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Life
Hilary was born in Chicago of his father Samuel and mother Rivanee. -
Graduates Undergraduate
Hilary graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in philosophy and mathematics. His passion for philosophy and mathematics pushed him on to PHDs in philosophy. Source: “Hilary Putnam Obituary.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 14 Mar. 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/mar/14/hilary-putnam-obituary. -
PhD's in philosophy.
Putnum went on to Harvard University and finally finished his PHD at UCLA. His dissertation on the concept of probability. Reference: “Hilary Putnam.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hilary-Putnam. -
Publishes "Philosophy and Our Mental Life"
Putnam introduced the doctrine known as functionalism which defines mental states by their function. This fundamentally changed how we define or observe things based on our mental state. How we observe, expect to observe, or previously observed defines our current observation framework. Reference:“Hilary Putnam.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hilary-Putnam. -
Published "The Meaning of 'Meaning'"
Putnam further explained that a frame of reference can make something referred to by 2 people as the same thing actually be different. This was important because it established connection, perception, or interaction is required to describe or perceive a thing.
Reference: Weber, Bruce. “Hilary Putnam, Giant of Modern Philosophy, Dies at 89.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Mar. 2016, (https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/18/arts/hilary-putnam-giant-of-modern-philosophy-dies-at-89.html. -
Published "Representation and Reality
In this paper he argued that the computers type mental state might be the right state of mind. This idea contradicted his previous idea of functionalism which earned him some criticism. He continued refining his ideas until 2000 when he retired.
Source:Weber, Bruce. “Hilary Putnam, Giant of Modern Philosophy, Dies at 89.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Mar. 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/18/arts/hilary-putnam-giant-of-modern-philosophy-dies-at-89.html.