Kripke (eBook)

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.

Preface page vii

Acknowledgments x

Introduction 1

Background 2

Plan 7

1 Naming 11

Mill vs Frege 11

Error and Ignorance 19

Metalinguistic Theories 24

The Historical Chain Picture 28

Reference vs Attribution 33

2 Identity 37

Modal Logic and its Archenemy 37

Rigidity 45

The Necessity of Identity 50

Resistance 53

The Contingent a Priori 56

3 Necessity 59

Imagination and the Necessary a Posteriori 59

Natural Substances 64

Natural Kinds 69

Natural Phenomena and Natural Law 71

The Mystery of Modality 74

4 Belief 78

Direct Reference 78

Puzzling Pierre 83

Poles Apart 88

Counterfactual Attitudes 91

Empty Names 98

5 Rules 104

Conventionalism 105

Kripkenstein 108

The Analogy with Hume 110

The Skeptical Paradox 116

The Skeptical Solution 120

6 Mind 128

Physicalism 128

Functionalism 131

Against Functionalism 134

Against Physicalism 136

The Mystery of Mentality 140

Appendix A Models 143

The Logic of Modality 143

Kripke Models 147

The Curse of the Barcan Formulas 150

Controversy and Confusion 153

Appendix B Truth 157

Paradox and Pathology 158

Kripke vs Tarski 159

Fixed Points 165

The Intuitive Notion of Truth 170

Notes 175

Bibliography 204

Index 211

"With characteristic verve and clarity, Burgess succeeds in
doing what many thought impossible: presenting the best of Kripke's
philosophical and technical work in a precise, readable, and highly
illuminating fashion. Every philosopher should read this."

Stephen Neale, City University of New York

"Destined to become a classic, this is the best systematic
overview of Saul Kripke's major contributions to philosophy.
While each chapter and appendix provides an excellent introduction
for those new to the material, old hands will relish
Burgess's provocative takes on Kripkean views of belief,
rule-following, and the mind. The explanation of the connection
between Kripke's technical and philosophical work on truth
and modality is masterful."

Scott Soames, University of Southern California

"Burgess provides a masterful introduction to Kripke's
philosophy, but this volume is more than that; it is a first-rate
piece of philosophy in its own right, as one would expect from one
of the leading philosophers of mathematics in the world."

Mark Steiner, Hebrew University of Jerusalem