Hector-Neri Castañeda
Encyclopedia
Héctor-Neri Castañeda was a Guatemala
n philosopher and founder of the journal Noûs
.
Born in San Vicente, Zacapa
, Guatemala
, he emigrated to the United States
in 1948 and studied under Wilfrid Sellars
at the University of Minnesota
, where he earned a B.A. in 1950 and M.A. in 1952. Castañeda received his Ph.D. in June 1954 for his dissertation "The Logical Structure of Moral Reasoning". He studied at Oxford University from 1955–1956, after which he once again returned to the US to take a sabbatical-replacement position in philosophy at Duke University
. Castañeda is noted for his development of Guise theory, which he applied to outstanding problems in the analysis of thought, language, and the structure of the world. He is also credited with the discovery of the "quasi-indicator" or "quasi-indexical", a linguistic device by which one person can attribute an indexical reference to another. His discussion on this matter influenced heavily on John Perry
's theory of indexicals, as Perry acknowledged his influence in the first footnote of the paper "The Problem of the Essential Indexical".
He died of a brain tumor
in 1991.
, where he taught from 1957–1969. It was there that he founded the philosophical journal Noûs, in 1967. From 1962–1963, he was also a visiting professor at the University of Texas at Austin
. He was granted a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation
between 1967 and 1968.
He moved to Indiana University
in 1969, and eventually became the Mahlon Powell Professor of Philosophy as well as that university's first Dean
of Latino
Affairs, a position he held from 1978–1981. He was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
from 1981–1982.
, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
, and the National Science Foundation
. He served as President of the American Philosophical Association
Central Division from 1979–1980, and was named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1990. Castañeda was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor by the Government of Guatemala
in 1991.
s that included both the real and the imagined. He referred to these objects collectively as guises, and argued that they could be treated as sets of properties. He went on to analyse all of language and perception
in terms of these guises, ultimately developing an entire metaphysics
based on them.
One noted critic of Guise theory was Plantinga, who developed his own rival theory involving a realm of abstract objects. Both theories were in fact based on even earlier work developed by Ernst Mally
in 1912. They differed, however, in the details of their metaphysical system and in how they regarded the basic building blocks of their respective systems.
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
n philosopher and founder of the journal Noûs
Noûs
Noûs is a philosophy journal published four times per year by Blackwell Publishing. It was founded by Hector-Neri Castañeda and is currently edited by Ernest Sosa...
.
Born in San Vicente, Zacapa
Zacapa
Zacapa is a city in eastern Guatemala, along the Río Grande de Zacapa. It is renowned locally for its manual crafting of cigars, hard dry cheese and a flavored cake made with said cheese ....
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, he emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1948 and studied under Wilfrid Sellars
Wilfrid Sellars
Wilfrid Stalker Sellars was an American philosopher. His father was the Canadian-American philosopher Roy Wood Sellars, a leading American philosophical naturalist in the first half of the twentieth-century...
at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, where he earned a B.A. in 1950 and M.A. in 1952. Castañeda received his Ph.D. in June 1954 for his dissertation "The Logical Structure of Moral Reasoning". He studied at Oxford University from 1955–1956, after which he once again returned to the US to take a sabbatical-replacement position in philosophy at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
. Castañeda is noted for his development of Guise theory, which he applied to outstanding problems in the analysis of thought, language, and the structure of the world. He is also credited with the discovery of the "quasi-indicator" or "quasi-indexical", a linguistic device by which one person can attribute an indexical reference to another. His discussion on this matter influenced heavily on John Perry
John Perry (philosopher)
John R. Perry is Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Stanford University. He has made significant contributions to areas of philosophy, including logic, philosophy of language, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind...
's theory of indexicals, as Perry acknowledged his influence in the first footnote of the paper "The Problem of the Essential Indexical".
He died of a brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
in 1991.
Academic career
Following his brief stay at Duke University, Castañeda's first full-time academic appointment was as a professor in the Philosophy department at Wayne State UniversityWayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
, where he taught from 1957–1969. It was there that he founded the philosophical journal Noûs, in 1967. From 1962–1963, he was also a visiting professor at the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. He was granted a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Mr. and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died April 26, 1922...
between 1967 and 1968.
He moved to Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
in 1969, and eventually became the Mahlon Powell Professor of Philosophy as well as that university's first Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
Affairs, a position he held from 1978–1981. He was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences is an American interdisciplinary research body in Stanford, California focusing on the social sciences and humanities . Fellows are elected in a closed process, to spend a period of residence at the Center, released from other duties...
from 1981–1982.
Awards and honors
In addition to his other academic honors, Castañeda received grants from the National Endowment for the HumanitiesNational Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City and Princeton, New Jersey in the United States, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, endowed with wealth accumulated by the late Andrew W. Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the product of the 1969...
, and the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
. He served as President of the American Philosophical Association
American Philosophical Association
The American Philosophical Association is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarly activity in philosophy, to facilitate the professional work...
Central Division from 1979–1980, and was named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1990. Castañeda was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor by the Government of Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
in 1991.
Guise theory
Castañeda started from the fact that thoughts about real things in the world are of a fundamentally similar nature to thoughts about things in the imagination, it is still a thought, and from there he hypothesized an entire realm of abstract objectAbstract object
An abstract object is an object which does not exist at any particular time or place, but rather exists as a type of thing . In philosophy, an important distinction is whether an object is considered abstract or concrete. Abstract objects are sometimes called abstracta An abstract object is an...
s that included both the real and the imagined. He referred to these objects collectively as guises, and argued that they could be treated as sets of properties. He went on to analyse all of language and perception
Perception
Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of the environment by organizing and interpreting sensory information. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical stimulation of the sense organs...
in terms of these guises, ultimately developing an entire metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
based on them.
One noted critic of Guise theory was Plantinga, who developed his own rival theory involving a realm of abstract objects. Both theories were in fact based on even earlier work developed by Ernst Mally
Ernst Mally
Ernst Mally was an Austrian philosopher affiliated with the so-called Graz School of phenomenology. A pupil of Alexius Meinong, he was one of the founders of deontic logic and is mainly known for his contributions in that field of research.- Life :Mally was born in the town of Kranj in the Duchy...
in 1912. They differed, however, in the details of their metaphysical system and in how they regarded the basic building blocks of their respective systems.
Publications
- "On the Semantics of the Ought-to-Do" (1970)
- "Intentions and the Structure of Intending" (1971)
- The Structure of Morality (1974)
- Thinking and Doing (1975)
- On Philosophical Method (1980)
- "The Paradoxes of Deontic Logic" (1981)
- Thinking, Language and Experience (1989)