Hacking, 73, was chosen for his work on how statistics and the theory of probability have shaped society.

“His combination of philosophical and historical analysis has altered our understanding of the ways in which key concepts emerge through scientific practices and in specific social and institutional contexts,” the prize committee said in a statement.

A graduate of the University of British Columbia in Canada and Cambridge University in Britain, Hacking in 2002 became the first English-speaking scholar to be appointed to a permanent chair at the College de France, according to the Holberg Foundation.

The prize is worth 500,000 euros (718,000 dollars).