Hilary Putnam

By korapowers

  • Birth

    Birth
    Born in Chicago, Illinois.

  • Unsolved Problems

    Unsolved Problems
    At Putman's time at Princeton, he established enough proof to show that one of the 23 unsolved problems in mathematics was unsolvable. This being one of the many things he attributed to during his profession.

  • Philosophy of Mind

    Philosophy of Mind
    Putnam introduced the doctrine of functionalism; it is the attempt to define mental states in terms of their functional roles relative to other mental states or behaviors. The doctrine is seen to not be defined by what makes up the organism, but by how the organism functions. An intriguing way to put it.

  • Realism

    Realism
    Putnam's view on realism, ordinarily, assertions are objectively true or false. Him also being a realist, continued to distinguish between belief and knowledge, convention, dogma, and superstition. His views alone are a driving factor in discoveries with the help of objectivity. Despite these views, when you break down certain theories, specifically paradigms. You cannot compare two different paradigms therefore not being able to use the belief of reality.

  • Varieties

    Varieties
    Putnam brings in the idea of "internal realism" compared to "metaphysical realism" based on his continuation of different versions of realism. He uses different variants of which he called them "commonsense realism" or "realism" compared to "Realism". His different versions, his ideas lead to the thoughts and understandings of what essential points figuring out the literal truth meant. Others looked to his views as unstable and collapsing into other variants of realism compared to "internal."

  • A few Published Works

    A few Published Works
    The Many Faces of Realism :
    Putnam, H. (1995). The Many Faces of Realism. Open Court.
    Mind, Language, and Reality :
    Putnam, H. (2003). Mind, language and Reality. Cambridge University Press.
    Reason, Truth, and History :
    Putnam, H. (2010). Reason, truth and history. Cambridge Univ. Press.

  • Death

    Death
    Died at his home in Arlington, Massachusetts.

  • Britanica

    Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Varieties of realism. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 30, 2023, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hilary-Putnam/Varieties-of-realism