the history of computability. In 2013 he coedited a book on computability with Jack Copeland and Carl Posy, and in 2022 he published a book on physical computation. He is married to historian Iris Shagrir.