Naming and Necessity

In 'Naming and Necessity,' Saul Kripke critiques the descriptivist theory of names, which posits that names are shorthand for descriptions.

Instead, Kripke argues that names are rigid designators, referring to the same object across all possible worlds through a causal chain of usage.

He discusses the implications of this theory on concepts such as necessity, identity, and the nature of natural kind terms.

The book, based on three lectures given at Princeton University in 1970, has had a profound influence on the philosophy of language and analytic philosophy, introducing ideas such as necessary a posteriori truths and the distinction between epistemic and metaphysical necessity.