Hartry Field

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Hartry H. Field (born 1946) is a philosopher working at New York University (NYU). He previously taught at the University of Southern California (USC) and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). He earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from Harvard University under the direction of Hilary Putnam.

His first work was a commentary on Alfred Tarski's theory of truth, which he has worked on since 1972. His current view on this matter is in favor of a deflationary theory of truth. His most influential work produced in this period is probably "Theory Change and the Indeterminacy of Reference" (Journal of Philosophy, 70, 14: 462-481), in which he introduced the concept of partial denotation.

In the 1980s, Field started a project in the philosophy of mathematics discussing mathematical fictionalism, the doctrine that all mathematical statements are merely useful fictions, and shouldn't be taken to be literally true.

Much of his current work is in the semantic paradoxes. He is also notable for being a visible supporter of the Graduate Student Organizing Committee (GSOC), the NYU graduate student union that is striking for union recognition.