Ruth Barcan Marcus

Ruth Barcan Marcus
Marcus in 2005
Marcus in 2005
Born(1921-08-02)August 2, 1921
DiedFebruary 19, 2012(2012-02-19) (aged 90)
NationalityAmerican
EducationNew York University (B.A. 1941)
Yale University (M.A. 1942)
Yale University (Ph.D. 1946)
EraContemporary philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolAnalytic
InstitutionsNorthwestern University
Yale University
ThesisStrict Functional Calculus (1946)
Doctoral advisorFrederic Fitch
Main interests
Formal logic
Notable ideas
Quantified modal logic,[1] Barcan formula, necessity of identity, tag theory of names

Ruth Barcan Marcus (/ˈbɑːrkən ˈmɑːrkəs/; born Ruth Charlotte Barcan; 2 August 1921[2][3] – 19 February 2012[3]) was an American academic philosopher and logician best known for her work in modal and philosophical logic.[4] She developed the first formal systems of quantified modal logic[5] and in so doing introduced the schema or principle known as the Barcan formula.[2][3][5] (She would also introduce the now standard "box" operator for necessity in the process.)[4] Marcus, who originally published as Ruth C. Barcan,[5] was, as Don Garrett notes[2] "one of the twentieth century's most important and influential philosopher-logicians". Timothy Williamson, in a 2008 celebration of Marcus' long career, states that many of her "main ideas are not just original, and clever, and beautiful, and fascinating, and influential, and way ahead of their time, but actually – I believe – true".[6]

  1. ^ Dagfinn Føllesdal, Referential Opacity and Modal Logic, Routledge, 2014, p. 19.
  2. ^ a b c The Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers. Thoemmes. 2005. doi:10.5040/9781350052444-0636. ISBN 9781350052444.
  3. ^ a b c Fox, Margalit (2012-03-13). "Ruth Barcan Marcus, Philosopher and Logician, Dies at 90". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  4. ^ a b "Marcus, Ruth Barcan | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  5. ^ a b c Williamson, Timothy (2013). "In Memoriam: Ruth Barcan Marcus 1921–2012" (PDF). Bulletin of Symbolic Logic. 19 (1): 123–126. doi:10.2178/bsl.1901070. ISSN 1079-8986. S2CID 124592216.
  6. ^ "Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog: Timothy Williamson's Tribute to Ruth Barcan Marcus on the Occasion of Her Receipt of the Lauener Prize". leiterreports.typepad.com. Retrieved August 19, 2016.