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In metaphysics (in particular, ontology), the different kinds or ways of being are called categories of being or simply categories. To investigate the categories of being is to determine the most fundamental and the broadest classes of entities. A distinction between such categories, in making the categories or applying them, is called an ontological distinction.

Categorical distinctions[link]

The common or dominant ways to view categories as of the end of the 20th century.

1. via bundle theory as bundles of properties - categories reflect differences in these
2. via peer-to-peer comparisons or dialectics - categories are formed by conflict/debate
3. via value theory as leading to specific ends - categories are formed by choosing ends
4. via conceptual metaphors as arising from characteristics of human cognition itself - categories are found via cognitive science and other study of that biological system

Any of these ways can be criticized for...

• for seeking to make distinctions that aren't as universal as claimed (greedy reductionism)
• for serious bias in point of view (subject-object problem or God's eye view)
• for relying on theological or spiritual claims a priori, for relying too much on surface conflict or current investigative priorities to point out differences
• for ignoring action
• for ignoring the perceived or biospheric context, or the cognitive mechanisms that perceive and invent categories
• or for relying on a complex empirical process of investigation that is poorly understood and only recently embarked upon.

In process philosophy, this last is the only possibility, but historically philosophers have been loath to conclude that nothing exists but process.

Categorization of existence[link]

As bundles of properties[link]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it.

As formed by debate[link]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it.

Intuition as evasion[link]

A seemingly simpler way to view categories is as arising only from intuition. Philosophers argue this evades the issue. What it means to take the category physical object seriously as a category of being is to assert that the concept of physical objecthood cannot be reduced to or explicated in any other terms - not, for example, in terms of bundles of properties but only in terms of other items in that category.

In this way, many ontological controversies can be understood as controversies about exactly which categories should be seen as fundamental, irreducible, or primitive. To refer to intuition as the source of distinctions and thus categories doesn't resolve this.

Ideology, dogma, theory[link]

Modern theories give weight to intuition, perceptually observed properties, comparisons of categories among persons, and the direction of investigation towards known specified ends, to determine what humanity in its present state of being needs to consider irreducible. They seek to explain why certain beliefs about categories would appear in political science as ideology, in religion as dogma, or in science as theory.

As metaphors[link]

A set of ontological distinctions related by a single conceptual metaphor was called an ontological metaphor by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, who claimed that such metaphors arising from experience were more basic than any properties or symbol-based comparisons. Their cognitive science of mathematics was a study of the embodiment of basic symbols and properties including those studied in the philosophy of mathematics, via embodied philosophy, using cognitive science. This theory comes after several thousand years of inquiry into patterns and cognitive bias of humanity.

Categories of being[link]

Philosophers have many differing views on what the fundamental categories of being are. In no particular order, here are at least some items that have been regarded as categories of being by someone or other:^[who?]

Physical objects[link]

Physical objects are beings; certainly they are said to be in the simple sense that they exist all around us. So a house is a being, a person's body is a being, a tree is a being, a cloud is a being, and so on. They are beings because, and in the sense that, they are physical objects. One might also call them bodies, or physical particulars, or concrete things, or matter, or maybe substances (but bear in mind the word 'substance' has some special philosophical meanings).

Minds[link]

Minds -- those "parts" of us that think and perceive—are considered beings by some philosophers. Each of us, according to common sense anyway, "has" a mind. Of course, philosophers rarely just assume that minds occupy a different category of beings from physical objects. Some, like René Descartes, have thought that this is so (this view is known as dualism, and functionalism also considers the mind as distinct from the body), while others have thought that concepts of the mental can be reduced to physical concepts (this is the view of physicalism or materialism). Still others maintain though "mind" is a noun, it is not necessarily the "name of a thing" distinct within the whole person. In this view the relationship between mental properties and physical properties is one of supervenience – similar to how "banks" supervene upon certain buildings. See Philosophy of mind.

Classes[link]

We can talk about all human beings, and the planets, and all engines as belonging to classes. Within the class of human beings are all of the human beings, or the extension of the term 'human being'. In the class of planets would be Mercury, Venus, the Earth, and all the other planets that there might be in the universe. Classes, in addition to each of their members, are often taken to be beings. Surely we can say that in some sense, the class of planets is, or has being. Classes are usually taken to be abstract objects, like sets; 'class' is often regarded as equivalent, or nearly equivalent, in meaning to 'set'. Denying that classes and sets exist is the contemporary meaning of nominalism.

Properties[link]

The redness of a red apple, or more to the point, the redness all red things share, is a property. One could also call it an attribute of the apple. Very roughly put, a property is just a quality that describes an object. This will not do as a definition of the word 'property' because, like 'attribute', 'quality' is a near-synonym of 'property'. But these synonyms can at least help us to get a fix on the concept we are talking about. Whenever one talks about the size, color, weight, composition, and so forth, of an object, one is talking about the properties of that object. Some—though this is a point of severe contention in the problem of universals -- believe that properties are beings; the redness of all apples is something that is. To deny that universals exist is the scholastic variant of nominalism.

Note that the color red is an objective property of an object. The intrinsic property is that it reflects radiation (including light) in a certain way. A human perceives that as the color red in his brain. An object thus has two types of properties, intrinsic (physical) and objective (observer specific)

Relations[link]

An apple sitting on a table is in a relation to the table it sits on. So we can say that there is a relation between the apple and the table: namely, the relation of sitting-on. So, some say, we can say that that relation has being. For another example, the Washington Monument is taller than the White House. Being-taller-than is a relation between the two structures. We can say that that relation has being as well. This, too, is a point of contention in the problem of universals.

Space and Time[link]

Space and time are what physical objects are extended into. There is debate as to whether time exists only in the present or whether far away times are just as real as far away spaces, and there is debate as to whether space is curved. Many contemporary thinkers actually suggest that time is the fourth dimension, thus reducing space and time to one distinct ontological entity, the space-time continuum.

Propositions[link]

Propositions are units of meaning. They should not be confused with declarative sentences, which are just sets of words in languages that refer to propositions. Declarative sentences, ontologically speaking, are thus ideas, a property of substances (minds), rather than a distinct ontological category. For instance, the English declarative sentence "snow is white" refers to the same proposition as the equivalent French declarative sentence "la neige est blanche"; two sentences, one proposition. Similarly, one declarative sentence can refer to many propositions; for instance, "I am hungry" changes meaning (i.e. refers to different propositions) depending on the person uttering it.

Events[link]

Events are that which can be said to occur. To illustrate, consider the claim "John went to a ballgame"; if true, then we must ontologically account for every entity in the sentence. "John" refers to a substance. But what does "went to a ballgame" refer to? It seems wrong to say that "went to a ballgame" is a property that instantiates John, because "went to a ballgame" does not seem to be the same ontological kind of thing as, for instance, redness. Thus, events arguably deserve their own ontological category.

Properties, relations, and classes are supposed to be abstract, rather than concrete. Many philosophers say that properties and relations have an abstract existence, and that physical objects have a concrete existence. That, perhaps, is the paradigm case of a difference in ways in which items can be said to be, or to have being.

Many philosophers have attempted to reduce the number of distinct ontological categories. For instance, David Hume famously regarded Space and Time as nothing more than psychological facts about human beings, which would effectively reduce Space and Time to ideas, which are properties of humans (substances). Nominalists and realists argue over the existence of properties and relations. Finally, events and propositions have been argued to be reducible to sets (classes) of substances and other such categories.

History[link]

Aristotle[link]

Category came into use with Aristotle's essay Categories, in which he discussed univocal and equivocal terms, predication, and ten categories:^[1]

• Substance, essence (ousia) — examples of primary substance: this man, this horse; secondary substance (species, genera): man, horse
• Quantity (poson, how much), discrete or continuous — examples: two cubits long, number, space, (length of) time.
• Quality (poion, of what kind or description) — examples: white, black, grammatical, hot, sweet, curved, straight.
• Relation (pros ti, toward something) — examples: double, half, large, master, knowledge.
• Place (pou, where) — examples: in a marketplace, in the Lyceum
• Time (pote, when) — examples: yesterday, last year
• Position, posture, attitude (keisthai, to lie) — examples: sitting, lying, standing
• State, condition (echein, to have or be) — examples: shod, armed
• Action (poiein, to make or do) — examples: to lance, to heat, to cool (something)
• Affection, passion (paschein, to suffer or undergo) — examples: to be lanced, to be heated, to be cooled

Kant[link]

In his Critique of Pure Reason, Kant proposed the following system:

• Quantity
  • Unity
  • Plurality
  • Totality
• Quality
  • Reality
  • Negation
  • Limitation
• Relation
  • Inherence and Subsistence (substance and accident)
  • Causality and Dependence (cause and effect)
  • Community (reciprocity)
• Modality^{[disambiguation needed ]}
  • Possibility
  • Existence
  • Necessity

Peirce & Husserl[link]

Charles Sanders Peirce, who had read Kant closely and who also had some knowledge of Aristotle, proposed a system of merely three phenomenological categories: Firstness, Secondness, and Thirdness, which he repeatedly invoked in his subsequent writings.

Edmund Husserl (1962, 2000) wrote extensively about categorial systems as part of his phenomenology.

For Gilbert Ryle (1949), a category (in particular a "category mistake") is an important semantic concept, but one having only loose affinities to an ontological category.

Others[link]

Contemporary systems of categories have been proposed by Wilfrid Sellars (1974), Grossman (1983), Johansson (1989), Hoffman and Rosenkrantz (1994), Roderick Chisholm (1996), Barry Smith (ontologist) (2003), and Jonathan Lowe (2006).

See also[link]

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2008)

1. ^ Categories, translated by E. M. Edghill. For the Greek terms, see The Complete Works of Aristotle in Greek (requires DjVu), Book 1 (Organon), Categories Section 4 (DjVu file's page 6).

Selected bibliography[link]

• Aristotle, 1953. Metaphysics. Ross, W. D., trans. Oxford Uni. Press.
• --------, 2004. Categories, Edghill, E. M., trans. Uni. of Adelaide library.
• Roderick Chisholm, 1996. A Realistic Theory of Categories. Cambridge Uni. Press.
• Grossmann, Reinhardt, 1983. The Categorial Structure of the World. Indiana Uni. Press.
• Hoffman, J., and Rosenkrantz, G. S.,1994. Substance among other Categories. Cambridge Uni. Press.
• Edmund Husserl, 1962. Ideas: General Introduction to Pure Phenomenology. Boyce Gibson, W. R., trans. Collier.
• ------, 2000. Logical Investigations, 2nd ed. Findlay, J. N., trans. Routledge.
• Johansson, Ingvar, 1989. Ontological Investigations. Routledge, 2nd ed. Ontos Verlag 2004.
• Immanuel Kant, 1998. Critique of Pure Reason. Guyer, Paul, and Wood, A. W., trans. Cambridge Uni. Press.
• Charles Sanders Peirce, 1992, 1998. The Essential Peirce, vols. 1,2. Houser, Nathan et al., eds. Indiana Uni. Press.
• Gilbert Ryle, 1949. The Concept of Mind. Uni. of Chicago Press.
• Wilfrid Sellars, 1974, "Toward a Theory of the Categories" in Essays in Philosophy and Its History. Reidel.
• Barry Smith, 2003. "Ontology" in Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Computing and Information. Blackwell.
• Charles H. Kahn, 2009. Essays on Being, Oxford Uni. Press.

External links[link]

• Aristotle's Categories at MIT.
• Categories entry by Amie Thomasson in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• "Ontological Categories and How to Use Them" -- Amie Thomassen.
• "Recent Advances in Metaphysics" -- E. J. Lowe.
• Theory and History of Ontology -- Raul Corazzon.

Allen Hamilton (1798–1864) was a founding father of Fort Wayne in Allen County, Indiana.

Hamilton, an Irish emigrant, lived in Lawrenceburg in Dearborn County, Indiana in 1820, when he married Emerine J. Holman,^[1] the daughter of a prominent Indiana judge.^[2] In 1823 the Hamilton family moved to Fort Wayne, where Hamilton was appointed deputy clerk in the U. S. Land Office.^[1] Hamilton also served as Allen County sheriff (1824–1826), Fort Wayne’s postmaster (1825–1831), and as Allen County auditor, clerk, and recorder (1831–1838).^[1]

In the 1820s Hamilton partnered with Cyrus Taber to form Hamilton and Taber, an Indian trading company. The firm prospered as Hamilton won the trust and confidence of many Indians, in particular Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville of the Miami. In 1834 and 1838 Hamilton was appointed to the U. S. Commission to Negotiate Treaties with the Miami in northern Indiana. In 1840 he served on the Commission to Extinguish Indian Titles in Indiana and was appointed the U. S. Indian agent to the Miami from 1841 to 1845.^[1] Hamilton was a Whig delegate to the Indiana Constitutional Convention in 1851 and was elected to the Indiana Senate in 1859, serving one term.^[1]

Until his death in 1864 Hamilton remained active in business as president of the Fort Wayne branch of the Indiana State Bank and of the Allen Hamilton National Bank in Fort Wayne.

In 1861 Hamilton donated land for a baseball field at the corner of Lewis Street and Calhoun Street in Fort Wayne, the site of the first professional league baseball game played in 1871 for the National Association of Professional Baseball Players. The Fort Wayne Kekiongas won the game.

Hamilton was the grandfather of author Edith Hamilton, whose books on mythology have become classics, and Alice Hamilton, a pioneer in American industrial medicine and the first woman on the Harvard University medical faculty. His great-grandson, Holman Hamilton, is noteworthy for a two-volume biography of President Zachary Taylor.

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Brice, Wallace. History of Fort Wayne. Fort Wayne, IN: D. W. Jones and Son, 1868.
• Gugin, Linda C., and James E. St. Clair, eds. Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court. Indianapolis, IN: Indiana Historical Society Press, 2010. ISBN 9780871952882 WorldCat
• Hamilton, Allen, Papers, 1814–1924. “Collection Guide.” William Henry Smith Memorial Library, Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, IN. Retrieved February 6, 2012.

Sanjay Gupta
Sanjay Gupta
Born	(1969-10-23) October 23, 1969 (age 42) Novi, Michigan, United States[1]
Alma mater	University of Michigan Health System (Residency), University of Michigan Medical School (M.D.), University of Michigan (B.S.)
Occupation	Academic, journalist and neurosurgeon
Spouse	Rebecca Olson Gupta
Children	3

Sanjay Gupta ( /ˈsɑːndʒeɪ ˈɡuːptə/ SAHN-jay GOOP-tə; born October 23, 1969) is an American neurosurgeon and an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine and associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.

Known as a media personality on health-related issues, he is best known as CNN's multiple Emmy award winning chief medical correspondent, hosting the network's weekend health program Sanjay Gupta, M.D., and making frequent appearances on their American Morning, Larry King Live and Anderson Cooper 360° programs. His reports from Charity Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina helped the hospital to win a 2006 Emmy Award for "Outstanding Feature Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast". Additionally, Gupta publishes a column in Time magazine and is a special correspondent for CBS News. His books Chasing Life and Cheating Death were New York Times and national bestsellers.^[2][3] His latest book, Monday Mornings, a novel, was released in March, 2012 and became an instant New York Times Bestseller. It is currently being adapted as a television show with David E. Kelley and Gupta serving as Executive Producers.

From 1997 to 1998, he served as one of fifteen White House Fellows, primarily as an advisor to Hillary Clinton. In January 2009, it was reported that Gupta was offered the position of Surgeon General of the United States in the Obama administration,^[1] but he withdrew his name from consideration.^[4] In January 2011, he was named "one of the 10 most influential celebrities" by Forbes magazine.^[5]

Life and career[link]

Youth[link]

Gupta was raised on 8 Mile Road in Novi, Michigan, in Oakland County in metro Detroit. His parents, Subhash and Damyanti Gupta, moved from India to Michigan, along with his older brother, Yogesh Gupta, to work as engineers for the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan in the 1960s. His mother was the first female engineer to work in Ford Motor Company. He graduated from Novi High School in 1986. Gupta received his Bachelor of Science degree in biomedical sciences at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1993. As an undergraduate, he worked as an orientation leader for the freshman orientation program, and was a member of the Men's Glee Club. He also served as President of the Indian American Students Association (IASA), which is now the second largest student organization at U-M^[6]. He completed his residency in neurological surgery within the University of Michigan Health System in 2000.^[7] On April 28th, 2012, Gupta was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree for his accomplishments in the medical field. Gupta also gave the commencement address at the spring commencement ceremony held in the University of Michigan Stadium ^[8] to a crowd of about 45,000 people.

Broadcast journalism[link]

In 2003, Gupta traveled to Iraq to cover the medical aspects of 2003 invasion of Iraq. While in Iraq, Gupta performed emergency surgery on both U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians.^[9] Gupta was embedded with a Navy medical unit at the time, specifically a group of doctors called the “Devil Docs,” who supported the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.^[10] A Marine named Jesus Vidana suffered a severe head injury, and the Marines asked for Gupta's assistance because of his background in neurosurgery. Vidana survived and was sent back to the United States for rehabilitation.^[9]

Gupta was named one of the Sexiest Men of 2003 by People magazine.^[2]

In December 2006, CBS News president Sean McManus negotiated a deal with CNN that would have Gupta file up to ten reports a year for the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and 60 Minutes while remaining CNN's chief medical correspondent and associate chief of neurosurgery at Grady Memorial Hospital.

On October 14, 2007, Gupta guest-hosted a health episode of CBS News Sunday Morning as its regular host Charles Osgood was on vacation. In February 2009, Gupta hosted AC360 covering the White House Health Summit. He also guest hosted Larry King Live in October 2009. In January 2010, Gupta and Cooper led CNN's coverage of the earthquake in Haiti. Gupta has regularly appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman,^[11] The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,^[12] The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,^[13] Real Time with Bill Maher and The Oprah Winfrey Show.^[14] Winfrey referred to Gupta as CNN's hero in January 2010.^[15]

Surgeon General candidate[link]

On January 6, 2009, CNN announced that Gupta had been offered the position of Surgeon General by President Barack Obama.^[16]

Some doctors said that his communication skills and high profile would allow him to highlight medical issues and prioritize medical reform. However, others raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest with drug companies who have sponsored his broadcasts and his lack of skepticism in weighing the costs and benefits of medical treatments.^{[17][dead link]}

Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), wrote a letter opposing Gupta's nomination. Conyers supports a single-payer health care system, the sort that Conyers' filmmaker friend Michael Moore advocated in his documentary Sicko; Gupta has criticized Moore and the film.^[18]

Others, such as liberal commentator Jane Hamsher, defended the appointment, noting that Gupta's responsibilities as a surgeon general would be not that different from those of his CNN position, and that Gupta's media presence would make him ideal for the position.^[19] From the medical community, Donna Wright, of Creative Health Care Management, a regular commentator on medicine and politics, also defended the appointment on the grounds of his media presence, combined with his medical qualifications, which she viewed as an ideal combination for the post of surgeon general.^[20] Likewise, Fred Sanfilippo, executive vice president for health affairs at Emory University, supported Gupta's nomination by issuing a press release saying, "He has the character, training, intelligence and communications skills needed to help the United States improve its health and health care delivery systems in the next Administration."^[21] The American Council on Exercise, listed by PR Newswire as "America's leading authority on fitness and one of the largest fitness certification, education and training organizations in the world", endorsed the nomination of Gupta "because of his passion for inspiring Americans to lead healthier, more active lives." The ACE sent a letter of support to Senator Edward M. Kennedy.^[22] Former surgeon general Joycelyn Elders also supported Gupta's nomination, saying "He has enough well-trained, well-qualified public health people to teach him the things he needs to do the job."^[23] In March 2009 Gupta withdrew his name from consideration for the post, citing his family and his career.^[4]

Personal life[link]

Gupta is married to Rebecca Olson, a family law attorney. They were married in 2004 in a Hindu wedding ceremony. They live in Atlanta^[24] and have three daughters.^[25]

Medical practice[link]

Gupta is an Emory Healthcare general neurosurgeon at Grady Memorial Hospital and has worked on spine, trauma and 3-D-image-guided operations. He has published medical journal articles on percutaneous pedicle screw placement,^[26][27] brain tumors, and spinal cord abnormalities.^[28][29] He is licensed to practice medicine in New York, Michigan, Georgia and South Carolina.^[30]

Gupta (third from left) with Henri Ford (second from left) and two U.S. Navy doctors operating on a 12-year-old girl aboard the USS Carl Vinson.^[31]

During his reporting in Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake, Gupta received a call from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson that an earthquake victim, a 12-year-old girl, was aboard and needed a neurosurgeon. Gupta, pediatric surgeon Henri Ford, and two U.S. Navy doctors removed a piece of concrete from the girl's skull in an operation performed aboard the Vinson.^[32][33] Ford later wrote that Gupta "proved to be a competent neurosurgeon."^[34]

Controversy[link]

Criticism of reporting[link]

Some journalists and journalism professors specializing in health care have criticized Gupta's coverage. Trudy Lieberman, a regular Nation contributor on healthcare and director of the health and medicine reporting program at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism,^[35] reviewed Gupta's "ineptitude" in reporting on the McCain health plan. Lieberman criticized Gupta for relying on insurance industry statistics, and a health expert quoted by Lieberman said that Gupta's reporting “gives a gross oversimplification."^[36]

Peter Aldhous criticized Gupta's "enthusiasm for many forms of medical screening – even when the scientific evidence indicates that it may not benefit patients." He and other medical journalists accuse him of a "pro-screening bias" in promoting widespread electrocardiogram and prostate cancer screening, even though medical authorities like the US Preventive Services Task Force recommend against it.^[37]

Others have criticized Gupta's promotion of Merck's cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil, without disclosing the financial arrangements between CNN and Merck.^[38]

Gary Schwitzer, professor of health journalism at the University of Minnesota School of Journalism, has also criticized Gupta's reporting.^[39][40]

Michael Moore dispute[link]

A July 9, 2007, broadcast of CNN's The Situation Room aired a fact-check segment by Gupta on Michael Moore's 2007 film Sicko in which Gupta stated that Moore had "fudged facts".^[41]

Immediately following the segment, Moore was interviewed live on CNN by Wolf Blitzer. Moore said that Gupta's report was inaccurate and biased, and Moore later posted a detailed response on his website.^[42] Moore accused CNN of being biased in favor of the drug industry because most of the sponsors for their medical coverage were drug companies.

On July 10, 2007, Gupta debated Moore on Larry King Live; on July 15, CNN released a statement in response to Michael Moore's rebuttal.^[43] In it, they apologized for an error in their on-air report, having stated that in the film Moore reported Cuba spends $25 per person for health care when the film actually gave that number as $251. CNN attributed this to a transcription error. CNN defended the rest of Gupta's report and issued a point-by-point response to Moore's response in which CNN contended that Moore's comparison of data from different sources in different years was in effect "cherry picking" results, at the cost of statistical accuracy.

See also[link]

• List of American print journalists
• List of surgeons
• List of television reporters

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sanjay Gupta

• Sanjay Gupta at the Internet Movie Database
• Sanjay Gupta CNN biography
• Sanjay Gupta on Twitter
• Interview with Dr. Sanjay Gupta
• Paging Dr. Gupta: – Blogs from CNN.com
• Web page at Emory Neurosurgery department
• Sanjay Gupta physician profile – Emory Neurosurgery

Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher, September 2008
Born	Christopher Ashton Kutcher (1978-02-07) February 7, 1978 (age 34) Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Occupation	Actor, producer, former fashion model, comedian, television host
Years active	1998–present
Spouse	Demi Moore (m. 2005–present; divorce filed)

Christopher Ashton Kutcher (/ˈkʊtʃər/; born February 7, 1978),^[1] best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model, and comedian, known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show. He also created, produced and hosted Punk'd, and played lead roles in the Hollywood films Dude, Where's My Car?, Just Married, The Butterfly Effect, The Guardian, and What Happens in Vegas. He is also the producer and co-creator of the supernatural TV show Room 401 and the reality TV show Beauty and the Geek. Kutcher currently co-stars in the hit CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men as the character Walden Schmidt.

Early life[link]

Kutcher was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He is the son of Diane (née Finnegan), a Procter & Gamble employee, and Larry M. Kutcher, a factory worker.^[2][3] His father is of Bohemian (Czech) descent and his mother is of Irish, German, and Bohemian ancestry.^[4][5] Kutcher was raised in a conservative Roman Catholic family,^[6] with an older sister, Tausha, and a fraternal twin, Michael, who had a heart transplant when the brothers were young children. Kutcher's twin brother also has cerebral palsy and is a spokesperson for the advocacy organization Reaching for the Stars.^[7]

Kutcher's brother's cardiomyopathy caused his home life to become increasingly stressful. He has stated that "I didn't want to come home and find more bad news about my brother" and "kept myself so busy that I didn't allow myself to feel".^[8] Kutcher stated that during adolescence, he contemplated committing suicide. At thirteen, he attempted to jump from a Cedar Rapids hospital balcony, with his father intervening in the incident.^[9] Kutcher attended Washington High School in Cedar Rapids for his freshman year, before his family moved to Homestead, Iowa, where he attended Clear Creek Amana High School. During high school, he developed a passion for acting and appeared in school plays.^[10] However, Kutcher's home life worsened as his parents divorced when he was sixteen. During his senior year, he broke into his high school at midnight with his cousin in an attempt to steal money; he was arrested leaving the scene. Kutcher was convicted of third-degree burglary and sentenced to three years' probation and 180 hours of community service. Kutcher stated that although the experience "straightened him out", he lost his girlfriend and anticipated college scholarships, and he was ostracized at school and in his community.^[10]

Kutcher enrolled at the University of Iowa in August 1996, where his planned major was biochemical engineering, motivated by the desire to find a cure for his brother's heart ailment.^[3] At college, Kutcher was kicked out of his apartment for being too "noisy" and "wild".^[11] Kutcher stated, "I thought I knew everything but I didn't have a clue. I was partying, and I woke up many mornings not knowing what I had done the night before. I played way too hard. I am amazed I am not dead."^[12] To earn money for his tuition, Kutcher worked as a college summer hire in the cereal department for the General Mills plant in Cedar Rapids, and sometimes donated blood for money.^[13] During his time at UI he was approached by a scout at a bar called "The Airliner" in Iowa City and was recruited to enter the "Fresh Faces of Iowa" modeling competition. After placing first, he dropped out of college and won a trip to New York City to the International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) Convention. Following his stay in New York City, Kutcher returned to Cedar Rapids before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.^[11]

Career[link]

Modeling career[link]

After participating as a modeling contestant in an IMTA competition (losing to Josh Duhamel) in 1998, Kutcher signed with the Next modeling agency in New York, appeared in ads for Calvin Klein, and modeled in Paris and Milan.^{[citation needed]}

Television and film career[link]

Kutcher with Two and a Half Men co-star Jon Cryer in September 2011

After some success in modeling, Kutcher moved to Los Angeles and, after his first audition,^{[citation needed]} was cast as Michael Kelso in the television series That '70s Show, which debuted in 1998 and ended in 2006. Kutcher was cast in a series of film roles; although he auditioned but was not cast for the role of Danny Walker in Pearl Harbor (2001) (the role went to Josh Hartnett), he starred in several comedy films, including Dude, Where's My Car? (2000), Just Married (2003), and Guess Who (2005). He appeared in the 2003 family film, Cheaper By The Dozen, playing a self-obsessed actor. His 2004 film The Butterfly Effect was a dramatic role for Kutcher, playing a conflicted young man who time travels; the film received mixed to negative reviews, but was a box office success.^[10]

In 2003, Kutcher produced and starred in his own series, MTV's Punk'd, as the host. The series involved hidden camera tricks performed on celebrities. Kutcher is also an executive producer of the reality television shows Beauty and the Geek, Adventures in Hollyhood (based around the rap group Three 6 Mafia), The Real Wedding Crashers, and the game show Opportunity Knocks. Many of his production credits, including Punk'd, come through Katalyst Films, a production company he runs with partner Jason Goldberg.^[14] In 2006, People magazine ranked him third in its annual list of "The Sexiest Men Alive".^[15]

Because of scheduling conflicts with the filming of The Guardian, Kutcher was forced not to renew his contract for the eighth and final season of That 70s Show, although he did appear in the first four episodes of it (credited as a special guest star) and returned for the series finale.^[10]

Kutcher produced and starred in the 2010 action comedy, Killers, in which he played a hitman.^[16]

In May 2011, Kutcher was announced as Charlie Sheen's replacement on the series Two and a Half Men.^[17] Kutcher's contract was for one year and was believed to be worth nearly $20 million.^[18] His debut as the character Walden Schmidt, entitled "Nice to Meet You, Walden Schmidt", was seen by 28.7 million people on September 19, 2011. The Nielsen ratings company reported that figure was more than any episode in the show's first eight seasons, when Sheen starred in it.^[19][20]

Other work[link]

Kutcher was part of the management team for Ooma, a tech start-up launched in September 2007. Ooma is in the Voice over Internet Protocol business and Kutcher's role was as Creative Director. He spearheaded a marketing campaign and produced viral videos to promote this service. Kutcher also created an interactive arm of Katalyst called Katalyst Media, with his partner from Katalyst Films, Jason Goldberg. Their first site was the animated cartoon Blah Girls. Ooma revamped its sales and marketing strategy with a new management team in the summer of 2008, replacing Kutcher as their creative director. Rich Buchanan, from Sling Media, became Ooma's Chief Marketing Officer.

Kutcher appears in advertisements for Nikon cameras.

On March 23, 2011, Kutcher launched his own Twitter client with UberMedia, called A.plus. While the app was initially available exclusively for desktop computers with Adobe Air installed, it eventually became available on mobile platforms, for iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry. In order to download on one of the 3 mobile platforms, users must first have the UberSocial client installed on their device, and then proceed to the device's browser to download A.plus.^[21][22]

In July 2011, Brazilian fashion label Colcci hired Kutcher and Alessandra Ambrosio to feature in a denim advertisement.^[23]

Personal life[link]

Kutcher and Moore, September 2008

In 2003, Kutcher began dating actress Demi Moore. Moore and Kutcher married on September 24, 2005,^[24] in a private ceremony conducted by a Rabbi of the Kabbalah Center; the wedding was attended by about 150 close friends and family of the couple, including Bruce Willis, Moore's ex-husband.^[25] In October 2010, Kutcher and Moore met with co-director of the Kabbalah Center Rabbi Yehuda Berg in Israel.^[26] On November 17, 2011, Moore released a statement announcing her intention to divorce Kutcher.^[27] The announcement followed weeks of media speculation about the state of the couple's marriage.^[28]

Kutcher has invested in an Italian restaurant, Dolce^[10] (other owners include Danny Masterson and Wilmer Valderrama) and a Japanese-themed restaurant named Geisha House located in Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York.

Kutcher is a self-described fiscal conservative and social liberal.^[29] He is a student of Kabbalah; his No Strings Attached co-star, Natalie Portman, stated in 2011 that Kutcher "has taught me more about Judaism than I think I have ever learned from anyone else".^[30]

On September 17, 2008, Kutcher was named the assistant coach for the freshman football team at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. However, he was unable to return in 2009 because he was filming Spread.^[31][32]

In February 2011, Kutcher sold his Hollywood Hills home, which he originally bought in 2004.^[33]

In April 2012, Ashton Kutcher became the 500th paying customer to sign up to ride Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo.^[34]

Twitter presence[link]

On April 16, 2009, Kutcher became the first user of Twitter to have more than 1,000,000 followers,^[35] beating CNN in the "Million followers contest".^[36][37][38] Kutcher announced via Twitter that he would be donating $100,000 to a charity to fight malaria. However, there have been several reports that Twitter manipulated the contest's results by preventing users from "unfollowing" Kutcher or CNN.^[39]

Controversy[link]

In April 2011, Kutcher and wife Demi Moore began a public service announcement campaign claiming that "Real Men" do not engage the services of child prostitutes who are the victims of human trafficking.^[40] Kutcher's claims that 100,000 to 300,000 American children were sold into sexual slavery were criticized by newspaper the Village Voice, which gave evidence refuting the claims. Kutcher represented a study referring to minors 'at risk' for sexual exploitation as referring to children actually being prostituted. Experts estimate the true numbers to be in the hundreds, not the hundreds of thousands.^[41] Kutcher reacted to the criticism by accusing the Village Voice of promoting child prostitution and using Twitter to request that Village Voice advertisers including American Airlines, Disney, the City of Seattle, and Domino's Pizza withdraw their advertising from publications owned by the parent company of the Village Voice.^[42][43]

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

As a producer[link]

Awards[link]

• Young Artist Award
  • 1999 – Best Performance in a TV Series – Young Ensemble for That '70 Show (shared with Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, Mila Kunis, Wilmer Valderrama and Danny Masterson)- Nominated
• Kid's Choice Awards
  • 2004 – Favorite Movie Actor for Just Married, My Boss's Daughter and Cheaper by the Dozen – Nominated
  • 2004 – Favorite Television Actor for That '70s Show and Punk'd – Winner
  • 2005 – Favorite TV Actor for That '70s Show and Punk'd – Nominated
  • 2006 – Favorite TV Actor for That '70s Show – Nominated
  • 2007 – Favorite Voice in a Cartoon for Open Season – Nominated
• People's Choice Awards
  • 2010 – Favorite Web Celeb – Winner
• Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award
  • 2000 – Sierra Award Best Male Newcomer for Dude, Where's My Car? – Nominated
• MTV Movie Awards
  • 2001 – Breakthrough Male Performance for Dude, Where's My Car? – Nominated
  • 2011 – Best Comedic Performance for No Strings Attached – Nominated
• Teen Choice Awards
  • 2003 – Choice Reality Hunk for Punk'd – Winner
  • 2003 – Choice TV Reality/Variety Host for Punk'd- Winner
  • 2003 – Choice TV Actor – Comedy for That '70s Show – Winner
  • 2004 – Choice TV Personality – Winner
  • 2004 – Choice Reality/Variety TV Star – Male for Punk'd – Winner
  • 2004 – Choice TV Actor – Comedy for That '70s Show – Winner
  • 2004 – Choice Movie Hissy Fit for Cheaper by the Dozen – Nominated
  • 2004 – Choice Movie Liplock Cheaper by the Dozen (shared with Piper Perabo) – Nominated
  • 2005 – Choice: TV Male Personality for Punk'd – Winner
  • 2005 – Choice TV Actor: Comedy for That '70s Show – Winner
  • 2005 – Choice Movie Actor: Comedy for Guess Who and A Lot Like Love – Nominated
  • 2005 – Choice Movie Rockstar Moment for A Lot Like Love – Winner
  • 2007 – Choice Movie Actor: Drama for The Guardian – Nominated
  • 2008 – Choice: Movie Actor Romantic Comedy for What Happens In Vegas – Winner
  • 2010 – Choice: Movie Actor Romantic Comedy for Valentine's Day – Winner
  • 2011 – Choice: Movie Actor Romantic Comedy for No Strings Attached – Winner
  • 2012 - Choice TV Actor: Comedy for Two and a Half Men - Pending
• Golden Raspberry Awards
  • 2003 – Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple for Just Married (shared with Brittany Murphy) and My boss's Daughter (shared with Tara Reid) – Nominated
  • 2004 – Razzie Award for Worst Actor for Cheaper By The Dozen, Just Married and My Boss's Daughter – Nominated
  • 2010 – Razzie Award for Worst Actor for Killers – Winner

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ashton Kutcher

• Ashton Kutcher at the Internet Movie Database
• Ashton Kutcher at AllRovi
• Ashton Kutcher at People.com
• Ashton Kutcher on Twitter