New Theory of Reference

This text is a debate over the origins of the "New Theory of Reference." Quentin Smith and Scott Soames, the original participants in the debate, elaborate their positions on who was responsible for the ideas that Saul Kripke presented in his "Naming and Necessity". They are joined by John Burgess, who takes the side of Soames, while Smith adds a further dimension in discussing the contributions of philosophers such as Follesdal, Geach, Hintikka, and Plantinga. Also included are lengthy excerpts from Follesdal's 1961 Harvard dissertation and a careful examination by Sten Lindstrom of the respective contributions of Kripke and Stig Kanger to the development of modal semantics.