The pragmatists like dewey though they came before russel, if i am not mistaken. Naming and necessity was mentioned as one of the eminent texts for this practice. Saul kripkes naming and necessity was one of the most influential. Varieties of modality stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Routledge philosophy guidebook to kripke and naming and necessity. Naming and necessity 193 we want a common term to cover names and descriptions, we may use the term designator. After discussing proper names of individuals kripke extends his apparatus to a discussion of what he calls names of natural kinds. May 09, 2014 the routledge philosophy guidebook to kripke and naming and necessity is an ideal starting point for anyone coming kripke s work for the first time. The transcript was brought out originally in 1972 in semantics of natural language, edited by donald davidson and gilbert harman.
He next goes on to discuss and attack the notion of a possible. So it is metaphysically possible that nixon lost the 1968 election, but not that he is an alien, possible that earth is not overflowing with water, but. Applied to our news story about homer, the device of rigid desig nators guarantees that if we are referring at all by the name homer. Saul kripke 19801971 the identity thesis excerpt from identity and necessity give a sketch of kripkes argumentation against the identity theory and discuss it. Saul kripke, identity and necessity driving question.
Ever since the publication of its original version, naming and necessity has had great and increasing influence. He has a point he cites a theory, maybe used by some philosophers of historians about certain individuals who are predestined for greatness straight from birth. The new theory of reference kripke, marcus, and its. Kripke thinks that the similarities between names and kind terms extend beyond their nondescriptionality. Kripkes refutation of identity theory a rigid designator. Read while you wait get immediate ebook access when you order a print book. In this collection of essays leading specialists explore issues arising from. Token identity theorists feel their claims are unaffected by kripkes argument, but as i recount the argument, we will see that both kinds are refuted. In this collection of essays leading specialists explore issues arising from this and other works of kripke s. So it is metaphysically possible that nixon lost the 1968 election, but not that he is an alien, possible that earth is not overflowing with water, but not that water is not h20, that much is a posteriori. In naming and necessity saul kripke argues against typetypeidentity theory by the use of an argument from philosophy of language. Like freddie mercury if, for example, aristotle were to be predestined in such a way, rules 5 and 6 would. Reprmred by permtsston of the pubbshers from naming and necessity by saul a.
Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Here the latter must be given primary emphasis, but the former will not be entirely neglected. Necessity lectu res, david kaplan suggested t hat proper names were directly referential. Saul kripke 19801971 the identity thesis excerpt from. For he takes the sense of a designator to be its meaning. Naming, necessity and more explorations in the philosophical.
Kripke wants to demonstrate that if one believes in the identity of mental and brain states, one needs to accept the theorys full consequence, namely that there cannot be brain states which are not mental. Routledge philosophy guidebook to kripke and naming and. It redirected philosophical attention to neglected questions of natural and metaphysical necessity and to the connections between these and theories of reference, in particular of. His most celebrated work, naming and necessity, makes arguably the. We can then ask whether certain things might have been true of these objects 273. The thesis is best known for its association with saul kripke, who published it in 1971, 2 although it was first derived by the logician ruth barcan marcus in 1947, 3. Saul kripke is one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century. Arial times new roman symbol default design saul kripke, identity and necessity an apparent paradox the paradox with proper names identities in science rigid vs. Pdf on nov 1, 2005, consuelo preti and others published kripke. If one expression is a rigid and another is not, they cannot mean the same thing. Kripke, naming and necessity gaby pilson and sophie gaulkin.
This seminal work, to which todays thriving essentialist metaphysics largely owes its impetus, is here reissued in a newly corrected form with a new preface by the author. Kripkes examples are not the only ones that could be appealed to in order to shed doubt on the coextensiveness of necessity and a prioricity. Since the descriptions ordinarily associated with names. Routledge philosophy guidebook to kripke and naming and necessity harold noonan saul kripke is one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century. Naming and necessity has had a great and increasing influence.
Saul kripke has been a major influence on analytic philosophy and allied fields for a halfcentury and more. Philosophy saul kripke naming and necessity philosophy essay. The transcript was brought out originally in 1972 in semantics of natural language, edited by donald davidson and. Lecture 1 proper names people, countries, cities, etc. Russell looks to break everything down into more atomistic pieces in a search for truth. Naming and necessity by saul kripke was first published in book form in 1980 and consists mainly of three lectures given at princeton university, an overview, an essay on the problem of names, and. Saul kripke s naming and necessity was one of the most influential philosophical works of the twentieth century. Explorations in the philosophical work of saul kripke jonathan berg eds. Since the 1960s kripke has been a central figure in a number of fields related to mathematical logic, philosophy of language, philosophy of. It is essential reading for philosophy students studying philosophy of language, metaphysics, logic, or the history of analytic philosophy. Time and development in kripkes naming and necessity. As a result of these lectures and a related 1971 paper, identity and necessity kripke 1971, talk of rigid designators, hesperus and phosphorus, meter bars, gold and h 0, and suchlike quickly became commonplace in philosophical circles 2 and when the lectures were published under the title naming and necessity in the collection the. His early masterpiece, naming and necessity, reversed the pattern of two centuries of philosophizing about the necessary and the contingent.
Kripke if there is such a thing as essential reading in metaphysics or in philosophy of language, this is it. A great deal of the books brilliance lies in the astonishing simplicity of his solution to some of philosophys most fiendish puzzles and the ease with which he lectures reveals the powerful grasp he. Zsofia zvolenszky 2007 dissertation, new york university naming and necessity by saul kripke oxford. The preface is not written in such a way as to be completely selfcontained. If a name refers to an object o, it refers to o with respect to every possible world in which o exists. A great deal of the books brilliance lies in the astonishing simplicity of his solution to some of philosophys most fiendish puzzles and the ease with which he lectures reveals the powerful grasp he has on the issues he describes. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Feb 17, 2011 to be clear, kripke meant for his argument to apply to claims made by both kinds of identity theorists 148, naming. One of kripkes aims is to show that theoretical identity sentences are necessary, if true. It redirected philosophical attention to neglected questions of natural and metaphysical necessity and to the connections between these and theories of reference, in particular of naming, and of identity. He is currently mccosh professor of philosophy, emeritus, at princeton university and teaches as a distinguished professor of philosophy at the cuny graduate center. Giving the semantic content this is one facet of a fregean sense. Kripke and the mindbody problem i regard the mindbody problem as wide open and extremely confusing.
The inconclusiveness of kripkes argument agaimst the identity theory richard double in the widelyread papers naming and necessity1 and identity and necessity,2 saul kripke develops an argument against the mindbody identity theory, relying crucially on the doctrine of the essential painfulness of pains. These are terms for natural phenomena, such as heat or light, terms for natural kinds of stuff, such as gold or water and terms for natural kinds of thing, such as the tiger. Given the commonsense assumption that words possess distinctive meanings e. Kripkes view about essential properties has implications for his views about language. Although much of his work remains unpublished, several major essays have now appeared in print, most recently in his longawaited collection.
Naming and necessity an audience of onethe purpose and necessity of prophetic movement volume 1 war of necessity, war of choice. In modal logic, the necessity of identity is the thesis that for every object x and object y, if x and y are the same object, it is necessary that x and y are the same object. In certain philosophical circles necessity is viewed as the root of much, if not all, philosophical error. In naming and necessity kripke introduces something called metaphysical possibility, and argues that it is intuitive to many people. Naming and necessity a conflation in freges notion of sense frege should be criticized for using the term sense in two senses. In reading naming and necessity, it is clear that saul kripke stands in a similar position. The new theory of reference kripke, marcus, and its origins. Lecture notes introduction to philosophy of language. If there is such a thing as essential reading in metaphysics or in philosophy of language, this is it. A sense is supposed to be that which is grasped by the mind, a meaning in some nontechnical sense. Reprmred by permtsston of the pubbshers from naming and necessity by. Ever since the publication of its original version, naming and. The inconclusiveness of kripke s argument agaimst the identity theory richard double in the widelyread papers naming and necessity 1 and identity and necessity,2 saul kripke develops an argument against the mindbody identity theory, relying crucially on the doctrine of the essential painfulness of pains.
Saul kripkes work has had a tremendous impact on philosophy in the last. For example, we take it to be the case that it is contingent that the first postmaster of the united states is identical with the inventor of bifocals i. Furthermore, because of the use of tools involving reference and necessity in. The routledge philosophy guidebook to kripke and naming and necessity is an ideal starting point for anyone coming kripkes work for the first time. It redirected philosophical attention to neglected questions of natural and metaphysical necessity and to the connections between these and theories of naming, and of identity. This kind of necessity is a metaphysical notion, and we may use the term metaphysical necessity to distinguish it more clearly from epistemic necessity. Necessity routledge philosophy guidebook to kripke and. Kripkes naming and necessity some theses of naming and necessity 1. The thesis is best known for its association with saul kripke, who published it in 1971, although it was first derived by the logician ruth barcan marcus in 1947, and later, in simplified form, by w. Kripkes naming and necessity university of notre dame.
Kripke on description theory kripke says, the whole picture given by this theory of how reference is determined seems to be wrong from the fundamentals. Naming and necessity 3 the preface first, but that they return to it for clarification if necessary after they have read the main text. A rigid designator t rigidly designates an object o just in case in every possible world it. The ideas in naming and necessity evolved in the early sixties most of the views were formulated in about 196364. Names, necessity, and identity find, read and cite all the research you need on. The preface of 21 pages describes the genesis and background of the leading ideas of the monograph, and discusses a few common misunderstandings. To be clear, kripke meant for his argument to apply to claims made by both kinds of identity theorists 148, naming. Naming and necessity is a 1980 book with the transcript of three lectures, given by the philosopher saul kripke, at princeton university in 1970, in which he dealt with the debates of proper names in the philosophy of language. Kripke harvard university press cambridge, massachusetts copyright c 1972, 1980 by sau. He further thinks that natural kind terms, like names, are rigid designators. A descriptivist in disguise wesley hansen in his work, naming and necessity saul kripke argues against many previous philosophers, such as russell, who have offered a descriptivist account of language. Saul kripke project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Saul kripkes naming and necessity was one of the most influential philosophical works of the twentieth century. If there is such a thing as essential reading in metaphysics o.
Saul aaron kripke is an american philosopher and logician. Kripke on naming and necessity university of toronto. Naming with necessity part of the dissertation portfolio modality, names and descriptions. Naming and necessity is a 1980 book with the transcript of three lectures, given by the philosopher saul kripke, at princeton university in 1970, in which he. How do kripkes rigid designators and the necessity of.