[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/bertrand_russell.jpg” caption=”Bertrand Russell”]In 1905, the British philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote an article about the word 'the'. More accurately, he proposed way of analyzing sentences containing definite descriptions – that is, noun phrases beginning with the word 'the', for example 'the prime minister of Canada' or 'the winner of next year's Superbowl'. Russell called the article 'On Denoting' and sent it to the philosophy journal Mind. The editor was reluctant to publish it, but Russell persuaded him and it appeared in October 1905. This might seem an unlikely starting point for a revolution in philosophy, but that's what happened. Twenty years after its publication it was being referred to as a paradigm of philosophy. And when the last century came to an end and philosophers were polled as to the most important philosophical writings of the previous hundred years 'On Denoting' was near the top of the list.

The consequences of Russell's theory were felt throughout philosophy: in logic, philosophy of language, metaphysics, theory of knowledge, philosophy of mathematics and ontology. But most importantly it suggested a new way of doing philosophy which subsequent generations of philosophers were quick to exploit. In particular, Russell was thought to have demolished a rival theory of definite descriptions proposed by the Austrian philosopher Alexius Meinong. For almost 50 years, Russell's theory of descriptions reigned unchallenged. Then criticisms began to appear, and revisions and alternatives were mooted. In time, Meinong's theory was revived and Russell's criticisms of it criticized in their turn. For the last 50 years, debate about the theory has continued.

When McMaster University acquired the Bertrand Russell Archives in 1968, included were some hundreds of pages of unpublished manuscript by Russell, written while he was working on the theory. These hitherto unknown manuscripts were published in 1994 in volume 4 of the McMaster University Edition of Russell's Collected Papers. They have transformed our understanding of how Russell came to his famous theory, but have done little to settle the controversy about it.

To celebrate the centenary of 'On Denoting', the Bertrand Russell Research Centre is hosting a major international conference, “Russell vs Meinong: 100 Years After 'On Denoting'”, May 14-18, 2005. Evidently the dust has still not settled: 48 philosophers from 12 countries will be presenting papers on both sides of the debate. For more information see http://denoting.mcmaster.ca