Customer Reviews

On Kripke (Wadsworth Philosophers)

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Originally published in 2002, On Kripke is an instalment in the Wadsworth Philosophers Series. From my perspective Consuelo Preti's short work is a good introduction and/or supplement to the study of Saul Kripke. The text is focused on Kripke's work in three primary areas:

* Modal logic
* His seminal work - Naming and Necessity
* Wittgenstein's rules and private language argument

Some instalments in this series have been criticized for poor editing. The present volume in is not bad in this regard - a few too many typos, but generally well organized.

John V. Karavitis I agree 100% with the review by "Reader from Aurora". Ms. Consuelo Preti, the author of this little gem, has done an excellent job of giving us an overview of the three main philosophical ideas for which Kripke is known. Ms. Preti's entry in the Wadsworth Philosophers Series is well-written, with the book broken up into three equal sections. First off, we get a good overview of modal logic, of the fact that "necessity" and "possibility", that is, "All" and "Some", can now be used as quantifiers in logic. Second, we get an explanation of Kripke's famous lecture "Naming and Necessity". Finally, we get an explanation of Kripke's take on Wittgenstein's thoughts on the problem of private language in Wittgenstein's "Philosophical Investigations". If nothing else, each section of this book would stand on its own as a decent work. John V. Karavitis I'm glad I now understand the basics of modal logic. I read about Kripke's "Naming and Necessity" lecture with great interest (although I disagree with his use of the "pain" example in claiming to demonstrate that the mind-body identity is false - "pain" is not a true rigid designator, the way "heat" is in his prior example). And I enjoyed reading Kripke's take on Wittgenstein's problem of private language. Saul Kripke has been called the greatest philosopher of the 20th century. Personally, I disagree. I think he's very intelligent, but not earth-shattering. Nevertheless, this entry in the Wadsworth Philosophers Series is excellent. Five stars! John V. Karavitis