Since first appearing in 1972, Saul Kripke's Naming and Necessity has shaped and continues to shape debates in metaphysics, the philosophy of language, and adjacent areas. It overturned long-established views concerning the relationships between names and descriptions and a priority and necessity, and catalyzed today's thriving essentialist metaphysics. This landmark work is here reissued for its 50th anniversary with a new preface by the author revisiting its central themes.

If there is such a thing as essential reading in analytic philosophy, this is it.