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Challenges Kripkean orthodoxy; develops Wittgensteinian alternatives in logic, language, and metaphysics; and reassesses fundamental philosophical conceptions.
Iron Pyrites critiques ideas developed or assumed by Kripke, central to analytic philosophy for over half a century. The critical discussion also develops alternative philosophical views on logic, language, metaphysics, and philosophy generally, characterized by a Wittgensteinian approach.
Ben-Yami critiques Kripke’s concept of rigidity, revising it in the process. He rejects the “causal”-communication picture of names, arguing for a different view of name use. Identity is shown to be contingent, on logical and conceptual grounds, as is the origin of people and things. The meaning of kind terms is independent of any unknown essence. All proposed examples of necessary a posteriori knowledge are invalidated, and the concept of metaphysical necessity is shown to be empty. Talk of fictional characters is not committed to their existence in any form, abstract or other. The notion of speaker’s reference, as contrasted with semantic reference, is incoherent. Kripke’s approach to the liar paradox is shown to be misguided, and an alternative resolution of the paradoxical situation is provided. Wittgenstein’s views on rule-following and on meaning something by a word are reinterpreted and endorsed. The principle of non-contradiction, assumed by Kripke and most other philosophers, is in fact a dateable decision on an optional mode of description. And the notion of the mathematical infinite is reconsidered, showing that different infinities differ not in size but in orderliness.
Accompanied by methodological reflections, a Wittgensteinian view of logic, language, metaphysics, and philosophy emerges. Would-be philosophical discoveries and innovations often reflect confusion and misunderstanding, and real achievement lies in returning to the point we were before being misled. The gold promised was fool’s gold.
“Kripke’s work is held in the highest esteem in the USA and in some circles in Britain. This volume is unique in challenging Kripke’s position as the leading philosopher in the USA since Quine. It meticulously unravels Kripke’s arguments, showing them to be flawed. It painstakingly undermines Kripke’s conclusions, demonstrating that they are unsound.” —Dr. Peter Hacker, Emeritus Fellow at St John’s College, Oxford, UK
“These essays on one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century are required reading for anyone interested in contemporary philosophy of language and metaphysics. From the perspective of a highly accomplished logician, Ben-Yami incisively criticises the foundations of Kripke’s philosophy, while at the same time ingeniously developing some of his ideas.” —Hans-Johann Glock, University of Zürich, Switzerland
“In this book, Hanoch Ben-Yami develops Wittgenstein-inspired alternatives to a wide range of Saul Kripke’s semantic and logical ideas. Ben-Yami’s interpretations of Wittgenstein and Kripke are sophisticated and often original, and his arguments are deep, subtle, and usually compelling. These virtues make the book obligatory reading for anyone interested in Kripke and Wittgenstein.”—Martin Kusch, Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Vienna, Austria
Hanoch Ben-Yami (CEU Vienna) has published on philosophy of logic, language, mind, perception, spacetime, physics, Descartes, Wittgenstein, and more.
Preface; Abbreviations; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. Rigidity; 3. Wittgenstein on the Standard Metre; 4. ‘Maia!’ – ‘What, Dad?’: On Names; 5. The Contingency of Origin; 6. The Contingency of Identity; 7. Kind Terms and Unknown Essence; 8. The Possible Existence of Fictional Characters; 9. Fictional Characters and Their Names; 10. Speaker’s Reference Versus Semantic Reference?; 11. Meaning Something by a Word; 12. The Liar Puzzle; 13. Wittgenstein on Understanding and Practice; 14. The Principle of Non-Contradiction; 15. False Paradise: On the Mathematical Infinite; Bibliography; Index.