Hilary Putnam

  • Hilary Putnam: Birth

    Hilary Putnam: Birth
    Birth: July 31, 1926 Source: Weber, Bruce. “Hilary Putnam, Giant of Modern Philosophy, Dies at 89.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Mar. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/03/18/arts/hilary-putnam-giant-of-modern-philosophy-dies-at-89.html.
  • Dissertation on Probability Published

    Studying under Hans Reichenbach, Putnam wrote a dissertation on the idea of probability. He promptly earned his Ph.D
  • Publishing: Minds and Machines

    Publishing: Minds and Machines
  • Period: to

    Teaching Philopsophy

    During the time after he achieved his Ph.D, he taught Philosophy at a number of colleges, including Northwestern University, Princeton University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He then retired from teaching in the Philosophy department at Harvard in 2000.
  • Publishing: The Meaning of Meaning

    Publishing: The Meaning of Meaning
    In this paper, Putnam dubbed the term "functionalism" where he connected human mental states to be intertwined with realizations of internal status. This paper contributed widely to the philosophical community, and his idea of functionalism became adopted and widely maintained throughout history. Source: Putnam, Hilary. “The Meaning of ‘Meaning.’” The Meaning of “Meaning,” University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1 Jan. 1975, conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/185225.
  • Publishing: Realism with a Human Face

    In this publishing, Putnam contradicts and elaborates on some of his earlier works. He was widely known for changing his mind and published multiple books on this topic.
    Source: Putnam, Hilary. “Realism with a Human Face.” University of Chicago, humstatic.uchicago.edu/philosophy/conant/Conant%20Realism%20with%20a%20Human%20Face%20Introduction%20Pt%201.pdf.
  • Youtube Video:

    This youtube video is a short clip of Hilary Putnam discussing one of his most popular and widespread ideas of functionalism in one of his books. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0bky2ep_lI
  • Death