Richard Montague
Encyclopedia
Richard Merett Montague (September 20, 1930 – March 7, 1971) was an American
mathematician
and philosopher.
, Montague earned an B.A. in Philosophy in 1950, an M.A. in Mathematics in 1953, and a Ph.D.
in Philosophy 1957, the latter under the direction of the mathematician and logician Alfred Tarski
. Montague, one of Tarski's most accomplished American students, spent his entire career teaching in the UCLA Department of Philosophy
, where he supervised the dissertations of Nino Cocchiarella
and Hans Kamp
.
Montague wrote on the foundations of logic
and set theory
, as would befit a student of Tarski. His Ph.D. dissertation, titled Contributions to the Axiomatic Foundations of Set Theory, contained the first proof that all possible axiomatizations of the standard axiomatic set theory ZFC must contain infinitely many axioms. In other words, ZFC cannot be finitely axiomatized.
He pioneered a logical approach to natural language semantics
which became known as Montague grammar
. This approach to language has been especially influential among certain computational linguists—perhaps more so than among more traditional philosophers of language
.
Montague was an accomplished organist and a successful real estate investor. He died violently in his own home; the crime is unsolved to this day. Feferman and Feferman argue that he usually went to bars "cruising" and bringing people home with him. On the day that he was murdered, he brought home several people "for some kind of soirée", but they instead robbed his house and strangled him.
His life and work provide the inspiration for the novel The Semantics of Murder (Aifric Campbell
2008: 250 ISBN 978-1852429966).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and philosopher.
Career
At the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, Montague earned an B.A. in Philosophy in 1950, an M.A. in Mathematics in 1953, and a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Philosophy 1957, the latter under the direction of the mathematician and logician Alfred Tarski
Alfred Tarski
Alfred Tarski was a Polish logician and mathematician. Educated at the University of Warsaw and a member of the Lwow-Warsaw School of Logic and the Warsaw School of Mathematics and philosophy, he emigrated to the USA in 1939, and taught and carried out research in mathematics at the University of...
. Montague, one of Tarski's most accomplished American students, spent his entire career teaching in the UCLA Department of Philosophy
UCLA Department of Philosophy
The UCLA Department of Philosophy is a constituent department of the Division of Humanities in the UCLA College of Letters and Science. From the mid-20th century, the department has been a leading and widely respected center for the study of Analytic Philosophy, especially Mathematical Logic,...
, where he supervised the dissertations of Nino Cocchiarella
Nino Cocchiarella
Nino Cocchiarella , Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Indiana University, is best known for his work in formal logic and ontology....
and Hans Kamp
Hans Kamp
Johan Anthony Willem Kamp is a Dutch philosopher and linguist, responsible for introducing Discourse Representation Theory in 1981. Kamp received a Ph.D. in Philosophy from UCLA in 1968...
.
Montague wrote on the foundations of logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
and set theory
Set theory
Set theory is the branch of mathematics that studies sets, which are collections of objects. Although any type of object can be collected into a set, set theory is applied most often to objects that are relevant to mathematics...
, as would befit a student of Tarski. His Ph.D. dissertation, titled Contributions to the Axiomatic Foundations of Set Theory, contained the first proof that all possible axiomatizations of the standard axiomatic set theory ZFC must contain infinitely many axioms. In other words, ZFC cannot be finitely axiomatized.
He pioneered a logical approach to natural language semantics
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
which became known as Montague grammar
Montague grammar
Montague grammar is an approach to natural language semantics, named after American logician Richard Montague. The Montague grammar is based on formal logic, especially higher order predicate logic and lambda calculus, and makes use of the notions of intensional logic, via Kripke models...
. This approach to language has been especially influential among certain computational linguists—perhaps more so than among more traditional philosophers of language
Philosophy of language
Philosophy of language is the reasoned inquiry into the nature, origins, and usage of language. As a topic, the philosophy of language for analytic philosophers is concerned with four central problems: the nature of meaning, language use, language cognition, and the relationship between language...
.
Montague was an accomplished organist and a successful real estate investor. He died violently in his own home; the crime is unsolved to this day. Feferman and Feferman argue that he usually went to bars "cruising" and bringing people home with him. On the day that he was murdered, he brought home several people "for some kind of soirée", but they instead robbed his house and strangled him.
His life and work provide the inspiration for the novel The Semantics of Murder (Aifric Campbell
Aifric Campbell
-Life:She was a convent schoolgirl in Dublin. She worked as an au pair, in Sweden.She graduated from the University of Göteborg in Linguistics.She was an investment banker in the City of London for 13 years....
2008: 250 ISBN 978-1852429966).