Loading AI tools
British-American philosopher (1909–1988) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Max Black (February 24, 1909 – August 27, 1988) was an Azerbaijan-born British-American philosopher who was a leading figure in analytic philosophy in the years after World War II. He made contributions to the philosophy of language, the philosophy of mathematics and science, and the philosophy of art, also publishing studies of the work of philosophers such as Frege. His translation (with Peter Geach) of Frege's published philosophical writing is a classic text.
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (July 2011) |
Max Black | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | February 24, 1909 |
| Died | August 27, 1988 (aged 79) Ithaca, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | British American |
| Alma mater | Queens' College, Cambridge |
| Notable work | The Identity of Indiscernibles |
| Era | 20th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Analytic philosophy |
| Institutions | Institute of Education University of Illinois Cornell University |
Main interests | Philosophy of language Philosophy of mathematics Philosophy of science Philosophy of art |
Notable ideas | Criticism of Leibniz' law |
Black was born on February 24, 1909, in Baku, in present-day Azerbaijan. He is of Jewish descent.[1] In 1912, he moved with his family to London, where he grew up.
He studied mathematics at Queens' College at the University of Cambridge, where he developed an interest in the philosophy of mathematics. Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, G. E. Moore, and Frank P. Ramsey were all at Cambridge at that time, and their influence on Black may have been considerable. He graduated in 1930, and was awarded a fellowship to study at Göttingen for a year.
From 1931 to 1936, he was mathematics master at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle.
His first book was The Nature of Mathematics (1933), an exposition of Principia Mathematica and of current developments in the philosophy of mathematics.
Black made notable contributions to the metaphysics of identity. In his "The Identity of Indiscernibles", Black presents an objection to Leibniz' Law by means of a hypothetical scenario in which he conceives two distinct spheres having exactly the same properties, thereby contradicting Leibniz' second principle in his formulation of "The Identity of Indiscernibles". By virtue of there being two objects, albeit with identical properties, the existence of two objects, even in a void, denies their identicality.
He lectured in mathematics at the Institute of Education in London from 1936 to 1940. In 1940 he moved to the United States and joined the Philosophy Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. In 1946, he accepted a professorship in philosophy at Cornell University. In 1948, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Black advised the philosophy dissertation of American novelist William H. Gass. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1963.[2]
Black died in Ithaca, New York age 79. His younger brother was the architect Misha Black.
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
