Hilary Putnam 1926-2016

  • Epistemology 1960s

    "Brain in a vat" experiment, arguing that skeptical scenarios are impossible.
  • Multiple Relizability 1960s

    The theory that the same mental state, property, state, or event can be implemented by different physical properties, states, or events
  • Philosophy of Mathematics 1971

    "Quantification over mathematical entities is indispensable for science, both formal and physical; therefore we should accept such quantification; but this commits us to accepting the existence of the mathematical entities in question
  • Semantic Externalism 1973

    "Meaning just ain't in the head." The claim that terms meanings are determined by factors outside of the mind.