Dagfinn Føllesdal

Dagfinn Kåre Føllesdal (born June 22, 1932) was a Norwegian-born American philosopher. He held emeritus positions as the Clarence Irving Lewis Professor of Philosophy at Stanford University and professor at the University of Oslo. Føllesdal's academic journey began with degrees from the University of Oslo, followed by a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1961 under the guidance of Willard Van Orman Quine. He taught at Harvard from 1961 to 1964 before joining Stanford University in 1968. His significant contributions were recognized in March 2009 when he was appointed Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav for his work in philosophy, ethics, and for bridging the gap between Anglo-American analytic philosophy and European continental philosophy. Føllesdal was a member of several prestigious academies, including the Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was a practicing Roman Catholic and resided in Tanum, Norway. Føllesdal passed away on March 1, 2026, at the age of 93. His philosophical work delved into the philosophy of language, phenomenology, existentialism, and hermeneutics. As a student of Quine, he was recognized as an expert on the indeterminacy of translation.