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?
