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Hilary Putnam's Background
Hilary Whitehall Putnam was born on July 31, 1926 in Chicago Illinois to his father, Samuel Putnam (a radicalized column writer for the American Communist Party) and his mother, Riva Putnam (who ironically, was Jewish). Due to Hilary Putnam's parental duality, he had a secular upbringing, and was not religious for the majority of his life, but later began to practice Judaism in his 60's. -
Putnam's Education
Putnam received his undergrad from the University of Pennsylvania and went on to pursue his graduate degree from Harvard and got finished up his PhD from UCLA in 1961. -
Putnam's Contribution to Philosophy
Putnam's achieved recognition for his aggressive approach towards philosophy. His philosophical approach was alluded to as semantic externalism, meaning that findings are not objective and are tangible and measurable. Putnam applied his thinking in the fields of Mathematics and Science as well. His thinking also led to the way the viewed religion. Putnam went on to be a political and anti-war activist in the 1960s-1970s as well. -
Hilary Putnam's Legacy
Putnam went on to be one of the most influential philosopher's and published an astounding 24 books and 300 articles. Many philosopher's took after his thinking style and his techniques are still implemented in modern philosophy. Putnam eventually died on March 16, 2016 in his home in Arlington, Massachusetts.