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Hilary was born
He was born in Chicago, Illinois. Samuel and Riva Putnam were his parents and he was their only child.
He ended up becoming a leading American philosopher who made many contributions to many different areas of study but he is best known for his semantic externalism. -
Hilary obtained his Ph.D.
He earned his Ph.D. from UCLA. He studied mathematics and philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania and attended graduate school at Harvard University and UCLA. -
Hilary and the unsolvable problems
Hilary, Martin Davis, and Julia Robinson came up with the basis for a proof that the problem is unsolvable when they were working on the 23 unsolved problems in mathematics identified by David Hilbert. David Hilbert identified these problems in 1900. -
Hilary writes “The Meaning of ‘Meaning’ ”
He wrote about meanings as being anchored in external reality. His idea was known as semantic externalism and supported realism. "Semantic externalism is the view that the meaning of a term is determined, in whole or in part, by factors external to the speaker." -
Hilary writes “Philosophy and Our Mental Life”
Hilary introduced functionalism in “Philosophy and Our Mental Life". Functionalism defines mental states in terms of their roles. Hilary invented functionalism and the idea goes back to Aristotle. He thought that brains were like computers.
https://youtu.be/FJR04FsNjXU -
Hilary's teaching career change.
He taught philosophy at Northwestern University, Princeton University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but quit in 1976 and started working at the philosophy department at Harvard. -
Hilary retired
He retired from Harvard University. -
Hilary passed away
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References
Ben-Menahem, Yemima. “Hilary Putnam.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 27 July 2020, Ben-Menahem, Yemima. “Philosophy of Mind.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 27 July 2020, www.britannica.com/biography/Hilary-Putnam/Philosophy-of-mind.