Marcus' 1961 Article as a Termination of Russellian Dominance in Analytic Philosophy

Abstract

This essay argues that 20th century analytic philosophy can be fruitfully divided into two periods, the Russell-based extension list philosophy of the first half of the century and the Marcus-based intension list philosophy of the second half of the century. The difference between these two philosophical periods is illustrated by the different analyses Russell and Marcus give to the sentence “Scott is Scott” and the different meanings they assign to the sentence “Identity statements between names are necessarily true if true”. Russell's influential role in analytic philosophy in the first half of this century is well-known, but it has not been until the mid-1990s that the decisive role that Marcus' philosophy has played in analytic philosophy during the second half of the century has begun to be widely recognized.