Naming and necessity
by Saul A. Kripke · first published 1980
60% recommend40% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Kripke's lectures on how names refer, covering rigid designators, naming across possible worlds and the causal theory of reference. Valued as a paradigm-shifting work in philosophy of language, and good for newcomers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…advocates for the proper appreciation of the work that Marcus produced, and yet he doesn't agree with Smith. But really, this is all probably secondary to the issues surrounding Kripke's importance. Naming and Necessity - like most paradigm shifting works - was not a one-trick pony. Kripke expanded on his possible world semantics, introduced distinctions like metaphysical vs epistemic necessity, laid waste to any residual…
on “The Unparalleled Genius of John von Neumann” ↗…http://www.philosophybites.com/ Check out Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, which is free and edited by active research philosophers on pretty much every major topic and figure. http://plato.stanford.edu/ Naming and Necessity by Kripke is about reference and the causal theory of reference, but it assume a decent amount (in case that is what you were asking for specifically). The Very Short Introductions series have some really…
on “If Philosophy Won’t Diversify, Let’s Call It What It Really Is” ↗…Reality (Barry Stroud) Languages of Art (Nelson Goodman) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Thomas Kuhn) Concepts (Jerry Fodor) The Web of Life (Fritjof Capra) Foucault's Pendulum (Umberto Eco) Naming and Necessity (Saul Kripke) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert Pirsig) There are others, and a lot of essays (by thinkers like Bertrand Russell, Carl Hempel, Hilary Putnam, WVO Quine, Karl Popper,…
on “Ask HN: Which books do you consider real gems in your field of work/study?” ↗…with a guy who had a PhD in philosophy and had studied Kripke closely. He was working in software at the time because it’s hard to make a living as a philosopher. He gave me one of his extra copies of Naming and Necessity. I had never read any philosophy and I was amazed. Kripke was truly a brilliant philosopher.
on “Saul Kripke has died” ↗…understand any bit of the book, you need to understand how it fits into the wider contest of the book. This 'hermeneutic cycle' is daunting, but the only thing you can do is jump on board. 3. Saul Kripke - Naming and Necessity Kripke's book is on a slightly strange topic: how we use names. But how he deals with this is an interesting problem is a model of clarity and philosophical excellence. It has also been very influential…
on “Ask HN: Interesting (Non software) books?” ↗Naming and Necessity, by Saul A. Kripke It's a series of Kripke's lectures from 1970 if I'm not mistaken, republished, but without significant changes/corrections. Note Kripke's age of 29 at that point. In them, he develops…
on “Ask HN: Best Philosophical Books?” ↗…engineer interactive systems, but also to understand the human condition as a whole. Just take the entire discussion about rigid designators, and naming across possible worlds in intensional logics (read "Naming and Necessity" by Saul Kripke.) It is but one of the ways in which the need for a good formal approach to language resulted in an amazing philosophical discussion that isn't just about models, but our understanding…
on “The Lambda Calculus” ↗Another really great work that's related to some of these concepts is "Naming and Necessity" by the philosopher Saul Kripke. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming_and_Necessity It investigates how we assign names to things and what those names mean and how we can reason about them.
on “A three-page paper that shook philosophy, with lessons for software engineers” ↗Saul Kripke built an entire career on what exactly names are, as covered in Naming and Necessity (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming_and_Necessity), building on earlier work by Frege (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_and_reference). OP touches on some concepts they cover - it's definitely worth…
on “Names do not transmit meaning” ↗Hard to say. Fiction: Anna Karenina. Recent fiction: The Index of Self-Destructive Acts by Christopher Beha. Philosophy: From a Logical Point of View by W.V.O. Quine, a collection of concise essays. Or Naming and Necessity by Saul Kripke. Or Being and Logos by John Sallis. For some reason, I didn't get around to reading new (to me) history this year. This may be because I'm used to stopping by bookstores after work and…
on “Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020?” ↗Reading his Naming and Necessity in my MA Philosophy of Language class was both disturbing and a delight.
on “Philosopher Saul Kripke has died” ↗…think about the world and (b) I consider beautiful pieces of writing in their own right, here are some in no particular order: The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman Naming and Necessity, Saul Kripke Tractatus LogicoPhilosophicus, Ludwig Wittgenstein (These you might want to approach via a gentle introduction if you did not study Philosophy to degree level) The Rediscovery of the Mind,…
on “Ask HN: What are the best books you've ever read?” ↗…about the world and (b) I consider beautiful pieces of writing in their own right, here are some in no particular order: The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman Naming and Necessity, Saul Kripke Tractatus LogicoPhilosophicus, Ludwig Wittgenstein (These you might want to approach via a gentle introduction if you did not study Philosophy to degree level) The Rediscovery of the Mind,…
on “Ask HN: What are the best books you've ever read?” ↗Saul Kripke, “Naming and Necessity”
on “Ask HN: What books fundamentally changed the way you think about the world?” ↗…beliefs, and is philosophically rigorous. Philosophical Investigations is beyond my ability to follow as is Heidegger (I think it's a common complain against continental philosophy in general). Kripke's Naming and Necessity is something I can understand, but I don't really feel the 'oomph' to the insight that there can be a posteriori necessary truths and apriori contingent truths. Obviously it's a deeply important fact,…
on “Surprisingly undervalued books” ↗