{{Short description|New Zealand–born philosopher}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}} {{Infobox philosopher |image = |region = [[Western philosophy]] |era = [[20th-century philosophy]] |name = Richard Sylvan |birth_name = Francis Richard Routley |birth_date = {{birth date|1935|12|13|df=y}} |birth_place= [[Levin, New Zealand|Levin]], New Zealand |death_date = {{death date and age|1996|6|16|1935|12|13|df=y}} |death_place = [[Bali]], Indonesia<ref name=obit>[https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/sylvan-richard-1393 Obituary – Richard Sylvan – Obituaries Australia]</ref><ref>[https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/ajl/article/view/4854 "Introduction: Approaching Sylvan and this Collection of Essays"]. ''Australasian Journal of Logic''.</ref> |education = [[Victoria University College]], [[University of New Zealand]] (M.A., 1957)<ref name=SEP>{{Sep entry|sylvan-routley|Richard Sylvan [Routley]|Dominic Hyde}}</ref><br>[[Princeton University]] (M.A., 1961;<ref>Eckert 2018, p, xvi.</ref> PhD, 1980)<ref name=SEP/> |thesis1_title = Moral Scepticism |thesis1_url = |thesis1_year = 1957 |thesis2_title = Exploring Meinong's Jungle and Beyond: An Investigation of Noneism and the Theory of Items – Chapter 1 |thesis2_url = https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/handle/11375/14805 |thesis2_year = 1980 |academic_advisors = [[George Edward Hughes]],<ref name=SEP/> [[Arthur Prior]] (1957 M.A. thesis advisor)<ref name=SEP/> |doctoral_students = [[Nicholas Griffin (philosopher)|Nicholas Griffin]] |institutions = [[Australian National University]] |school_tradition = [[Analytic philosophy]]<br>[[Noneism]]<br>[[Environmental philosophy]]<ref name=SEP/> |main_interests = [[Logic]], [[metaphysics]], [[environmental philosophy]],<ref name=SEP/> [[environmental ethics]]<ref name=SEP/> |notable_ideas = [[Noneism]] (theory of [[Non-existent object|items]]), [[dual property strategy]], [[relevance logic]], [[deep ecology]] |spouse = [[Val Plumwood]]<br>Louise Mirlin }} '''Richard Sylvan''' (13 December 1935 – 16 June 1996) was a New Zealand–born [[philosopher]], [[logician]], and [[environmentalist]].
== Biography == Sylvan was born '''Francis Richard Routley''' in [[Levin, New Zealand|Levin]], New Zealand, and his early work is cited with this surname. He studied at Victoria University College of the [[University of New Zealand]] (now [[Victoria University of Wellington]]), and then [[Princeton University]], before taking positions successively at several Australian institutions, including the [[University of Sydney]]. From 1971 until his death in [[Bali]], Indonesia, he was a fellow at the Research School of Social Sciences (RSSS) at the [[Australian National University]] in [[Canberra]].{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}
Sylvan was married to the philosopher/environmentalist [[Val Plumwood|Val Routley]] (later, Val Plumwood), with whom he worked closely for twenty years before their separation in 1982.<ref>Hyde, Dominic (2014). ''Eco-Logical Lives. The Philosophical Lives of Richard Routley/Sylvan and Val Routley/Plumwood''. Cambridge: White Horse Press.</ref> After his divorce from Plumwood, he married Louise Sylvan (née Mirlin) in 1983 and adopted the last name ''Sylvan'' (an English word meaning "of the forest") to reflect his love of the forest and commitment to [[environmentalism]].{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}
He died on 16 June 1996 of a [[massive heart attack]].<ref name=obit/>
== Work in logic and metaphysics == Sylvan was instrumental in the development and study of [[relevance logic]]. In 1972, Sylvan (in a paper co-authored with Plumwood) proposed semantics for certain relevant logics that had been developed by American philosophers [[Nuel Belnap]] and [[Alan Ross Anderson]].<ref>Routley, R. and V. Routley (1972). "Semantics of First Degree Entailment", ''Noûs'', 3: 335–359.</ref> Together with Robert K. Meyer, Routley turned this into semantics for a large number of logical systems.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}
Their work in logic work helped make ANU a center for the study of [[non-classical logic]] in general. Routley's work had a particular influence on [[Graham Priest]], a well-known proponent of non-classical logic; Sylvan and Priest edited a well-regarded volume on the topic.<ref>Priest, G., Routley, R., and Norman, J. (eds.) (1989). ''Paraconsistent Logic: Essays on the Inconsistent'', München: Philosophia Verlag.</ref> Priest in turn influenced Sylvan; they met in 1976 at the Australasian Association of Logic conference in Canberra at a time when Sylvan was doing novel work on [[dialetheism]], the view that some contradictions are true.<ref>See Routley, Richard and Meyer, Robert K. (1976), "Dialectical Logic, Classical Logic and the Consistency of the World", ''Studies in Soviet Thought'' 16: 1–25.</ref> Not long after meeting Priest, and then investigating a logic capable of handling such true contradictions, Sylvan also endorsed the view.<ref>Routley, Richard (1979), "Dialectical Logic, Semantics and Metamathematics", ''Erkenntnis'' 14: 301–331.</ref>
Sylvan's studies ranged over a variety of topics in [[logic]] and the [[philosophy of logic]]. He wrote important papers on [[free logic]], general [[modal logic]],<ref>"Existence and identity in quantified modal logics," ''Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic'' 10: 113–149 (1969)</ref> and [[natural deduction]] systems.<ref>"A simple natural deduction system," ''Logique et Analyse'' 12: 129–152 (1969)</ref> However, much of his most important work in logic was dedicated to relevant logic, for which he authored numerous papers (both technical and expository).
From early in his career (and for many years after), Sylvan defended a sophisticated [[Alexius Meinong|Meinong]]-inspired ontology (which he called "[[noneism]]"), first presented in his 1966 paper, "Some Things Do Not Exist."<ref>Routley, Richard (1966): "Some Things Do Not Exist". ''Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic'' 7, 251–276.</ref> After several more papers in the 1970s, the theory was given a book-length treatment in 1980, ''Exploring Meinong's Jungle and Beyond''.<ref>Routley, Richard (1982). ''Exploring Meinong's Jungle and Beyond''. Ridgeview Pub Co.</ref> The view—also defended in recent years by Priest<ref>Priest, Graham (2005). ''Towards Non-Being. The Logic and Metaphysics of Intentionality''. Oxford: Clarendon.</ref>—utilizes a [[modal logic|modal theory]] including "impossible worlds" to deal with supposed objects, like the "round square." Sylvan's formulation is logically consistent, and avoids certain paradoxes associated with Meinong's original ontology; although, like many Meinongian views, it faces criticism due to its presumed ontological implausibility.<ref>Maria Reicher, [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nonexistent-objects/ "Nonexistent Objects"], The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2006), Edward N. Zalta (ed.),</ref><ref>Hyde, Dominic (2001), 'Richard (Routley) Sylvan: Writings on Logic and Metaphysics', ''History and Philosophy of Logic'' 22: 181–205.</ref>
==Environmental ethics and politics== Outside of logic and metaphysics, Sylvan was a proponent of so-called [[Deep ecology|deep]] [[environmental ethics]] in the study of environmental ethics (following shallow/deep distinction formulated by [[Arne Næss]]). In his important 1973 paper "Is There a Need for a New, an Environmental, Ethic?",<ref>Routley, Richard (1973), "Is There a Need for a New, an Environmental, Ethic?", Proceedings of the XVth World Congress of Philosophy, Varna, 1: 205–10. Reprinted in ''Environmental Philosophy: from Animal Rights to Radical Ecology'' (ed. M. Zimmerman et al.), Prentice Hall: New Jersey, 1993, pp.12-21.</ref> he defended a then-unorthodox account of the intrinsic value of the non-human, natural world. For this he was sometimes considered a defender of [[deep ecology]], but he was in fact very critical of much of the domain.<ref>Sylvan, Richard (1985), "A Critique of Deep Ecology", Discussion Papers in Environmental Philosophy #12, Department of Philosophy, Research School of the Social Sciences, Australian National University: Canberra, 60 pages. Also in serialised form: 'A Critique of Deep Ecology, Part I', Radical Philosophy 40 (1985): 2-12; and 'A Critique of Deep Ecology, Part II', Radical Philosophy 41 (1985): 10–22. Reprinted in M. Redelift and G. Woodgate (eds), ''The Sociology of the Environment'', Edward Elgar: London, 1994.</ref> Further, Sylvan spoke of supporting "regulated markets without capitalism."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://home.ca.inter.net/~greenweb/GW72-Path.html|title=My Path to Left Biocentrism: Part V - Deep Ecology and Anarchism|accessdate=October 20, 2021|author=Orton, David|work=Green Web}}</ref>
Beginning in the 1970s, Sylvan published several other notable articles and books on environmental ethics and issues,<ref>Beginning with: Routley, R., 1973. "Is there a need for a new, an environmental ethic?” Proceedings of the 15th World congress of Philosophy, vol. 1 pp. 205–10, Sophia: Sophia Press; and Routley, R. and Routley, V. (1973), "The Fight for the Forests: the Takeover of Australian Forests for Pines, Wood Chips and Intensive Forestry", Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra. Subsequently: Routley, Richard and Routley, Val (1979), "Against the Inevitability of Human Chauvinism" in K.E. Goodpaster and K.M. Sayre (eds), ''Ethics and the Problems of the 21st Century'', Notre Dame University Press: South Bend, Indiana; Routley, R. and V. (1980), "Human Chauvinism and Environmental Ethics" in D. Mannison, M. McRobbie and R. Routley (eds), ''Environmental Philosophy'', Department of Philosophy Monograph Series #2, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University, pp. 96-189; Routley, R. and Routley, V. (1980), "Destructive Forestry in Melanesia and Australia", The Ecologist 10: 56–67; Routley, R. and Routley, V. (1985), "An Expensive Repair-Kit for Utilitarianism", Discussion Papers in Environmental Philosophy #7, Department of Philosophy, Research School of the Social Sciences, Australian National University: Canberra, pp. 21-55; and Sylvan, R. (1994), "Mucking With Nature" in ''Against the Main Stream: Critical Environmental Essayes, Discussion Papers in Environmental Philosophy'' {{sic}} #20, Department of Philosophy, Research School of the Social Sciences, Australian National University: Canberra.</ref> and he co-authored the 1994 book ''The Greening of Ethics'' with David Bennett.<ref>Sylvan, Richard, Bennett, David, 1994. ''The Greening of Ethics'', Cambridge: White Horse Press.</ref> From his work in environmental ethics, Sylvan took an interest in [[anarchism]], contributing an often-cited entry on the subject to ''A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy''.<ref>Sylvan, Richard (1995). "Anarchism". in Goodwin, Robert E. and Pettit. ''A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy''. Philip. Blackwell Publishing. p. 231.</ref>
Over 170 boxes of Sylvan's papers can be accessed from the Fryer Library collection of The [[University of Queensland]] Library.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Richard Sylvan Papers - Fryer Manuscripts|url=https://manuscripts.library.uq.edu.au/index.php/uqfl291|access-date=2021-05-07|website=manuscripts.library.uq.edu.au}}</ref>
==Works== * 1980, [https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/handle/11375/14805 ''Exploring Meinong's Jungle and Beyond: An Investigation of Noneism and the Theory of Items''], Department of Philosophy Monograph Series #3, Canberra: Australian National University. ** Revised edition in 4 volumes: ** Eckert, M. (ed.), 2018, ''Exploring Meinong's Jungle and Beyond'' (''The Sylvan Jungle'': Volume 1), with Introduction by Dominic Hyde, Cham: Springer. ** Hyde, D. (ed.), 2019, ''Noneist Explorations I'' (''The Sylvan Jungle'': Volume 2), Cham: Springer. ** Hyde, D. (ed.), 2020, ''Noneist Explorations II'' (''The Sylvan Jungle'': Volume 3), Cham: Springer. ** Weber, Z. (ed.), 2019, ''Ultralogic as Universal?'' (''The Sylvan Jungle'': Volume 4), Cham: Springer.
== See also == * [[Anarchism in Australia]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{SEP|sylvan-routley|Richard Sylvan [Routley]|Dominic Hyde, Filippo Casati, Zach Weber}} * {{cite web|url=https://www.ontology.co/sylvanr.htm|title=Richard Sylvan on Nonexistent Objects|author=Raul Corazzon}} with an annotated bibliography of the logical writings * {{cite web|url=https://digitalcollections.mcmaster.ca/list-richard-sylvan039s-works-environmental-philosophy-and-ethics|title=List of Richard Sylvan's Works on Environmental Philosophy and Ethics}} * {{cite web|url=https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/handle/11375/14487|title=Sylvan's Works on Environmental Philosophy and Ethics|year=1994 |last1=Sylvan |first1=Richard }} Ten essays available for download * {{cite web|url=https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/ajl/issue/view/568|title=The Australasian Journal of Logic, Vol. 15 No. 2 (2018): Special Issue: The Philosophy of Richard Sylvan}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sylvan, Richard}} [[Category:1935 births]] [[Category:1996 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century Australian philosophers]] [[Category:Abstract object theory]] [[Category:Australian anarchists]] [[Category:Australian anti-capitalists]] [[Category:Environmental ethicists]] [[Category:Green anarchists]] [[Category:New Zealand logicians]] [[Category:People from Levin, New Zealand]] [[Category:Princeton University alumni]]