Strawson, Peter Frederick (1919–2006)

English philosopher who studied the distortions that logical systems impose on ordinary language. He also analysed the ways in which we distinguish individual things, concluding that the location of things in space and time is fundamental to the many ways in which we distinguish individuals of any kind. He called his approach ‘descriptive metaphysics’ and he identified Immanuel Kant as a fellow practitioner.

Strawson was born in London. He taught at Oxford from 1948 and was professor of metaphysics from 1968 to 1987. His publications include Introduction to Logical Theory (1952), Individuals: An Essay in Descriptive Metaphysics (1959), and The Bounds of Sense (1966). He was knighted in 1977.