Hilary Whitehall Putnam (Born July 31, 1926 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. - Died March 13, 2016 (aged 89) Arlington, Massachusetts, U.S.)
By Georgia9517
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Hilary Whitehall Putnam
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A Philosopher Looks at Quantum Mechanics
Putnam presents "A Philosopher Looks at Quantum Mechanics." Putnam explains why the interpretation of quantum mechanics is a philosophical problem in detail, but with only the necessary minimum of technicalities, hoping to make the difficulties intelligible to as wide an audience as possible. Hilary Putnam - 2005 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 56 (4):615-634. -
Multiple Realizability
Hilary Putnam used multiple realizability to present an argument against type-identity theory. The contention is that information about the brain is of little or no relevance to understanding mental processes. -
Pragmatism as a Way of Life
Hilary Putnam and his wife, Ruth Anna Putnam, present their essays on pragmatism. Putnam sees pragmatism as a means to thinking about the world, "in ways that are relevant to the real problems of real human beings." https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/pragmatism-as-a-way-of-life-the-lasting-legacy-of-william-james-and-john-dewey/ -
Philosophy of Logic
In 1971, Putnam produces his book Philosophy of Logic. Putnam thinks that logic is empirical in the sense that logical theory could turn out to be false for empirical reasons.
https://youtu.be/UGKeBinnICo?si=U9jhoi1YsUNpyyhd -
Semantic externalism
Putnam presents his 1975 paper "The Meaning of 'Meaning'". The claim that terms' meanings are determined by factors outside the mind, is encapsulated in his slogan that "meaning just ain't in the head". According to Putnam, words do not solely get their meaning from images or descriptions that individual speakers associate with those words in their minds, but they are actually from the causal links and contacts we have with the external world.