David Kellogg Lewis 20th century American philosopher Date of Birth: 28.09.1941 Country: USA

1. Biography of David Kellogg Lewis
2. Contributions to Philosophy
3. Early Life and Education
4. Academic Career and Publications
5. Legacy

Biography of David Kellogg Lewis

David Kellogg Lewis was one of the most prominent American philosophers of the 20th century, working in a wide range of philosophical disciplines. He taught for a period of time at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and then at Princeton University from 1970 until his death. Lewis maintained close ties with the Australian academic community, regularly visiting their philosophical communities for over 30 years.

Contributions to Philosophy

David Kellogg Lewis made significant innovative contributions to the philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophical logic. He is best known for his theory of modal realism, which continues to generate much debate. The theory of modal realism asserts that there exists an infinite number of distinct and causally isolated worlds, of which our world is just one, and these worlds are used in analyzing necessity and possibility. Unfortunately, contemporary science does not adequately appreciate Lewis's developments.

Early Life and Education

David Kellogg Lewis was born on September 28, 1941, in Oberlin, Ohio. His parents, John D. Lewis and Ruth Ewart Kelloggs Lewis, were both academics. His father was a professor of management disciplines at Oberlin College and his mother was a prominent historian and researcher of the medieval era. Lewis's incredible intellect, for which he would become renowned, was recognized by his teachers even during his school years when he studied a university-level chemistry course. After finishing high school, David attended Swarthmore College and spent a year at Oxford, where his tutor was Iris Murdoch, an English writer, philosopher, and winner of the Booker Prize. Additionally, Lewis attended lectures by Gilbert Ryle, one of the founders of linguistic philosophy; Herbert Paul Grice, one of the founders of the philosophy of language; P.F. Strawson; and J.L. Austin, the developer of speech act theory. This year at Oxford influenced Lewis's decision to become a philosopher and made him a distinguished analyst, a talent he would soon demonstrate.

Academic Career and Publications

In 1967, Lewis earned his doctorate in philosophy from Harvard, where he studied under the philosopher, logician, and mathematician Willard Van Orman Quine. Lewis later distanced himself from many of Quine's views. It was at Harvard that Lewis formed a friendship and scientific partnership with John Smart, a leading Australian philosopher. Years later, Smart said, "I taught David Lewis. Or rather, he taught me."

Lewis's first monograph, "Convention: A Philosophical Study," based on his doctoral dissertation, was published in 1969. The work used concepts from game theory to analyze the nature of social conventions and was awarded the first Franklin Matchette Prize by the American Philosophical Association. Lewis published five monographs, with his last one, "Parts of Classes," dedicated to the foundations of mathematics, being published in 1991. He also compiled a five-volume collection of 99 of his articles, most of which had been previously published in various scientific journals. The collection includes works on causation, decision theory, semantic analysis, dispositional theory of value, philosophy of language and mind, ethics, and social philosophy.

Legacy

While at Princeton, Lewis mentored many young talented philosophers and prepared dozens of successful specialists in the field, including several current members of the Princeton faculty and professors at leading philosophy departments in the United States.

Lewis suffered from a severe form of diabetes for most of his life. His condition deteriorated, eventually leading to kidney failure. In July 2000, he received a kidney transplant from his wife, Stephanie. The transplant provided him with another year of work and travel, but on October 14, 2001, he passed away due to complications from diabetes.