Jerrold Katz
American academic (1932–2002)
Jerrold Jacob Katz (14 July 1932 – 7 February 2002) was an American philosopher and linguist.
Biography
After receiving a PhD in philosophy from Princeton University in 1960, Katz became a research associate in linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1961. He was appointed assistant professor of philosophy there in 1963, and became professor in 1969. From 1975 until his death, he was Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Linguistics at the City University of New York.
Within linguistics, Katz is best known for his theory of semantics in generative grammar, which he refers to as the autonomous theory of sense (ATS). Katz was a staunch defender of rationalism (although not in a Cartesian/Fregean sense) and the metaphysical import of "essences". He argued extensively against the dominance of empiricism. Katz also argued, against W. V. O. Quine, that the analytic–synthetic distinction could be founded on syntactical features of sentences.
Works
Katz, J. J. & Fodor, J. A. (1963). The structure of a semantic theory.
“Jerrold Katz” enters the record as american academic (1932–2002). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Jerrold, Katz and American can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Jerrold Katz” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Jerrold, Katz and American provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 16, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1687784. VIAF identifies the subject as 108327082. The Library of Congress control number is n50044658. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1932, 2002, 1960 and 1961.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Jerrold Katz”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Jerrold Katz primary sources, Jerrold Katz archive and Jerrold research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Jerrold Katz”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Jerrold Katz” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.