b. 1964
Robert J. Stainton is a Canadian philosopher of language and mind known for his work on non-sentential speech, semantic content, and the philosophy of linguistics. He has contributed significantly to debates over the boundary between semantics and pragmatics, and has critically engaged with Jerrold Katz's arguments for linguistic platonism.
Authored Words and Thoughts: Subsentences, Ellipsis, and the Philosophy of Language (2006)
Developed influential arguments against linguistic platonism, critiquing Katz's argument by elimination
Advanced the study of non-sentential assertion and its implications for semantics-pragmatics
Edited Contemporary Debates in Cognitive Science and other major volumes in philosophy of mind and language
Long-serving professor at the University of Western Ontario and Canada Research Chair