Saul Kripke
A philosophical prodigy whose revolutionary work on naming and necessity shattered conventional theories of language and meaning.
1940–2022 (age 82)·American philosopher and logician·Birthday: November 13·The Silent Generation
Biography
Saul Kripke was a singular intellect who reshaped the landscape of analytic philosophy before most people finish graduate school. As a teenager, he produced seminal papers in modal logic that experts struggled to believe were written by a high school student. This early brilliance was a prelude to his earth-shaking 1970 lecture series, 'Naming and Necessity,' which he delivered without notes. In it, he argued that names are 'rigid designators' that refer to the same object in every possible world, challenging centuries of philosophical consensus derived from Frege and Russell. The work, later published as a book, sent shockwaves through philosophy of language, metaphysics, and mind, making 'possible worlds' a central tool of analysis. Despite his towering reputation, Kripke was an intensely private and humble figure, known for lecturing in a monotone that belied the revolutionary content of his thoughts. He spent decades at Princeton and CUNY, cultivating an aura of genius that was as much about his mysterious, relentless rigor as his published output.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Saul was born in 1940, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Saul Was Born
The biggest hits of 1940
#1 Movie
Fantasia
Best Picture
Rebecca
Saul's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1940Born
The Blitz: Germany bombs London
Gas: $0.18/galHome: $2,938Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I'll Never Smile Again" — Tommy DorseyBest Picture: Rebecca
1945Started school
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
1953Became a teenager
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1956Could drive
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1958Could vote
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1961Turned 21
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1970Turned 30
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1980Turned 40
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1990Turned 50
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 60
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 70
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 80
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2022Died at 82
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Key Achievements
- Authored 'Naming and Necessity' (1972), one of the most influential philosophical works of the 20th century.
- Developed the possible world semantics for modal logic, now a standard framework in logic and philosophy.
- Proposed the causal theory of reference, which transformed how philosophers understand how words connect to the world.
- Awarded the Schock Prize in Logic and Philosophy in 2001, often considered philosophy's equivalent of a Nobel.
Did You Know?
He wrote his first completeness theorem for modal logic at the age of 17 and it was published in a major journal while he was still in high school.
Kripke never earned a PhD in philosophy; his highest degree was a bachelor's from Harvard in mathematics.
He was awarded the Rolf Schock Prize, but reportedly was unsure what it was and had to ask if he should accept it.
Despite his fame in academic philosophy, he lived a remarkably reclusive life and gave very few interviews.
“"A theory of meaning that ignores the speaker's intentions is like a play without a plot."”
