Hilary putnam

Hilary Putnam (Jul 31, 1926 - Mar 13, 2016)

By Bianca.Ek

  • Born

    Born in Chicago, IL to Samuel and Riva Putnam. Raised a communist until 1956. Here is a fun educational video from an interview with Putnam himself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN7PUy8ZrQE Sources:
    O'Grady, Jane. "Hilary Putnam obituary
    Philosopher who revolutionised the philosophy of mind." The Guardian, March 14, 2016. www.theguardian.com/books/2016/mar/14/hilary-putnam-obituary
  • Obtained PhD

    Obtained PhD

    He got a PhD after accomplishing a degree in mathematics and philosophy. He also wrote a dissertation this year on the concept of probability.
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    Worked at Northwestern University

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    Worked at Princeton University

    While working at Princeton, he began to work on one of the unsolved problems in mathematics: "that of finding a general algorithm for solving Diophantine equations (polynomial equations, named after Diophantus of Alexandria, involving only integer constants and allowing only integer solutions) (Ben-Menahem, 2010)."
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    Worked at MIT

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    Worked at Harvard

    He worked at Harvard Until he retired.
  • "The Meaning of 'Meaning'"

    "The Meaning of 'Meaning'"

    In this work, he proposed meanings are not necessarily internal constructs within a human concept, but they are the actual, external truth or reality.
  • "Philosophy and our Mental Life"

    "Philosophy and our Mental Life"

    Here, he compared how function and structure are separate. He explained this by comparing brains to computers - brain was hardware and mind was software.
  • Metaphyiscal vs Internal Realism

    Metaphyiscal vs Internal Realism

    Putnam proposed that the scientific community adopt Internal Realism instead of Metaphysical Realism: Metaphysical Realism - The structure of the world does not coincide with our thoughts or perceptions of it. Internal Realism - The structure of the world is objective. One scenario can be described multiple ways.
  • "Brains in a Vat"

    "Brains in a Vat"

    Putnam makes a bold claim to say that sentient beings are connected. We are all just programmed together.
  • Reason, Truth, and History

    Reason, Truth, and History

    Putnam tries to break down the fixed categories in people's minds in this book, attempting to "free" their minds to "think outside the box."
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    His Later Works

    Towards the end of his life, he published multiple books, which portrayed his strong will for philosophy to begin its traditional guiding and inspiring role again.
    -Realism with a Human Face (1990)
    -Words and Life (1994)
    -Ethics without Ontology (2004)
    -Jewish Philosophy as a Guide to Life: Rosenzweig, Buber, Levinas, Wittgenstein (2008)
    -Philosophy in the Age of Science: Physics, Mathematics, and Skepticism (2012)

  • Died

    Works Cited:
    Ben-Menahem, Yemima. “Philosophy of Mind.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2010, www.britannica.com/biography/Hilary-Putnam/Philosophy-of-mind. Khlentzos, Drew. "Challenges to Metaphysical Realism." The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2021, https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2021/entries/realism-sem-challenge/