Kenneth Allen Taylor

Kenneth Allen Taylor (November 4, 1954 – December 2, 2019)[1] was an American philosopher and co-host (with John Perry) of the radio program Philosophy Talk.[2]

Kenneth Allen Taylor
Kenneth Taylor (left) and John Perry at Philosophy Talk
Born	(1954-11-04)November 4, 1954 Sandusky, Ohio, U.S.
Died	December 2, 2019 (aged 65) Los Altos, California, U.S.
Education	University of Notre Dame (A.B., 1977) University of Chicago (PhD, 1984)
Era	20th-century philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Analytic philosophy
Main interests	Philosophy of language, philosophy of mind

Taylor chaired the department of philosophy at Stanford University from 2001 to 2009.[3] Taylor specialized in philosophy of language and philosophy of mind.[4] Taylor's interests included semantics, reference, naturalism, and relativism. He authored numerous articles, which appeared in journals such as Noûs, Philosophical Studies, and Philosophy and Phenomenological Research.[5] Taylor also published three books: Truth and Meaning: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Language (Blackwell Publishers), Reference and the Rational Mind (CSLI Publications), and Meaning Diminished: Toward Metaphysically Modest Semantics (Oxford University Press).[6]

Taylor received his A.B. from the University of Notre Dame in 1977.[7] He received his Ph.D. in 1984 from the University of Chicago, where he completed his dissertation under the supervision of Leonard Linsky. Before coming to Stanford, Taylor taught in the philosophy departments at Rutgers University, University of Maryland at College Park, Wesleyan University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Middlebury College.[8] He died from a heart attack on December 2, 2019.[9]

Bibliography

• Taylor, Kenneth (1998). Truth and Meaning: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Language. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 1-57718-048-8.
• Taylor, Kenneth (2003). Reference and the Rational Mind. Stanford: CSLI Publications. ISBN 1-57586-431-2.
• Taylor, Kenneth (2019). Meaning Diminished: Toward Metaphysically Modest Semantics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198803447.

See also

• American philosophy
• List of American philosophers

References

1. Shepherd, Erin (3 December 2019). "In Memoriam: Kenneth A. Taylor". American Philosophical Association. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
2. Perry, John (2019-04-12). "A Tribute to Ken Taylor (1954-2019)". Stanford, CA 94305: KALW. Philosophy Talk.CS1 maint: location (link)
3. Veit, Cooper; Espinosa, Michael (5 December 2019). "Beloved philosophy professor Ken Taylor dies at 65". Stanford, CA 94305: The Stanford Daily Publishing Corporation. The Stanford Daily. Retrieved 7 December 2019.CS1 maint: location (link)
4. Jabbar, Natalie (4 December 2019). "Stanford philosophy professor and co-host of Philosophy Talk Ken Taylor dies at 65". Stanford News. Stanford, California 94305: Stanford University. Retrieved 6 December 2019.CS1 maint: location (link)
5. Taylor, Kenneth. "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Stanford Philosophy. Stanford, CA 94305: Stanford University. Retrieved 7 December 2019.CS1 maint: location (link)
6. Stanford Philosophy. "Kenneth A. Taylor". Stanford University. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
7. Weinberg, Justin (3 December 2019). "Ken Taylor (1954-2019) (updated)". Daily Nous. Columbia, South Carolina 29208: Daily Nous. Retrieved 3 December 2019.CS1 maint: location (link)
8. Taylor, Kenneth. "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Stanford Philosophy. Stanford, CA 94305: Stanford University. Retrieved 7 December 2019.CS1 maint: location (link)
9. Ho, Catherine (8 December 2019). "Ken Taylor, Stanford philosophy professor and co-host of Philosophy Talk, dies at 65". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 13 January 2020.