Synopses & Reviews
Reference and Existence, Saul Kripke's John Locke Lectures for 1973, can be read as a sequel to his classic
Naming and Necessity. It confronts important issues left open in that work -- among them, the semantics of proper names and natural kind terms as they occur in fiction and in myth; negative existential statements; the ontology of fiction and myth (whether it is true that fictional characters like Hamlet, or mythical kinds like bandersnatches, might have existed). In treating these questions, he makes a number of methodological observations that go beyond the framework of his earlier book -- including the striking claim that fiction cannot provide a test for theories of reference and naming. In addition, these lectures provide a glimpse into the transition to the pragmatics of singular reference that dominated his influential paper, "Speaker's Reference and Semantic Reference" -- a paper that helped reorient linguistic and philosophical semantics. Some of the themes have been worked out in later writings by other philosophers - many influenced by typescripts of the lectures in circulation -- but none have approached the careful, systematic treatment provided here. The virtuosity of
Naming and Necessity -- the colloquial ease of the tone, the dazzling, on-the-spot formulations, the logical structure of the overall view gradually emerging over the course of the lectures 0- is on display here as well.
"There are many philosophers who have devoted their careers to picking away at the carcass of one philosophical problem or another. A bone here, a sinew there. Kripke, on the other hand, has not only created a new way of looking at philosophical problems, he has invented a host of philosophical questions and possible solutions that were unimagined before he came along. Questions about meaning and reference, epistemology, induction... It is a long laundry list. And for me, he has been invaluable. Everything I think about goes back in some way to Kripke and his ideas. For years, many of his legendary lectures have been unavailable -- except in various preprints, difficult-to-read Xeroxes, etc. Now, with the publication by Oxford University Press of the first volume of his collected essays, Philosophical Troubles, and the John Locke Lectures, this problem has been partially remedied. The John Locke Lectures, in particular, extend ideas developed in Naming and Necessity -- questions about the difference between fiction and non-fiction, belief and reference. His writing (even though it has often come in part from spoken lectures) is like no other -- equal parts perverse, funny, brilliant, and surprising. I think of him as not so much an heir to Russell and Wittgenstein, but to Poe and Twain."--Errol Morris, Filmmaker
Review
"The clarity, openness and, indeed, the honesty of his lectures is impressive, as are the recurring flashes of laconic humor"--Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
"Everything I think about goes back in some way to Kripke and his ideas. For years, many of his legendary lectures have been unavailable -- except in various preprints, difficult-to-read Xeroxes, etc. Now, with the publication by Oxford University Press of the first volume of his collected essays, Philosophical Troubles, and the John Locke Lectures, this problem has been partially remedied. His writing (even though it has often come in part from spoken lectures) is like no other -- equal parts perverse, funny, brilliant, and surprising. I think of him as not so much an heir to Russell and Wittgenstein, but to Poe and Twain."--Errol Morris, Filmmaker
"For decades getting a copy of these lectures has been a holy grail for philosophers working on fiction. It is a landmark event to have them now publicly available, where they can get the critical attention--and have the full impact--they deserve. This volume will be essential reading for anyone working on fictional discourse, nonexistence claims, the ontology of fiction, and related issues. It will no doubt be a major influence on work in these areas for decades to come."--Amie Thomasson, Professor of Philosophy, Cooper Fellow, and Parodi Senior Scholar in Philosophy of Art, Department of Philosophy, University of Miami
"Saul Kripke's Naming and Necessity is widely acknowledged as one of the most important works of twentieth century philosophy. In his 1973 Locke lectures he develops, extends, and elaborates the ideas in Naming and Necessity in major ways, and replies to potential objections. Rumours of the contents have circulated in the philosophical community, as have samizdat copies of the transcript, but in the absence of an authorized version most people have been reluctant to address the views directly as Kripke's. The publication of these lectures will be an event comparable in salience and significance to the posthumous publication of some of Wittgenstein's works, both for the history of recent analytic philosophy and for contemporary philosophy of language, philosophical logic, and metaphysics, where Kripke's ideas are fundamental to much of what is going on now."--Timothy Williamson, Wykeham Professor of Logic, University of Oxford
Review
"Everything I think about goes back in some way to Kripke and his ideas. For years, many of his legendary lectures have been unavailable -- except in various preprints, difficult-to-read Xeroxes, etc. Now, with the publication by Oxford University Press of the first volume of his collected essays, Philosophical Troubles, and the John Locke Lectures, this problem has been partially remedied. His writing (even though it has often come in part from spoken lectures) is like no other -- equal parts perverse, funny, brilliant, and surprising. I think of him as not so much an heir to Russell and Wittgenstein, but to Poe and Twain."--Errol Morris, Filmmaker
"For decades getting a copy of these lectures has been a holy grail for philosophers working on fiction. It is a landmark event to have them now publicly available, where they can get the critical attention--and have the full impact--they deserve. This volume will be essential reading for anyone working on fictional discourse, nonexistence claims, the ontology of fiction, and related issues. It will no doubt be a major influence on work in these areas for decades to come."--Amie Thomasson, Professor of Philosophy, Cooper Fellow, and Parodi Senior Scholar in Philosophy of Art, Department of Philosophy, University of Miami
"Saul Kripke's Naming and Necessity is widely acknowledged as one of the most important works of twentieth century philosophy. In his 1973 Locke lectures he develops, extends, and elaborates the ideas in Naming and Necessity in major ways, and replies to potential objections. Rumours of the contents have circulated in the philosophical community, as have samizdat copies of the transcript, but in the absence of an authorized version most people have been reluctant to address the views directly as Kripke's. The publication of these lectures will be an event comparable in salience and significance to the posthumous publication of some of Wittgenstein's works, both for the history of recent analytic philosophy and for contemporary philosophy of language, philosophical logic, and metaphysics, where Kripke's ideas are fundamental to much of what is going on now."--Timothy Williamson, Wykeham Professor of Logic, University of Oxford
Synopsis
Saul Kripke's Locke Lectures were delivered in Oxford in 1973. Delivered in Kripke's usual extemporaneous style, for years the lectures have only been available as a transcription that has been informally exchanged among philosophers. This volume, which publishes the lectures in book form for the first time, follows up on some of the themes on language that Kripke started to explore in his most famous work, Naming and Necessity. The first topic that Kripke examines is the relationship of naming to existence, in particular the problem of names that are empty i.e. which refer to non-existent objects such as fictional entities. The second major topic (or pair of topics) is that of speaker's reference and semantic reference.
The lectures are full of philosophically rich ideas that have already been influential, and which will continue to intrigue and engage philosophers in book form.
About the Author
The author of pioneering results in modal logic while still in high school,
Saul A. Kripke continued to develop and extend these insights in subsequent technical work. With "Identity and Necessity" and
Naming and Necessity -- two published lectures given in the early 1970's that became classics almost upon publication -- his work turned towards the philosophical implications of his formal investigations. Then and now, his work is marked by formal rigor coupled with an engaging and accessible prose style. Saul Kripke is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Computer Science at The Graduate Center, CUNY, and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University.
Table of Contents
Preface
Lecture I: October 30th, 1973
Lecture II: November 6th, 1973
Lecture III: November 13, 1973
Lecture IV: November 20th, 1973
Lecture V: November 27th, 1973
Lecture VI: December 4th, 1973
References
Index