Philosophers Whose Names Match Their Specializations
Which philosophers have names that reflect what they study and write about?
That was a question posed by Kris McDaniel (Syracuse) on Facebook recently. He wasn’t after general aptonyms like philosopher John Wisdom, but rather ones whose names are well-suited to their particular areas of specialization.
He provided several great examples, which he graciously permitted me to share here:
- Arthur Prior – philosophy of time
- Gerald Vision – philosophy of perception
- Jeff Speaks – philosophy of language
- Terry Godlove – philosophy of religion
- Edward Kanterian – Kant scholar
- A.W. Moore – infinity
- Philip Bricker – concrete modal realism
- C.D. Broad – a wide range of philosophical interests
A few others mentioned in that thread include:
- Francis Edgeworth – marginal utility (from Martin O’Neill)
- Jonathan Way – instrumental reason, guidance (from Pekka Väyrynen and Clayton Littlejohn)
- Craig Callender – philosophy of time (from me)
I’m sure there are others. Readers?
George de Forest Brush, “Landscape with Mt. Ascutney”
John Wisdom.
I guess maybe J. J. C. Smart too?
I’d like to think that the work of J.J.C. Smart and U.T. Place on the identity theory of mind and brain links up rather nicely with their conjunctive names.
An honourable mention for a colleague in a cognate field. Dr. McDoom (LSE) works on, “Conflict, violence, and security” and adds, “I have expertise in genocides, civil wars, and ethnic conflicts, and know a little also about insurgencies, terrorism, and guerrilla warfare.”
Avery Archer works on aims (epistemology and philosophy of action), among other things.
Too bad Archer isn’t a Zeno/time scholar.
Well, he’s still a philosopher. He’s halfway there.
Kierkegaard (church yard): crazy Christian fideism
Robert Gressis; last name doesn’t mean anything, and he doesn’t do much.
Derek Brown – Colour perception
I’ve always thought my last name, Piety, was particularly appropriate for a Kierkegaard scholar.
Well, I publish in environmental philosophy … and even though it’s not exactly philosophy, I have actively advocated for traffic reduction measures such as increasing on-street parking.
Are you familiar with Alissa Walker, the pedestrian advocate in Los Angeles?
http://www.awalkerinla.com/
(Inspired by above) Wendy Parker on climate science?
Kant- Absolute Deontology (I know; a bit controversial…)
Jonathan Anomaly- defends strange and unexpected views
I always thought my name was apt for a philosopher of any kind: C. A. Riddle
Not of much relevance to the particular thread but my name is Alex Criddle! People called me A. C. Criddle or the “Criddler” and said it was fitting for a philosopher because of the Riddler in Batman apparently.
I just thought the similarity was funny.
Stephen Gardiner – environmental philosophy
Maybe this is more a counterexample than an instance, but I once heard a pertinent joke from Brad Hooker while introducing William Sin at an ethics conference…
Jeez, dangerous territory for a Hooker.
I work on natural selection and it works if you say my full name fast and mash it together (maybe). My students find it funny in any case.
Cornel West has written loads on the social crisis in the West, and I’m fairly sure he’s even taught on it at Cornel.
Brian Leiter – (ladder or scale or leader): works on ranking us all a lot)
I guess I picked the wrong specialization then. I should have gone for philosophy of religion.
Elizabeth Harman – Ethics. Has done some work specifically on harm
John Lawless
works on freedom, political philosophy, law
‘Fehr’ is pronounced like ‘fair,’ which is how is feminist philosophers want things to be.
Ingmar Persson — personal identity; personal and impersonal values
I guess I should have specialised in philosophy of mind…
I guess maybe the fact that I write about teleosemantics and Millikan on bee dances sort of fits? Ha!
Too bad Kirk Ludwig is not a Wittgenstein scholar.
Kate Manne – misogyny
Didn’t a certain Justin Weinberg contribute to a volume on the philosophy of wine?
Why yes I did, a while back, shortly after completing my dissertation on the agency of, ahem, justice.
Please tell me you have something in a volume on the philosophy of dance, Kevin.
Hahaha, not YET I don’t!
what about Jonathan Dancy or Phillipa Foot or Jeremy Waltzer
Aristotle — “highest end”
Plato — “broad/wide-ranging”
Hobbes — “commoner/rustic/wild in nature” [from “hob”]
J.D. Trout – philosophical naturalism
Samantha Vice works in moral philosophy.
Jaakko Hintikka — the KK Thesis
Well done.
Prof. Ben Decided works on determinism and free will (defending the former).
Dustin Locke works on the (or a version of) Lockean view.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0020174X.2013.858421
And another honourable mention from a cognate field: Lord Brain, neurology.
Stephen White: phenomenal consciousness.
Ned Block: philosophy of psychology, functionalism, artificial intelligence.
What about Lord Brain?
Apparently he was a neurologist. That’s a great name.
van Inwagen–for his transfer principle Beta
Godel–for restricting the scope of math proofs
Copi–for the endless homework his texts required
UNC Chapel Hill’s Ram Neta — the study of cleverly disguised mules
Both of my initial thoughts have already been expressed by others, but I’ll add Richard Cross – phil of religion, theology.
It also seems kind of relevant that someone famous for defending the value of personal property should be called Locke (i.e. “lock”) ehh? *Hides as others groan*
Fiery Cushman is, I guess, technically a psychologist, but does moral psych, has received philosophy awards, and works with philosophers (like L.A. Paul), so perhaps he would count? “Fiery” seems like a pretty great name for someone who studies neuroscience (neurons firing.)
Also, maybe a bit of a stretch, but Rusty Jones does ancient philosophy, and “ancient” things rust over time?
The former chair of my undergrad philosophy department (Southern Miss) was named Forrest Wood. He wrote a book called *The Delights and Dilemmas of Hunting*.
https://www.amazon.com/Delights-Dilemmas-Hunting-Versus-Anti-Hunting/dp/0761804722
J-P. Sartre (“tailor”): existential destiny of man
John Bishop (Auckland), Philosophy of Religion.
George Boolos (M.I.T.), Philosophy of Logic
Plato: made important contributions to platonism
Russell: worked on paradoxes, including Russell’s paradox
Thomas Aquinas: seminal figure in Thomistic philosophy
Werner Marx: wrote an interpretation of Hegel
Epicurus (“helper”) – philosophy as therapy
Eric Katz, Animal Ethics
It would have to be a pretty gross speciality to relate to my surname.
Oh, and most of my work is on Mill.
It’s a shame I don’t specialize in military ethics or just war theory.
Feyerabend means, literally, ‘the fiery time’, roughly equivalent to what the English call “knocking off time” – that relaxed, spontaneous time at the end of the day. Seems rather fitting for a famously lively “epistemic anarchist”
Elizabeth Brake wants to halt marriage.
Ted Toadvine, environmental philosophy
John Finnis, natural law philosopher (Oxford, Notre Dame) now most famous for his views advocating the end of legal sanctions for homosexuality, whose philosophical career may itself be finis.
Oxford Students Launch Petition to Have John Finnis “Removed”
http://dailynous.com/2019/01/08/oxford-students-launch-petition-finnis-removed
Ingmar Porn published a book called The Logic of Power. Paisley Livingston published on aesthetics.