Kripke's Standard Meter-A Religious Dream?
Journal
Engaging Kripke with Wittgenstein: The Standard Meter, Contingent Apriori, and Beyond
Pages
141-157
ISBN
9781000970630
Date Issued
2023-01-01
Author(s)
Abstract
This chapter has three parts. In the first two, I briefly discuss Kripke’s readings of Wittgenstein and Kant in Naming and Necessity and point out some misunderstandings. Kripke seems not to be patient enough in reading either of them. In the third part, I discuss Kripke’s example of the standard meter and the way he uses it to separate metaphysics and epistemology. He claims, in opposition to what he takes to be the tradition since Kant, that there are contingent truths that can be known a priori. Thus, necessity and the a priori come apart. I argue that Kripke’s own account seems to be consistent, provided one is willing to accept his interpretation of the “a priori.” Nevertheless, there are hidden assumptions and there remain doubts. It must also be kept in mind that his interpretation is far from what Kant meant by the term “a priori.”.
Type
book part