Timeline 2 - 09JUL23

Putnam's Birth

Jul 31, 1926

Hilary Putnam was born on July 31, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois. He was an only child who eventually became one of the leading philosophers in America. Putnam was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with his father, Samuel Putnam and his mother, Riva Kapuscinska. Throughout his life he was a contributor to metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of the mind and language, and philosophy of science, mathematics, and logic.

Education

1948

Putnam graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in mathematics and philosophy in 1948. He then went on to study at Harvard and later transferred to University of California Los Angeles, where he obtained his PhD in 1951 at 25 years old. At Harvard he studied under philosophers C.I. Lewis, Nelson Goodman, and W.V. Quinel. He then went on to teach at Northwestern University, Princeton University, and MIT until 1965.

Mind and Meaning

1973

Hilary Putnam was known for “Meaning and Reference” 1973 and “ The Meaning of ‘Meaning’” in 1975. In his first paper he addresses the relationship between language, meaning, and reference. In his second paper he used the “Twin Earth Thought Experiment” to explain that meanings are not subjective. This led to him proposing a theory called “semantic externalism/semantic holism”. Putnam argues that the meaning of a term is not just determined based on mental states but external factors as well.

Internal Realism

1976

Hilary Putnam was one of the first to challenge metaphysical realism. He thought that in metaphysical realism meaning and reference were only determined by the mind independent world and that was problematic. In 1976, Putnam created his own theory of internal realism, which stated that our concepts and language are shaped by linguistic practices, current social norms, and conceptual frameworks. He also argued that meaning and reference are subject to change because of the outside world.

Brain in a Vat

1981

In 1981, Hilary Putnam argued against skepticism and created a scenario called “Brian in a Vat”. Skeptics argued that people can not have justified beliefs of the external world because there's a chance they could be deceptive. Putnam argued that with his scenario our beliefs could be the same as those from a brain in a vat. His scenario challenges skeptic claims because it undermines their beliefs.

Hilary Putnam's Death

Mar 13, 2016

Hilary Putnam died on March 13, 2016 in Arlington, Massachusetts at the age of 89 years old. He passed from mesothelioma, which is cancer of the tissue surrounding the lungs and other organs. He was survived by his wife, Ruth, and their four children.

Citations 1

2023

Youtube video explaining "Twin Earth Thought Experiment": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE8NL9G_Fq8 Ben-Menahem, Yemima. Varieties of Realism, www.britannica.com/biography/Hilary-Putnam/Varieties-of-realism. Accessed 6 July 2023. Editor, OUPblog. Hilary Putnam on Mind and Meanings - Philosopher of the Month (January 2020), 10 July 2020, blog.oup.com/2020/01/hilary-putnam-on-mind-and-meanings/.

Citations 2

2023

Ben-Menahem, Yemima. "Hilary Putnam". Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Mar. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hilary-Putnam. Accessed 6 July 2023. Khlentzos, Drew. Challenges to Metaphysical Realism, 25 Jan. 2021, plato.stanford.edu/entries/realism-sem-challenge/. McKinsey, Michael. Skepticism and Content Externalism, 23 May 2018, plato.stanford.edu/entries/skepticism-content-externalism/#:~:text=Hilary%20Putnam%20(1981)%20proposed%20an,and%2Da%2Dvat%20scenario.