Keith Donnellan

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Keith Sedgwick Donnellan (born June 25, 1931 in Washington, DC , † February 20, 2015 ) was an American philosopher . He became known in particular for his work in the philosophy of language on the theory of labels .

biography

Donnellan began his studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, and graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor's , master's and Ph.D. (1961). He initially taught at Cornell University and moved to the University of California, Los Angeles in 1970 . Then he was professor emeritus at this university.

philosophy

Donnellan is known for his work in the field of philosophy of language. With his essay Reference and Definite Descriptions , he advocates the thesis that both Russell and Strawson failed with their analysis because both did not take into account the distinction between attributive and referential use of labels. This thesis has led to an ongoing debate about how exactly this distinction should be understood and whether it would actually mean that Russell and Strawson's analyzes should be considered obsolete.

Works

  • Reference and Definite Descriptions (1966)
  • Proper Names and Identifying Descriptions (1970)
  • Speaking of Nothing (1974)
  • The Contingent A Priori and Rigid Designation (1977)
  • Speaker Reference, Descriptions and Anaphora (1978)
  • Kripke and Putnam on Natural Kind Terms (1983)
  • Belief and the Identity of Reference (1989)
  • Joseph Almog, Paolo Leonardi, (ed.), Essays on Reference, Language , and Mind. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ John R. Shook: Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers . Thoemmes Continuum, Bristol 2005, ISBN 1-84371-037-4 , Volume 4, p. 651.
personal data
SURNAME Donnellan, Keith
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Donnellan, Keith Sedgwick (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American philosopher and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH June 25, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Washington, DC
DATE OF DEATH February 20, 2015