Richard Merritt Montague (September 20, 1930 – March 7, 1971) was an American

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

who made contributions to

mathematical logic Mathematical logic is the study of Logic#Formal logic, formal logic within mathematics. Major subareas include model theory, proof theory, set theory, and recursion theory (also known as computability theory). Research in mathematical logic com ...

and the

philosophy of language Philosophy of language refers to the philosophical study of the nature of language. It investigates the relationship between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of Meaning (philosophy), me ...

. He is known for proposing

Montague grammar Montague grammar is an approach to natural language semantics, named after American logician Richard Montague. The Montague grammar is based on mathematical logic, especially higher-order predicate logic and lambda calculus, and makes use of th ...

to formalize the semantics of

natural language A natural language or ordinary language is a language that occurs naturally in a human community by a process of use, repetition, and change. It can take different forms, typically either a spoken language or a sign language. Natural languages ...

. As a student of

Alfred Tarski Alfred Tarski (; ; born Alfred Teitelbaum;School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews ''School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews''. January 14, 1901 – October 26, 1983) was a Polish-American logician ...

, he also contributed early developments to

axiomatic set theory Set theory is the branch of mathematical logic that studies Set (mathematics), sets, which can be informally described as collections of objects. Although objects of any kind can be collected into a set, set theory – as a branch of mathema ...

( ZFC). For the latter half of his life, he was a professor at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

until his early death, believed to be a

homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

, at age 40.

Career

At the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, Montague earned a BA in philosophy in 1950, an MA in mathematics in 1953, and a PhD in Philosophy in 1957, the latter under the direction of the mathematician and logician

. Montague spent his entire career teaching in the UCLA Department of Philosophy, where he supervised the dissertations of Nino Cocchiarella and

Hans Kamp Johan Anthony Willem "Hans" Kamp (born 5 September 1940) is a Dutch philosopher and Linguistics, linguist, responsible for introducing discourse representation theory (DRT) in 1981. Biography Kamp was born in Den Burg. He received a Ph.D. in UC ...

. Montague wrote on the foundations of

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

and

set theory Set theory is the branch of mathematical logic that studies Set (mathematics), sets, which can be informally described as collections of objects. Although objects of any kind can be collected into a set, set theory – as a branch of mathema ...

, as would befit a student of Tarski. His PhD dissertation, titled ''Contributions to the Axiomatic Foundations of Set Theory'', contained the first proof that all possible axiomatizations of the standard

ZFC must contain infinitely many axioms. In other words, ZFC cannot be finitely axiomatized. He pioneered a logical approach to natural language

semantics Semantics is the study of linguistic Meaning (philosophy), meaning. It examines what meaning is, how words get their meaning, and how the meaning of a complex expression depends on its parts. Part of this process involves the distinction betwee ...

that became known as

. This approach to language has been especially influential among certain computational linguists—perhaps more so than among more traditional philosophers of language. In particular, Montague's influence lives on in grammar approaches like categorial grammar (such as Unification Categorial Grammar, Left-Associative Grammar, or Combinatory Categorial Grammar), which attempt a derivation of syntactic and semantic representation in tandem and the semantics of quantifiers, scope and discourse (

, a student of Montague's, co-developed

Discourse Representation Theory In formal linguistics, discourse representation theory (DRT) is a framework for exploring meaning under a formal semantics approach. One of the main differences between DRT-style approaches and traditional Montagovian approaches is that DRT inc ...

). 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. Anita Feferman and Solomon Feferman argue that he usually went to bars "cruising" and bringing people home with him.Feferman and Feferman 2004: 332-3 On the day that he was murdered, he brought home several people "for some kind of soirée", but they strangled him.

In popular culture

Three novels have been inspired by the life and death of Richard M. Montague: *'' The Mad Man'' by American science fiction author Samuel R. Delany (1994) * ''Less Than Meets the Eye'' by American philosopher David Berlinski (1994) * ''The Semantics of Murder'' by Irish writer Aifric Campbell (2008)

Notes

References

* Feferman, Anita, and Solomon Feferman, 2004. '' Alfred Tarski: Life and Logic''. Cambridge Univ. Press. * Donald Kalish, and Montague, Richard, 1964. '' Logic: Techniques of Formal Reasoning''. Harcourt, Brace, and Jovanovich. * Donald Kalish, and Montague, Richard, and Mar, Gary, 1980. ''Logic: Techniques of Formal Reasoning (second edition)''. Oxford University Press. * Montague, Richard, 1974. '' Formal philosophy : selected papers of Richard Montague'' / ed. and with an introd. by Richmond H. Thomason. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press. (1979 printing: ) * Partee, Barbara H., 2006,
Richard Montague (1930 - 1971)
in Brown, Keith, ed., '' Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics'', Vol. 8, 2nd ed. Oxford: Elsevier: 255–57. Includes a bibliography of the secondary literature on Montague and his eponymous grammar.

External links

*
"Montague, Richard (1930–1971) ."

Encyclopedia of Philosophy An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...

, '' Encyclopedia.com.''
Montague Semantics
at

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''SEP'') is a freely available online philosophy resource published and maintained by Stanford University, encompassing both an online encyclopedia of philosophy and peer-reviewed original publication ...

RICHARD MONTAGUE 1930-1971
memorial page by Ivano Caponigro published on the fiftieth anniversary of his death
That’s Just Semantics! (or, the Proper Treatment of Richard Montague in Literary Fiction)
(Archived by

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). {{DEFAULTSORT:Montague, Richard 1930 births 1971 deaths People murdered in 1971 20th-century American mathematicians 20th-century American philosophers American logicians American LGBTQ academics LGBTQ people from California American LGBTQ scientists People from Stockton, California American philosophers of language Semanticists Unsolved murders in California LGBTQ mathematicians Deaths by strangulation in the United States People murdered in Los Angeles 20th-century American LGBTQ people

Career

In popular culture

See also

Notes

References

External links