Naming and Necessity

Naming and Necessity is a book by the philosopher Saul Kripke that was first published in 1980. The book is based on a transcript of three lectures given at Princeton University in 1970. A series of articles based on transcripts of the lectures was published prior to the publication of the lectures as a book: Language is a primary concern of analytic philosophers, particularly the use of language to express and discuss concepts. In Naming and Nec... more

Naming and Necessity is a book by the philosopher Saul Kripke that was first published in 1980. The book is based on a transcript of three lectures given at Princeton University in 1970. A series of articles based on transcripts of the lectures was published prior to the publication of the lectures as a book: Language is a primary concern of analytic philosophers, particularly the use of language to express and discuss concepts. In Naming and Necessity, Kripke considers several questions that are important within analytic philosophy: It has been argued, principally by Quentin Smith of Western Michigan University, that some of the ideas in Naming & Necessity were first exposited (at least in part) by Ruth Barcan Marcus. Kripke is alleged to have misunderstood Marcus' ideas during a 1969 lecture which he attended (based on the questions he asked), and attributed these ideas to himself when he later arrived at the same (or similar) conclusions. This view is controversial. Kripke's main... less