PHILOSOPHER

J. L. Austin

1911 - 1960

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John Langshaw Austin (26 March 1911 – 8 February 1960) was an English philosopher of language and leading proponent of ordinary language philosophy, best known for developing the theory of speech acts. Austin pointed out that we use language to do things as well as to assert things, and that the utterance of a statement like "I promise to do so-and-so" is best understood as doing something—here, making a promise—rather than making an assertion about anything; hence the title of one of his best-known works, How to Do Things with Words (1955). Austin, in formulating this theory of speech acts, mounts a significant challenge to the philosophy of language, far beyond merely elucidating a class of morphological sentence forms that function to do what they name. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. J. L. Austin is the 396th most popular philosopher (down from 385th in 2019), the 898th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 743rd in 2019) and the 21st most popular British Philosopher.

Austin is most famous for his work in the philosophy of language, including his theory of speech acts.

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Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, J. L. Austin ranks 396 out of 1,267. Before him are Guan Zhong, Shahab al-Din Yahya ibn Habash Suhrawardi, Haji Bektash Veli, Saadia Gaon, Archelaus, and A. S. Neill. After him are Bartolus de Saxoferrato, Anne Conway, Carl Gustav Hempel, Siger of Brabant, Plutarch of Athens, and Karl Rahner.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1911, J. L. Austin ranks 54. Before him are Ginger Rogers, Samuel Reshevsky, Akira Yoshizawa, Bernard Katz, Ernesto Sabato, and Herta Oberheuser. After him are Gustav Wagner, Bruno Kreisky, Cantinflas, Henri Troyat, Vincent Price, and Alfonso García Robles. Among people deceased in 1960, J. L. Austin ranks 22. Before him are Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia, Walter Baade, Antonie Pannekoek, Aloysius Stepinac, Igor Kurchatov, and Ernst von Dohnányi. After him are Ana Pauker, Clara Haskil, August Kopff, Henri Guisan, Victor Sjöström, and Héctor Castro.

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, J. L. Austin ranks 898 out of 8,785. Before him are Charles Lee (1731), Bernard Hill (1944), William Stanley Jevons (1835), A. S. Neill (1883), Steve Harris (1956), and Peter Finch (1916). After him are John Frederic Daniell (1790), Thomas Savery (1650), Kenneth Clark (1903), John Pell (1611), Malcolm IV of Scotland (1141), and John Gielgud (1904).

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Among PHILOSOPHERS In United Kingdom

Among philosophers born in United Kingdom, J. L. Austin ranks 21. Before him are Pelagius (360), Thomas Carlyle (1795), William Godwin (1756), Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855), G. E. Moore (1873), and A. S. Neill (1883). After him are Anne Conway (1631), E. H. Carr (1892), Thomas Hill Green (1836), Francis Hutcheson (1694), John of Salisbury (1110), and Roger Scruton (1944).

British born Philosophers

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