Keith Donnellan

Keith Donnellan ( born 1931 ) is an American philosopher. He is famous for his work in the philosophy of language to the theory of identifications.

Biography

Donnellan began his studies at the University of Maryland, College Park and then finished his studies at Cornell University with a bachelor, master and Ph.D. ( 1961). He taught first at Cornell University and moved in 1970 to the University of California, Los Angeles. Today he is an emeritus professor of this university.

Philosophy

Donnellan is known for his work in the field of philosophy of language. With his essay, Reference and Definite Descriptions, he argues that both Russell and Strawson go wrong with their analysis, because both would not take into account the distinction between attributive and referential use of labels. This thesis has led to an ongoing debate about how this distinction is to understand exactly and whether they would actually the analysis of Russell and Strawson must be regarded as 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 Child Terms ( 1983)
  • Belief and the Identity of Reference ( 1989)
  • Philosopher ( 20th century)
  • Philosopher of language
  • University teachers ( Ithaca )
  • University teachers ( University of California, Los Angeles)
  • Americans
  • Born in 1931
  • Man
Bertrand Russell Integrated Authority File
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