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How Life Started
Hilary Putnam was born July 31, 1926 in Chicago, IL to a scholar and Communist (father), and a Jewish woman (mother). Putnam was brought up in a non-religious household, and eventually grew to become one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. -
College Degree
Putnam obtained his Bachelor's degree in philosophy and mathematics from the University of Philadelphia. -
Well-Known Theories
Putnam's theory of semantic externalism and the functionalist theory of our minds was popular in the 1960's and 70's, and is one of the main things he is known for. His theory stated that words do not get their meanings from images or descriptions that each individual persona associates with the word, but rather they obtain meaning from the link we have to the external world. -
View on Meaning
Putnam wrote two articles on his view of the meaning of meaning. The first article, "Meaning and Reference" was published in 1973. -
View on Meaning cont'd
The second article he wrote, "The Meaning of Meaning" was published in 1975. -
Metaphysical Realism
In his book, "Reason, Truth and History," written in 1981, he critiqued metaphysical realism and "argued that the structure and descriptions of the world are functions of the human mind and grounded in human purposes" (OUP Philosophy Team, 2020). -
Death
Hilary Putnam died at the age of 89 on March 13th, 2016. -
Who was Hilary Putnam