Background
Donnellan, Keith Sedgwick was born on June 25, 1931.
Donnellan, Keith Sedgwick was born on June 25, 1931.
Taught at Cornell University, 1958-1967. Professor of Philosophy, Cornell University, 1967-1970. Professor of Philosophy, University of California at Los Angeles, from 1970.
Visiting appointments at Harvard, 1961-1962, 1968, 1969. UCLA. 1966; Stanford, 1968. MIT, 1968, Michigan, 1972.
Galileo lecturer. University ot Padua, 1991.
Donnellan’s most influential article, ‘Reference and definite descriptions’ (1966), distinguishes referential and attributive uses of definite descriplions. Consider two responses lo ‘Smith's murderer is insane’: ‘It was Jones he aiurdered’; ‘Smith wasn't murdered’. The former Ireats the description ‘Smith’s murderer’ as referential, the latter as attributive, je. as ‘whoever murdered Smith.. ’. The 'nterpretation determines whether what is said is Irue-or-false or neither, and the two conflicting theories of definite descriptions by Russell and Strawson both 'gnore this distinction. Donnellan’s other work mainly develops this and related themes, with occasional excursions into epistemology and Philosophy of mind. Critics have mainly accepted that some such distinction exists but have disputed its real nature and proper formulation, and consequent significance, asking in particular whether it is really semantic or pragmatic, and how far the theories of Russell and Strawson are affected by it. Sources: Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association: personal communication.