Robert Culp Stalnaker (born 1940) is an American philosopher who is Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.
Robert Stalnaker | |
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 Stalnaker in 2021 | |
| Born | Robert Culp Stalnaker January 22, 1940 |
| Nationality | American |
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| Thesis | Historical Interpretation (1965) |
| Doctoral advisor | Stuart Hampshire |
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| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Philosophy |
| School or tradition | Analytic philosophy |
| Institutions |
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| Notable students | |
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Education and career
Stalnaker was born on January 22, 1940. He earned his BA from Wesleyan University, and his PhD from Princeton University in 1965. His thesis advisor was Stuart Hampshire, though he was strongly influenced by another faculty member, Carl Hempel. Stalnaker taught briefly at Yale University and the University of Illinois, and then for many years at the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University before joining the MIT faculty in 1988. He retired from MIT in 2016. His many students include Jason Stanley, , and Delia Graff Fara.
In 2007, Stalnaker delivered the John Locke Lectures at Oxford University on the topic of "Our Knowledge of the Internal World". In 2017, he delivered the Casalegno Lectures at the University of Milan on "Counterfactuals and Practical Reason".
Philosophical work
His work concerns, among other things, the philosophical foundations of semantics, pragmatics, philosophical logic, decision theory, game theory, the theory of conditionals, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind. All of these interests are in the service of addressing the problem of intentionality, "what it is to represent the world in both speech and thought". In his work, he seeks to provide a naturalistic account of intentionality, characterizing representation in terms of causal and modal notions.
Along with Saul Kripke, David Lewis, and Alvin Plantinga, Stalnaker has been one of the most influential theorists exploring philosophical aspects of possible world semantics. According to his view of possible worlds, they are ways this world could have been, which in turn are maximal properties that this world could have had. This view distinguishes him from the influential modal realist Lewis, who argued that possible worlds are concrete entities just like this world.
In addition to his contributions to the metaphysics of possible worlds, he has used the apparatus of possible worlds semantics to explore many issues in the semantics of natural language, including counterfactual and indicative conditionals, and presupposition. His view of assertion as narrowing the conversational common ground to exclude situations in which the asserted content is false was a major impetus in recent developments in semantics and pragmatics, in particular, the so-called "dynamic turn".
Stalnaker is the author of four books and dozens of articles in major philosophical journals.
Selected publications
- "A Theory of Conditionals," in N. Rescher (ed.), Studies in Logical Theory (Oxford University Press, 1968).
- "Pragmatics," Synthese 22 (1970): 272–289.
- "Possible Worlds," Nous 10(1976): 65–75
- Ifs: Conditionals, Belief, Decision, Chance, and Time, edited with William Harper and Glenn Pearce (Dordrecht: D. Reidel, 1981).
- Inquiry (Bradford Books, MIT Press, 1984)
- "On What's in the Head," in Philosophical Perspectives, 3: Philosophy of Mind and Action Theory (1989): 287-316
- Context and Content: Essays on Intentionality in Speech and Thought (Oxford University Press, 1999)
- Ways a World Might Be: Metaphysical and Anti-Metaphysical Essays (Oxford University Press, 2003)
- Our Knowledge of the Internal World (Oxford University Press, 2008)
- Mere Possibilities. Metaphysical Foundations of Modal Semantics (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2012).
See also
- American philosophy
- List of American philosophers
References
- "Philosopher Robert Stalnaker solves problems the MIT way | MIT News". Newsoffice.mit.edu. 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
- "Sections - British Academy". Britac.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-02-06. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
- Hunter, David (2010), "Stalnaker, Robert Culp", The Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers, Continuum, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199754663.001.0001, ISBN 9780199754663, retrieved 2019-01-22
- "John Locke Lectures - Faculty of Philosophy". Philosophy.ox.ac.uk. 2015-09-21. Archived from the original on 2007-08-29. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
- "Casalegno Lectures - La Statale". Retrieved 2017-05-23.
- Pyke, Steve (2011-06-28). Philosophers. Oxford University Press. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-19-983186-9.
My philosophical preoccupation has been, and continues to be, the problem of intentionality the problem of saying what it is to represent the world in both speech and thought. The problem expands, since one can never fully disentangle questions about the nature of representation from questions about the nature of what is represented. We can describe and think about the world only with the materials we find in it.
- Stalnaker 2003; pp 27-28
- Peregrin, Jaroslav (2003). "Introduction" (PDF). Meaning: The Dynamic Turn. Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-08-044187-0. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-13.
External links
- Bibliography
- "The possible worlds hedgehog", 2013 interview of Stalnaker by Richard Marshall for 3:AM magazine [Archived by Wayback Machine]
Robert Culp Stalnaker born 1940 is an American philosopher who is Laurance S Rockefeller Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy Robert StalnakerStalnaker in 2021BornRobert Culp Stalnaker 1940 01 22 January 22 1940 age 85 NationalityAmericanAcademic backgroundAlma materWesleyan UniversityPrinceton UniversityThesisHistorical Interpretation 1965 Doctoral advisorStuart HampshireInfluencesH Paul Grice Carl Hempel David K LewisAcademic workDisciplinePhilosophySchool or traditionAnalytic philosophyInstitutionsYale UniversityUniversity of IllinoisCornell UniversityMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyDoctoral studentsDelia Graff FaraJason StanleyNotable studentsMain interestsDecision theoryphilosophy of languagephilosophy of mindpragmaticsNotable ideasTwo dimensionalismpossible world semanticsactualism citation needed assertion as narrowing the conversational common groundEducation and careerStalnaker was born on January 22 1940 He earned his BA from Wesleyan University and his PhD from Princeton University in 1965 His thesis advisor was Stuart Hampshire though he was strongly influenced by another faculty member Carl Hempel Stalnaker taught briefly at Yale University and the University of Illinois and then for many years at the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University before joining the MIT faculty in 1988 He retired from MIT in 2016 His many students include Jason Stanley and Delia Graff Fara In 2007 Stalnaker delivered the John Locke Lectures at Oxford University on the topic of Our Knowledge of the Internal World In 2017 he delivered the Casalegno Lectures at the University of Milan on Counterfactuals and Practical Reason Philosophical workHis work concerns among other things the philosophical foundations of semantics pragmatics philosophical logic decision theory game theory the theory of conditionals epistemology and the philosophy of mind All of these interests are in the service of addressing the problem of intentionality what it is to represent the world in both speech and thought In his work he seeks to provide a naturalistic account of intentionality characterizing representation in terms of causal and modal notions Along with Saul Kripke David Lewis and Alvin Plantinga Stalnaker has been one of the most influential theorists exploring philosophical aspects of possible world semantics According to his view of possible worlds they are ways this world could have been which in turn are maximal properties that this world could have had This view distinguishes him from the influential modal realist Lewis who argued that possible worlds are concrete entities just like this world In addition to his contributions to the metaphysics of possible worlds he has used the apparatus of possible worlds semantics to explore many issues in the semantics of natural language including counterfactual and indicative conditionals and presupposition His view of assertion as narrowing the conversational common ground to exclude situations in which the asserted content is false was a major impetus in recent developments in semantics and pragmatics in particular the so called dynamic turn Stalnaker is the author of four books and dozens of articles in major philosophical journals Selected publications A Theory of Conditionals in N Rescher ed Studies in Logical Theory Oxford University Press 1968 Pragmatics Synthese 22 1970 272 289 Possible Worlds Nous 10 1976 65 75 Ifs Conditionals Belief Decision Chance and Time edited with William Harper and Glenn Pearce Dordrecht D Reidel 1981 Inquiry Bradford Books MIT Press 1984 On What s in the Head in Philosophical Perspectives 3 Philosophy of Mind and Action Theory 1989 287 316 Context and Content Essays on Intentionality in Speech and Thought Oxford University Press 1999 Ways a World Might Be Metaphysical and Anti Metaphysical Essays Oxford University Press 2003 Our Knowledge of the Internal World Oxford University Press 2008 Mere Possibilities Metaphysical Foundations of Modal Semantics Princeton N J Princeton University Press 2012 See alsoAmerican philosophy List of American philosophersReferences Philosopher Robert Stalnaker solves problems the MIT way MIT News Newsoffice mit edu 2015 03 20 Retrieved 2016 01 27 Sections British Academy Britac ac uk Archived from the original on 2016 02 06 Retrieved 2016 01 27 Hunter David 2010 Stalnaker Robert Culp The Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Continuum doi 10 1093 acref 9780199754663 001 0001 ISBN 9780199754663 retrieved 2019 01 22 John Locke Lectures Faculty of Philosophy Philosophy ox ac uk 2015 09 21 Archived from the original on 2007 08 29 Retrieved 2016 01 27 Casalegno Lectures La Statale Retrieved 2017 05 23 Pyke Steve 2011 06 28 Philosophers Oxford University Press p 188 ISBN 978 0 19 983186 9 My philosophical preoccupation has been and continues to be the problem of intentionality the problem of saying what it is to represent the world in both speech and thought The problem expands since one can never fully disentangle questions about the nature of representation from questions about the nature of what is represented We can describe and think about the world only with the materials we find in it Stalnaker 2003 pp 27 28 Peregrin Jaroslav 2003 Introduction PDF Meaning The Dynamic Turn Elsevier ISBN 978 0 08 044187 0 Archived from the original PDF on 2012 02 13 External linksBibliography The possible worlds hedgehog 2013 interview of Stalnaker by Richard Marshall for 3 AM magazine Archived by Wayback Machine Academic officesPreceded byRobert Brandom John Locke Lecturer 2007 Succeeded byHartry Field
