Kevin C. Klement
Professor and Chair, Philosophy, UMass Amherst
Editor, Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy (JHAP)
Board member, Bertrand Russell Society; editorial board member, Russell (Journal)
Mailing address:
150 Hicks Way, E305 South College
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003-9274 USA
Contact info:
Email:
klement@umass.eduOffice:
E319 South CollegeOffice Hours (Spring 2024):
Tuesdays and Thursdays 11am–12pm, and by appointmentMastodon:
@kevinklement@scholar.socialCourses/Teaching
Current courses (Spring 2024)
Past courses
- Phil 100: Introduction to Philosophy
(Fall 2001) - Phil 105: Practical Reasoning
(Fall 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) - Phil 110: Introduction to Logic
(Fall 2007, 2013, 2020; Spring 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024) - Phil 160: Introduction to Ethics
(Fall 2004; Spring 2006) - Phil 321: History of Modern Philosophy
(Spring 2015) - Phil 335: 20th Century Analytic Philosophy
(Fall 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015; Spring 2008) - Phil 398W: Junior Year Writing
(Spring 2015) - Phil 511: Modal Logic
(Spring 2008) - Phil 512: Philosophy and Logic (Non-Classical Logic)
(Fall 2012) - Phil 513: Mathematical Logic I
(Fall 2011, 2013, 2019, 2022; Spring 2003, 2005, 2010, 2017) - Phil 514: Mathematical Logic II
(Fall 2020; Spring 2006, 2012, 2015) - Phil 584: Philosophy of Language
(Fall 2001) - Phil 586: Philosophy of Mathematics
(Fall 2010) - Phil 592W: Wittgenstein’s Tractatus
(Fall 2009) - Phil 593X: Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein
(Fall 2000) - Phil 700: Proseminar
(Fall 2017, 2023) - Phil 701C: Carnap Seminar
(Fall 2014) - Phil 701J: Logical Positivism Seminar
(Fall 2016) - Phil 701R/702: Russell Seminar
(Fall 2003, 2008, 2018; Spring 2013) - Phil 702F/794F: Frege Seminar
(Fall 2000, 2005; Spring 2011, 2016, 2021) - Phil 710: Logical Consequence Seminar
(Spring 2007) - Phil 791T: Tractatus Seminar
(Fall 2002) - Phil 794S: Speech Acts Seminar
(Spring 2002) - Phil 795L: Neo-Logicism Seminar
(Fall 2007) - Amherst College PHIL-36: Philosophy of Language
(Spring 2009)
Research and publications
Most of my work has focused on the philosophies of early analytic figures including Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, especially their philosophical logics and their import for contemporary discussions in philosophy of language, intensional logic and the philosophy of mathematics. I am also interested in informal logic, ethics, and the history of logic and analytic philosophy generally.
You can also download my CV.
Most of my publications are available below. If not, email me and I’ll send you a copy. Questions and comments welcome.
Works in progress and forthcoming
- Peano, Frege and Russell’s Logical InfluencesForthcoming.
- Higher-Order Metaphysics in Frege and RussellForthcoming in Higher-Order Metaphysics, edited by P. Fritz and N. Jones. Oxford University Press.
- Russell’s Retreat from PythagorasForthcoming.
- Morality, SchmoralityCurrently only a “published” presentation on this website; future plans undecided.
Published book
- Frege and the Logic of Sense and ReferenceRoutledge 2002.
Published journal articles and book chapters (selected)
- Logical Form and the Development of Russell’s LogicismIn Origins and Varieties of Logicism, edited by F. Boccuni and A. Sereni. (Routledge 2022), pp. 147–166.
- Grundgesetze and the Sense/Reference DistinctionIn Essays on Frege’s Basic Laws of Arithmetic, edited by P. Ebert and M. Rossberg. (Oxford University Press 2019), pp. 142–66.
- New Logic and the Seeds of Analytic Philosophy: Boole, FregeIn A Companion to Nineteenth-Century Philosophy, edited by J. Shand. (Wiley Blackwell 2019), pp. 454–79.
- Russell’s LogicismIn The Bloomsbury Companion to Bertrand Russell, edited by R. Wahl. (Bloomsbury Academic 2019), pp. 151–78.
- G. E. Moore’s Unpublished Review of The Principles of MathematicsRussell n.s. 38 (2018–19): 131–64.
- Russell on Ontological Fundamentality and ExistenceIn The Philosophy of Logical Atomism: A Centenary Reappraisal, edited by L. Elkind and G. Landini. (Palgrave Macmillan 2018), pp. 155–79.
- A Generic Russellian Elimination of Abstract ObjectsPhilosophia Mathematica 25/1 (2017): 91–115.
- Three Unpublished Manuscripts from 1903Russell n.s. 36 (2016): 5–44.
- The Constituents of the Propositions of LogicIn Acquaintance, Knowledge, and Logic: New Essays on Bertrand Russell’s The Problems of Philosophy, edited by D. Wishon and B. Linsky. (CSLI Publications 2015), pp. 189–229.
- The Russell–Dummett Correspondence on Frege and his NachlaßThe Bertrand Russell Society Bulletin no. 150 (2014): 25–29.
- The Paradoxes and Russell’s Theory of Incomplete SymbolsPhilosophical Studies 169/2 (2014): 183–207.
- Early Russell on Types and PluralsJournal for the History of Analytical Philosophy 2/6 (2014): 1–21.
- PM’s Circumflex, Syntax and Philosophy of TypesIn The Palgrave Centenary Companion to Principia Mathematica, edited by N. Griffin and B. Linsky. (Palgrave Macmillian 2013), pp. 218–46.
- Neo-logicism and Russell’s LogicismRussell n.s. 32 (2012–13): 127–59.
- Frege’s Changing Conception of NumberTheoria 78 (2012): 146–67.
- The Functions of Russell’s No Class TheoryReview of Symbolic Logic 3/4 (2010): 633–64.
- The Senses of Functions in the Logic of Sense and DenotationBulletin of Symbolic Logic 16/2 (2010): 153–88.
- Gottlob FregeIn The Routledge Companion to Nineteenth Century Philosophy, edited by Dean Moyar. (Routledge 2010), pp. 858–86.
- Russell, His Paradoxes and Cantor’s Theorem [Parts I–II]Philosophy Compass 5/1 (2010): 16–28 and 29–41.
- A Cantorian Argument Against Frege’s and Early Russell’s Theories of DescriptionsIn Russell vs. Meinong: The Legacy of “On Denoting”, edited by N. Griffin and D. Jacquette. (Routledge 2008), pp. 65–77.
- The Origins of the Propositional Functions Version of Russell’s ParadoxRussell n.s. 24 (2004–05): 101–32.
- Does Frege Have Too Many Thoughts? A Cantorian Problem RevisitedAnalysis 65/1 (2005): 44–49.
- Putting Form Before Function: Logical Grammar in Frege, Russell and WittgensteinPhilosopher’s Imprint 4/2 (2004): 1–47.
- Russell’s 1903–05 Anticipation of the Lambda CalculusHistory and Philosophy of Logic 24 (2003): 15–37.
- The Number of SensesErkenntnis 58 (2003): 302–23.
- Russell on ‘Disambiguating With the Grain’Russell n.s. 21 (2001–02): 101–27.
- When is Genetic Reasoning not Fallacious?Argumentation 16 (2002): 383–400.
- Russell’s Paradox in Appendix B of the Principles of Mathematics: Was Frege’s Response Adequate?History and Philosophy of Logic 22 (2001): 13–28.
- Agency, Character and the Real Failure of ConsequentialismAuslegung 23/1 (2000): 1–34.
- Is Pacifism Irrational?Peace Review 11/1 (1999): 65–70.
Reviews and review essays
- Review of On the Genealogy of Universals: The Metaphysical Origins of Analytic Philosophy, by Fraser MacBride (Oxford 2018)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2018.
- Review of Basic Laws of Arithmetic, ed. and trans. by P. Ebert and M. Rossberg (Oxford 2013)Studia Logica 104 (2016): 175–80.
- Review of Russell’s Philosophy of Logical Atomism 1897–1905, by Jolen Galaugher (Palgrave Macmillan 2013)Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy 3/2 (2015): 1–7.
- Review of The Oxford Handbook of the History of Analytic Philosophy, ed. by Michael Beaney (Oxford 2013)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2014.
- Review of Logic as Universal Science: Russell’s Early Logicism and Its Philosophical Context, by Anssi Korhonen (Palgrave Macmillan 2013)Russell n.s. 34/1 (2014): 79–84.
- Review of Russell’s Unknown Logicism, by Sébastien Gandon (Palgrave Macmillan 2012)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2012.
- Review of Russell, by Gregory Landini (Routledge 2011)Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy 1/2 (2012): 21–28.
- A New Century in the Life of a Paradox: Review of One Hundred Years of Russell’s Paradox, ed. by Godehard Link (de Gruyter 2004)Review of Modern Logic 11/1‒2 (2007–2008): 7–29.
- Review of “On Denoting” 1905–2005, ed. by G. Imaguire and B. Linsky (Philosophia 2005)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2006.
- Review of The Cambridge Companion to Bertrand Russell, ed. by Nicholas Griffin (Cambridge 2003)Review of Modern Logic 10/1–2 (2005): 161–70.
- Review of The Philosophy of Gottlob Frege, by Richard Mendelsohn (Cambridge 2005)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2005.
- A Faithful Companion: Review of The Cambridge Companion to Bertrand Russell, ed. by Nicholas Griffin (Cambridge 2003)The Bertrand Russell Society Quarterly no. 121 (2004): 25–41.
- Review of Logicism and the Philosophy of Language: Selections from Frege and Russell, ed. by A. Sullivan (Broadview 2003)The Bertrand Russell Society Quarterly no. 120 (2003): 39–43.
- Review of From Frege to Wittgenstein: Perspectives on Early Analytic Philosophy, ed. by Erich Reck (Oxford 2002)The Review of Metaphysics 57 (2003): 177–178.
Encyclopedia articles
- Russell’s Logical Atomism (The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
- Frege, Gottlob (The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
- Propositional Logic (The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
- Paradox, Russell’s (The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
- Paradox, Russell-Myhill (The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
- Validity and Soundness (The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
- Square of Opposition (The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Online Editions
I think it is a good idea for academics to produce high-quality open access editions of important public-domain works, which are often available only in much lower quality than books not in the public domain. This is the only way to preserve the integrity of these texts in the centuries to come.
So far I have worked on three such projects, and hope to do more in the future.
- Bertrand Russell: The Principles of MathematicsFree online edition. First published in 1903.
- Bertrand Russell: Introduction to Mathematical PhilosophyOnline corrected edition. First published in 1919.
- Ludwig Wittgenstein: Tractatus Logico-PhilosophicusSide-by-side-by-side edition. First published 1922. This version contains the German alongside both major English translations.
Other E-Projects
Logic Penguin
Logic Penguin aims to be a flexible, extensible, self-hostable, framework for creating introductory logic exercises, which interfaces with LMS systems like Moodle or Canvas through the LTI protocol. It aims to be compatible with multiple logical systems and notations. It includes a proof-checker, a translation and equivalence checker, truth-tables, and more.
Here is a sample of what it looks like in action:
While I am already employing an early version in my own courses, it still needs a lot of development. You can track my progress on its GitHub repository.
Open Guide Typesetting Framework / Open Guide Editor
The Open Guide Typesetting Framework is a simple but powerful open source framework for open access academic publishing. It can be used to produce and typeset high-quality journal articles, anthology chapters or similar, with multiple output formats (HTML, ePub, LaTeX-generated PDF, or others).
The framework makes use of the pandoc document converter by default, and its academic flavor of markdown, although it can be configured to use other tools instead or additionally. It also provides mechanisms for editors to distribute page proofs to authors and for them to submit comments and corrections.
It includes its own web based markdown and LaTeX editor, the Open Guide Editor, built on codemirror, which provides a live-updating-as-you-type preview of PDF or html output. This editor can be installed and used independently of the framework.
Here is a demonstration of what the editor looks like and how it is used.
Both are recent projects which still may need some testing and bug fixing, They replace previous projects of mine. I created a less powerful web-based framework for academic typesetting (originally for The Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy), "Journal Tools", which also was made freely available and open source. You can find its git repository on Bitbucket. It uses an earlier editor built on an earlier version of codemirror also providing a live-updating web-based markdown and LaTeX editor, K(ev)E(dit). Their code is still available for archival purposes.
The Amazing Fregeifier
The Fregeifier provides tools for leveraging LaTeX-packages for creating complex or unusual mathematical and logical formulas, and including them in other kinds of documents, including html, epub, docx, odt, etc.
The name comes from one obvious use case: Gottlob Frege’s unique logical notation, for which LaTeX tools exist, but is difficult to do inside other file formats.
Currently, there are two tools in the Fregeifier.
- A pandoc filter for selecting certain mathematical contexts, usually in a source markdown file, and processing them with a full LaTeX engine, and converting the result to an image that can be used in other formats such as html, epub, docx, odt.
This allows the usage of Frege’s notation, or any other mathematical symbolism LaTeX can handle, in a markdown document, regardless of the format it is converted to. - A web interface which anyone can use to generate images to include in whatever documents they like. A live, hopefully working, instance of the web interface can be found here:
https://russellguide.org/fregeifier
The Fregeifier has other uses, such as leveraging Landon Elkind’s principia package for using Russell and Whitehead’s historical notation in other documents.
You can find more information, download the pandoc filter, and view the code for both it and the web interface, in the project’s git repo on GitHub.
KNAP: Kevin's Neovim Auto-Previewer
KNAP is a configurable lua plugin for neovim that allows for custom-defined routines for launching self-updating previews of documents such as LaTeX, markdown, etc., in the PDF viewer or Web Browser of your choice. Visit its git repo on GitHub for installation and usage instructions.
At some point in the past, I wrote similar plugins for the micro editor, and for regular vim, which may still be floating out there on the internet, though I shudder to think of them now …
Philosophical rock
I maintain the website for The 21st Century Monads; the rockingest of all philosophical rock bands.
Other/Stuff I Like
Open source/free software
The internet was built on the back on free software, but is increasingly being taken over by commercial interests.
When you give yourself over to Apple, Microsoft, Google, et al., you are making a vote for a more corporation-controlled digital world. Take back the web!
The free-license, open source alternatives may take awhile to learn, but they more than make up for it in power, efficiency, adaptability and freedom.
GNU/Linux
Your choices for operating systems for your computer are these:
- MacOS: An operating system best known for being defective by design in that (i) it is only licensed to be run on expensive Apple hardware, (ii) it only interoperates well with other Apple devices, and (iii) it is so inefficient that if you haven’t purchased new Apple hardware in the past two years, it is completely unusable. The reason for its popularity in academia remains a mystery, but prevailing theories postulate it is because people are drawn to things in shiny white cases.
- MS Windows: An operating system best known for using 60% of its cpu cycles to gather information about you and send it Microsoft, 30% of its cpu cycles running virus and malware scans to make up for its own security deficiencies, and at most 5% for doing the things the user actually intended to do. No one knows what the other 5% does. But your parents probably already know how to use it, which is a big plus.
- ChromeOS: An operating system for Chromebooks designed mainly to get children hooked on Google products in much the same way drug dealers give out their first doses of crack to get returning customers. It also makes you feel special by taking note of everything you do and relaying it to Google.
- GNU/Linux: A family of operating systems known for their superior stability, reliability, efficiency, security, flexibility, open source codebase, large repositories of free software, respect for privacy, and lack of cost. They power 70% of web servers and all 500 top supercomputers in the world. Distributions of linux are available to meet almost any use case, from beginner friendly systems designed for education to those more suited for the advanced user. Linux is unpopular among academics mainly because smart people who teach for a living sometimes don't like to learn new things when they’ve already gone through the trouble of learning something else.
- Others: FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Haiku, RedoxOS, TempleOS, ReactOS, etc. Sure, why not? Have fun.
Useful GNU/Linux links:
- Find a distribution (version) of GNU/Linux that is right for you with distrochooser.
- Try a beginner’s distro like Ubuntu, Fedora, PopOS, or Linux Mint.
- Graduate to a grown up distro like Arch Linux, Void or what the heck, Gentoo.
- Read Riki Heck on how they started using linux and why you should too.
- UNIX/Linux StackExchange.
- Want to know what the weird customized UI I created for my own computers looks like? Sure you do! Watch this video. (Yes, I am a nerd. How could you tell?)
LATEX, markdown and related technologies
- Pandoc: document converter and markdown processor
- Sioyek: PDF viewer for technical books and research papers
- The LATEX Project
- The TEXlive distribution
- TEX, LATEX and Friends StackExchange