Saul Kripke has been a major influence on analytic philosophy and allied fields for a half-century and more. His early masterpiece, Naming and Necessity, reversed the pattern of two centuries of philosophizing about the necessary and the contingent. Although much of his work remains unpublished, several major essays have now appeared in print, most recently in his long-awaited collection Philosophical Troubles.
In this book Kripke’s long-time colleague, the logician and philosopher John P. Burgess, offers a thorough and self-contained guide to all of Kripke’s published books and his most important philosophical papers, old and new. It also provides an authoritative but non-technical account of Kripke’s influential contributions to the study of modal logic and logical paradoxes. Although Kripke has been anything but a system-builder, Burgess expertly uncovers the connections between different parts of his oeuvre. Kripke is shown grappling, often in opposition to existing traditions, with mysteries surrounding the nature of necessity, rule-following, and the conscious mind, as well as with intricate and intriguing puzzles about identity, belief and self-reference. Clearly contextualizing the full range of Kripke’s work, Burgess outlines, summarizes and surveys the issues raised by each of the philosopher’s major publications.
Kripke will be essential reading for anyone interested in the work of one of analytic philosophy’s greatest living thinkers.
About the Author
John Patton Burgess is a John N. Woodhull Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley's Group in Logic and Methodology of Science. His interests include logic, philosophy of mathematics and metaethics.
Features
Saul Kripke is a major figure in twentieth century philosophy, and one of the leading analytic philosophers alive today
John P. Burgess is a former colleague of Kripke and a leading philosopher in his own right; he is uniquely placed to guide readers through Kripke's work
Fully up to date, the book deals with the whole range of Kripke's writing, up to and including his most recently published papers
Lucidly and accessibly written, this book makes Kripke's difficult idaes fully intelligible for undergraduate students
