Michael Devitt
contemporaryAnalytic Philosophyb. 1938
Michael Devitt is an Australian-American philosopher known for his work in philosophy of language, metaphysics, and philosophy of linguistics. He is a leading defender of scientific realism and naturalism, arguing against semantic and linguistic conceptions that treat meanings or linguistic rules as abstract entities.
Notable Achievements
1
Defended scientific realism in 'Realism and Truth' (1984)
2
Co-authored influential textbook 'Language and Reality' with Kim Sterelny
3
Developed a naturalistic, non-Chomskyan view of linguistics in 'Ignorance of Language' (2006)
4
Advanced causal theories of reference for names and natural kind terms
5
Critiqued platonism and semantic conceptions in philosophy of language