1945 – 2017
Bob Hale (1945–2017) was a British analytic philosopher known for his work in philosophy of mathematics, metaphysics, and philosophical logic. Together with Crispin Wright, he developed neo-Fregean (or neo-logicist) philosophy of mathematics, arguing that arithmetic can be derived from Hume's Principle and second-order logic. His later work extended to modality, abstract objects, and the necessary existence of numbers.
Co-developed neo-Fregean (neo-logicist) philosophy of mathematics with Crispin Wright
Authored 'Abstract Objects' (1987), a seminal defense of platonism about mathematical entities
Wrote 'Necessary Beings' (2013) on modality, essence, and ontology
Co-edited 'The Reason's Proper Study' (2001) with Crispin Wright
Advanced the philosophical defense of Hume's Principle as a foundation for arithmetic