Reading Putnam

Hilary Putnam is one of the worldâs leading philosophers. His highly original and often provocative ideas have set the agenda for a variety of debates in philosophy of science philosophy of mind and philosophy of language. His now famous philosophical thought experiments such as the âTwin earthâ and âthe brains in the vatâ have become part of the established canon in philosophy and cognitive science. Reading Putnam is an outstanding overview and assessment of Hilary Putnamâs work by a team of international contributors and includes replies by Putnam himself. Divided into clear sections it contains chapters on key aspects of Putnamâs large body of writing including: Scientific realism and the changes that Putnamâs thought has undergone on this topic analyticity and ontology including the important interconnections between the views of Putnam and Quine Putnamâs arguments concerning externalist views of meaning and reference questions of conceptual relativity and his preoccupation with ethics through a denial of the factâvalue dichotomy Putnamâs developing views on perception. Offering an excellent survey of Putnamâs work Reading Putnam is essential for those studying philosophy of mind philosophy of language and philosophy of science as well as for anyone interested in contemporary philosophy. . Language: English