Bob Hale (philosopher)

Bob Hale, FRSE (1945 – 12 December 2017)[3] was a British philosopher, known for his contributions to the development of the neo-Fregean (neo-logicist) philosophy of mathematics in collaboration with Crispin Wright, and for his works in modality and philosophy of language.[4]

Bob Hale
Born1945
Died (aged 72)
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
EraContemporary philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolAnalytic philosophy
Neo-logicism (Scottish School)[1]
Main interests
Philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of language, modality
Notable ideas
Neo-logicism, essentialist theory of modality[2]

Career edit

Hale obtained a BPhil in Philosophy in 1967 from Linacre College, University of Oxford.[5] From 2006 until his death, he was a professor of philosophy in the department of philosophy at the University of Sheffield. Prior to that, he taught in the University of Glasgow, the University of St. Andrews and the University of Lancaster.

Hale produced the first published neo-Fregean construction of the real numbers.[4][6] In his book (Necessary Beings), he argues for an essentialist theory of necessity and possibility.[6]

Notable positions edit

Selected works edit

  • (1987) Abstract Objects. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.[8]
  • (1997) Co-editor with Crispin Wright. The Blackwell Companion to the Philosophy of Language. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
  • (2001) With Crispin Wright. The Reason's Proper Study: Essays towards a Neo-Fregean Philosophy of Mathematics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.[9]
  • (2013) "Necessary Beings – An Essay on Ontology, Modality, and the Relations Between Them" Oxford: Oxford University Press.[10]

References edit

  1. ^ st-andrews.ac.uk Archived 2006-12-24 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Hale, Bob (2012), "What is absolute necessity?", Philosophia Scientiae, 16(2), 117–148.
  3. ^ Memorial Notice for Bob Hale, Sheffield Department of Philosophy, 18 December 2017
  4. ^ a b "Bob Hale RIP (1945–2017)", 3:AM Magazine, 16 December 2017
  5. ^ Linacre News, Issue 54 (PDF), Linacre College, Autumn 2017
  6. ^ a b c "Profile: Bob Hale". Sheffield Department of Philosophy. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016.
  7. ^ The Council, The Aristotelian Society, retrieved 2012-12-03.
  8. ^ Reviews of Abstract Objects:
  9. ^ Review of The Reason's Proper Study: Essays towards a Neo-Fregean Philosophy of Mathematics:
  10. ^ Reviews of Necessary Beings: An Essay on Ontology, Modality, and the Relations Between Them:

External links edit