Kripke

Saul Kripke has been a major influence on analytic philosophy andallied fields for a half-century and more. His earlymasterpiece, Naming and Necessity, reversed the patternof two centuries of philosophizing about the necessary and thecontingent. Although much of his work remains unpublished, severalmajor essays have now appeared in print, most recently in hislong-awaited collection Philosophical Troubles.

In this book Kripke's long-time colleague, the logician andphilosopher John P. Burgess, offers a thorough and self-containedguide to all of Kripke's published books and his mostimportant philosophical papers, old and new. It also provides anauthoritative but non-technical account of Kripke'sinfluential contributions to the study of modal logic and logicalparadoxes. Although Kripke has been anything but a system-builder, Burgess expertly uncovers the connections between different partsof his oeuvre. Kripke is shown grappling, often in opposition toexisting traditions, with mysteries surrounding the nature ofnecessity, rule-following, and the conscious mind, as well as withintricate and intriguing puzzles about identity, belief andself-reference. Clearly contextualizing the full range ofKripke's work, Burgess outlines, summarizes and surveys theissues raised by each of the philosopher's majorpublications.

Kripke will be essential reading for anyone interestedin the work of one of analytic philosophy's greatest livingthinkers.