David Savan (1916 – 1992) was an eminent semiotician and Charles Sanders Peirce scholar. His works were focused on epistemological questions and Baruch Spinoza's philosophy of language.[1]
He was a Professor in the University of Toronto, Philosophy Department, 1943–1981. When he joined the faculty, Savan was immediately noted for evaluating George Sidney Brett's fourth-year modern philosophy course.[2]
He was the first recipient of the Thomas A. Sebeok fellowship.[3]
Savan has influenced several modern philosophers. These include Jean Fisette and his attempt to understand clinical data that are associated with the pathology of both linguistic and narrative competencies.[4] His positions, however, also have their own critics. For instance, his notion of Ground and his interpretation of sign as a single concept have been challenged by T.L. Short.[5]