more from Saul A. Kripke

Single Idea 17036

[catalogued under 9. Objects / F. Identity among Objects / 6. Identity between Objects]

Full Idea

If the man who invented bifocals was the first Postmaster General of the United States - that they were one and the same - it's contingently true. …So when you make identity statements using descriptions, that can be a contingent fact.

Clarification

Benjamin Franklin is the man in question

Gist of Idea

Identity statements can be contingent if they rely on descriptions

Source

Saul A. Kripke (Naming and Necessity lectures [1970], Lecture 2)

Book Reference

Kripke,Saul: 'Naming and Necessity' [Blackwell 1980], p.98