Salmon, Nathan (Ucuzoglu) 1951-

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SALMON, Nathan (Ucuzoglu) 1951-

PERSONAL: Original name, Nathan Salmon Ucuzoglu; name legally changed in 1978; born January 2, 1951, in Los Angeles, CA; son of Mair (a factory worker) and Rebecca (a medical clerk; maiden name, Sene) Ucuzoglu; married Eileen Conrad (a communications director) August 28, 1980 (divorced). Education: University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 1973, M.A., 1974, C.Phil., 1977, Ph.D., 1979. Religion: Atheist.

ADDRESSES: Home—1105 Orchid Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93111-2912. Office—Department of Philosophy, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106.

CAREER: California State University, Northridge, lecturer, 1977-78; Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, assistant professor, 1978-82; University of California, Riverside, associate professor, 1982-84; University of California, Santa Barbara, associate professor, 1984-85, professor of philosophy, 1985—. Visiting senior research philosopher, Princeton University, 1982. Fulbright distinguished lecturer in Yugoslavia, 1986. Speaker at universities and philosophical associations worldwide.

MEMBER: American Philosophical Association, Royal Institute of Philosophy, Phi Beta Kappa.

AWARDS, HONORS: Research grants from Princeton University, 1979-80, University of California, Riverside, 1982-84, and University of California, Santa Barbara, 1984-2000; Gustave O. Arlt Award in the Humanities, Council of Graduate Schools in the United States, 1984, for Reference and Essence.

WRITINGS:

Reference and Essence, Princeton University Press (Princeton, NJ), 1981.

Frege's Puzzle, MIT Press (Boston, MA), 1986.

(Editor, with Scott Soames, and author of introduction and contributor) Propositions and Attitudes, Oxford University Press, 1988.

Contributor to books, including, Midwest Studies in Philosophy XI: Studies in Essentialism, edited by Peter A. French and others, University of Minnesota Press (Minneapolis, MN), 1986; Philosophical Perspectives 1: Metaphysics, edited by J. Tomberlin, Ridgeview Publishing (Atascadero, CA), 1987; Themes from Kaplan, edited by J. Almog, J. Perry, and H. Wettstein, Oxford University Press, 1988; Handbook of Philosophical Logic IV: Topics in the Philosophy of Language, edited by D. Gabbay and F. Guenthner, Reidel Publishing (Dordrecht, Netherlands), 1988; Philosophical Perspectives 3: Philosophy of Mind and Action Theory, edited by J. Tomberlin, Ridgeview Publishing (Atascadero, CA), 1989; and Handbuch Sprachphilosophie, edited by M. Dascal, D. Gerhardus, K. Lorenz, and G. Meggle, Walter De Gruyter. Contributor of articles to Analysis, Journal of Philosophy, Philosophical Studies, Philosophia, and Philosophical Review.

SIDELIGHTS: Nathan Salmon told CA he writes "on analytic metaphysics and the philosophy of language." In Reference and Essence, Salmon presents recent linguistic and philosophical questions supporting his argument that current theories of reference are distinctly independent of theories about the essence of objects. According to Christopher Peacocke in his Times Literary Supplement review, "this is a valuable and reliable critical survey of the American literature [on the theory of reference] of the past ten years, one that should be of much help to students.... The organization and layout of Reference and Essence are exemplary; the seams between the English and the formulae are invisible. The book as a whole leaves one eager to learn the results of Salmon's future development—however expansive—of these themes." A Choice reviewer warned, however, "readers who find the original works hard going will not find this book any simpler." Salmon's following book, Frege's Puzzle, examines "the degree of informativeness of certain sentences," explained Times Literary Supplement contributor David Freedman. While Freedman found Salmon's vocabulary "inordinately technical" when it deals with current semantic theories, and thinks the work unsuitable for students, he added, "Salmon gives a superior analysis of the puzzle, and ... his book deserves the attention of any professional philosopher of language."