User:Sorenspete

P.N. Sorensen (b. Peter Nicholas Erik Sorensen, 1990 - ) is an analytic philosopher of language and a logician from New Zealand. Sorensen is interested primarily on the history of the philosophy of language, moreover the last century of the discipline. This includes Russell's Theory of Descriptions, Gricean pragmatics, and W.V.O. Quine's critique of the analytic-synthetic distinction. He describes his approach to philosophy as "puritanically analytic" in that he strives for conciseness, clarity, and a total lack of ambiguity. He says that this stems from his experiences reading on philosophy as an undergraduate. "Should my work of the future ever fall within the attention of younger philosophers, I should hope that my meaning is delivered in no uncertain terms."

Areas of Interest

 * Philosophical Logic
 * Philosophy of Language
 * Philosophy of Science
 * Metaphilosophy
 * Philosophy of Mathematics
 * Political Philosophy

Influences
Sorensen cites Bertrand Russel, Saul Kripke, John Rawls, Galen Strawson, Maxwell Cresswell, W.V.O Quine, Aristotle, Kenneth Perszyk, and Stephen Neale among others.

Education
Sorensen received his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Victoria University of Wellington. He left secondary school shortly after completing (but not passing) the 6th form (the 12th year of education). Despite having a Bachelors degree in philosophy, Sorensen only ever completed the first level of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). He recalls being admitted to Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand "on mathematics test-scores alone." After a brief tenure as a Bachelor of Science student, Sorensen grew tired of the practical nature of sciences like geology and biology, and moved on to the discipline which nurtured his natural affinity for mathematical thinking: analytic philosophy.