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Hilary Putnam TherichnessofHilaryPutnam’sphilosophicaloeuvreconsistsnotonlyinthe broadspectrumofproblemsaddressedbutalsointhetransformationsandre- structuringhispositionshaveundergoneovertheyears.Theessayscollected inthisvolumearesensitivetoboththesedimensions.TheydiscussPutnam’s majorphilosophicalcontributionstothetheoryofmeaning,thephilosophyof mind, the philosophy of science and mathematics, and moral theory. But, in addition,tracingthreadsofchangeandcontinuity,theyanalyzethedynamics underlyingtheunfoldingofPutnam’sthought.Thevolumealsoconstitutesa critical introduction to a number of central issues in contemporary philoso- phy,includingquantumlogic,realism,functionalism,the‘mindascomputer’ metaphor,andthefact/valuedichotomy. YemimaBen-MenahemisamemberoftheDepartmentofPhilosophyatthe HebrewUniversityofJerusalem. Contemporary Philosophy in Focus ContemporaryPhilosophyinFocusoffersaseriesofintroductoryvolumes tomanyofthedominantphilosophicalthinkersofthecurrentage.Eachvol- umeconsistsofnewlycommissionedessaysthatcovermajorcontributionsof apreeminentphilosopherinasystematicandaccessiblemanner.Comparable inscopeandrationaletothehighlysuccessfulseriesCambridgeCompanions to Philosophy, the volumes do not presuppose that readers are already inti- matelyfamiliarwiththedetailsofeachphilosopher’swork.Theythuscombine expositionandcriticalanalysisinamannerthatwillappealtostudentsofphi- losophy and to professionals as well as to students across the humanities and socialsciences. forthcoming volumes: PaulChurchlandeditedbyBrianKeeley RonaldDworkineditedbyArthurRipstein JerryFodoreditedbyTimCrane SaulKripkeeditedbyAlanBerger DavidLewiseditedbyTheodoreSiderandDeanZimmermann BernardWilliamseditedbyAlanThomas published volumes: StanleyCavelleditedbyRichardEldridge DonaldDavidsoneditedbyKirkLudwig DanielDennetteditedbyAndrewBrookandDonRoss ThomasKuhneditedbyThomasNickles AlasdairMacIntyreeditedbyMarkMurphy RichardRortyeditedbyCharlesGuignonandDavidHiley JohnSearleeditedbyBarrySmith CharlesTayloreditedbyRuthAbbey Hilary Putnam Edited by YEMIMA BEN-MENAHEM TheHebrewUniversityofJerusalem    Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge  , UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521813112 © Cambridge University Press 2005 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format - ---- eBook (NetLibrary) - --- eBook (NetLibrary) - ---- hardback - --- hardback - ---- paperback - --- paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of s for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Contents List of Contributors page ix Acknowledgments xi 1 Introduction 1 yemimaben-menahem 2 Putnam’s “The Meaning of ‘Meaning’”: Externalism in Historical Context 17 julietfloyd 3 The Face of Perception 53 charlestravis 4 Realism, Beyond Miracles 83 axelmuellerandarthurfine 5 Putnam on Skepticism 125 yemimaben-menahem 6 The Tale of Quantum Logic 156 timmaudlin 7 Another Philosopher Looks at Quantum Mechanics, or What Quantum Theory Is Not 188 nancycartwright 8 Structural Realism and Contextual Individuality 203 johnstachel 9 The Rise and Fall of Computational Functionalism 220 oronshagrir 10 The Pragmatic Turn: The Entanglement of Fact and Value 251 richardj.bernstein Index 267 vii Contributors yemima ben-menahem is a member of the Department of Philosophy at theHebrewUniversityofJerusalem.Inherpublicationsshehasaddressed a range of classic problems in the philosophy of science, including expla- nation, causality, and realism. Her Conventionalism is forthcoming from CambridgeUniversityPress. richardj.bernsteinisVeraListProfessorofPhilosophyanddeanofthe graduatefacultyatNewSchoolUniversityinNewYorkCity.Hehaswritten widely on political theory, American pragmatism, and critical theory. His books include Praxis and Action (1971), Beyond Objectivism and Relativism: Science,HermeneuticsandPraxis(1983),FreudandtheVexedLegacyofMoses (1998),andRadicalEvil:APhilosophicalInterrogation(2002). nancy cartwright is a professor of philosophy in the Department of Philosophy,LondonSchoolofEconomicsandPoliticalScience,andchair of the London School of Economics Centre for Philosophy of Natural andSocialScience.SheisalsoaprofessorofphilosophyattheUniversity ofCalifornia,SanDiego.AmongherbooksareHowtheLawsofPhysicsLie (1983),Nature’sCapacitiesandTheirMeasurement(1989),TheDappledWorld: AStudyoftheBoundariesofScience(1999),andMeasuringCauses:Invariance, ModularityandtheCausalMarkovCondition(2000). arthurfineisaprofessorofphilosophyandadjunctprofessorofphysics attheUniversityofWashington.HehasservedaspresidentofthePhilos- ophy of Science Association and of the Central Division of the American Philosophical Association. His works in the philosophy of science focus, inparticular,onthefoundationsoftwentieth-centuryphysicsandinclude, among others, The Shaky Game: Einstein, Realism and the Quantum Theory (1986;2ded.1996). juliet floyd is an associate professor of philosophy at Boston Univer- sity. She has published on Kant, Wittgenstein, and the philosophy of ix x Contributors mathematics and coedited Future Pasts: Perspectives on the Analytic Tradi- tioninTwentieth-CenturyPhilosophy(2001). tim maudlin is a professor of philosophy at Rutgers University. His two main research areas are metaphysics and the philosophy of physics. The author of Quantum Non-Locality and Relativity (1994), he has two books forthcomingfromOxfordUniversityPress:TruthandParadox:Solvingthe RiddlesandMetaphysicsWithinPhysics. axelmueller,oftheDepartmentofPhilosophyatNorthwesternUniver- sity,worksinpragmatism,thephilosophyoflanguage,andthephilosophyof science.HisReferenzundFallibilismus(2001)isastudyofPutnam’sthought. johnstachelisaprofessoremeritusofphysicsanddirectoroftheCenter forEinsteinStudiesatBostonUniversity.FounderoftheCollectedPapers ofAlbertEinstein,hehaspublishedextensivelyinthehistoryandphiloso- phyoftheoreticalphysics,especiallyonthegeneraltheoryofrelativity.His mostrecentbookisEinsteinfrom‘B’to‘Z’(2002). oronshagririsamemberoftheDepartmentofPhilosophyandchairof theprograminCognitiveScienceattheHebrewUniversityofJerusalem. His areas of expertise include the philosophy of mind, cognitive science, andthehistoryandphilosophyofcomputing.Hisrecentpapershavebeen publishedinMind,Synthese,theMonist,MindsandMachines,andTheoretical ComputerScience. charlestravisisaprofessorofphilosophyatNorthwesternUniversity.He worksinthephilosophyofmindandthephilosophyoflanguage,focusingin particularontheinterpretationofWittgenstein’sphilosophyintheseareas. His books include The Uses of Sense: Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Language (1989),UnshadowedThought(2000),andLesLiaisonsOrdinaires(2002). Acknowledgments Thepaperscollectedherehavenotbeenpublishedbefore.Iwouldliketo thanktheauthorsfortheirresponsivenessandpatienceduringtheeditorial process.IwouldalsoliketothankHilaryPutnam,teacherandfriend,who overtheyearshasbeenasourceofinspirationandencouragement. TerenceMooreofCambridgeUniversityPressinvitedmetoeditthis volumeandprovidedassistancethroughouttheprocess.Hisrecentdeathis agreatlosstothephilosophicalcommunity.Themanyvolumeshebrought intotheworld,however,arealastingtributetohisvision. xi 1 Introduction YEMIMA BEN-MENAHEM In many ways Hilary Putnam’s writings constitute the ideal introduction to his thought. For they are not only lucid and accessible, but also self- reflective,providingnumeroussignpoststohisphilosophicalmotivations, changes of mind and sources of inspiration. Rather than simply ‘intro- ducing’Putnam’sthought,therefore,thepaperscollectedherearemostly interpretative,seeking,inparticular,totracechangesinthebroaderphilo- sophicalenvironmentPutnam’sthoughtwaspartof–changesthatinmany cases were precipitated by his novel ideas – and chart the transformation ofPutnam’sownthinkingagainstthebackgroundofthesedevelopments. IntracingtheevolutionofPutnam’sthought,theyprovideawindowonto the dynamics of the Anglo-American philosophical arena since Putnam’s emergence, in the 1960s, as a leading philosopher. One such transforma- tionisthedemiseoflogicalpositivism,stilldominantinPutnam’sformative years, and a growing interest in Wittgenstein and American pragmatism. A related trend is the shift away from the philosophy of science, which losestheprimacyitenjoyedinthe1950sand1960s,andthecorrespond- ing repositioning of the philosophy of mind, which takes its place. Most significant,perhaps,istheincreasingsalienceoftheethicalperspectivein thewakeofthegrowingdesirethatphilosophyplayamoredirectrolein ourlives. Putnam,whohasalwaysbeenpoliticallyengaged,neverdistancedhim- self from the ethical. Professionally, however, he was educated in analytic philosophyatatimewhenittendedtorelegateethicalandexistentialissues tothesidelines.Ashisthoughtmatured,hebecameincreasinglyeagerto counterthistendency,andhislaterworksbearsuchethicallyorientedtitles asRenewingPhilosophy,RealismwithaHumanFace,WordsandLife. Hilary Putnam was born in Chicago in 1926. At the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his undergraduate degree, Putnam ma- jored,alongwithNoamChomsky,intheemergingfieldoflinguisticanal- ysis.HisgraduatestudiesweredividedbetweenHarvardUniversity,where he studied with Quine, Hao Wang, C. I. Lewis and Morton White, and 1

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Amartya Sen was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 1998 "for his contributions in welfare economics." Although his primary academic appointments have been mostly in economics, Sen is also an important and influential social theorist and philosopher. His work on social choice theory is
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