Sep 12, 2006 putnam begins the nature of mental states by agreeing with a lot of claims that we saw smart making. In the nature of mental states, putnam advances the hypothesis that pain, or the state of being in pain, is a functional state of a whole organism 1967b. Throughout the article, putnam goes on to argue that to claim pain as a brain st. Week 4 functionalism seminar reading hilary putnam the. The nature of mental states hilary putnam criticizes the identity theory, which identifies mental states with brain states. Putnam compared mental states to the functional or logical states of a computer. Mar 2 psychophysical and theoretical identifications david lewis, pp.
Bibliography of the writings of hilary putnam this bibliography lists books and then shorter writings, in chronological order of their first publication. Indeed, identity theorists have argued that all mental states are merely brain states. My anthology of articles in the philosophy of mind, philosophy of mind. Hilary putnam philosophy and our mental life english. Mar 09, 2020 hilary putnam, leading american philosopher who made major contributions to metaphysics, epistemology, the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of language, the philosophy of science, the philosophy of mathematics, and the philosophy of logic. Hilary putnam, who may have been the first philosopher to advance the notion that the computer is an apt model for the mind, takes a radically new view of his own theory of functionalism in this book. Type chapter authors hilary putnam is part of book title mind, language and reality. Putnam agrees with smart that it is coherent to think of the identification of pains and other mental states with brain states as the same kind of claim as other theoretical identifications in science, and agrees further that the fact that one can know that one is in pain without knowing. Hilary putnam, the nature of mental states in chalmers additional reading. Functionalism is a viewpoint of the theory of the mind not to be confused with the psychological notion of ones theory of mind. While hilary putnam s work on theories of meaning, semantic content, the nature of mental phenomena, interpretations of quantum mechanics, theorychange, logic, and mathematics is crucial to recent and future developments in philosophy, the scope and volume of his writings and his radical rethinking of concepts make it challenging to portray his philosophy accurately. Philosophical papers edited by hilary putnam november 1975.
The premise putnam offers is also an identity theory in a sense in that it distinguishes mental states from functional states of the system or organism. On mind, meaning and reality interview by josh harlan hrp. Hilary putnam the nature of mental states 1967 why isnt. Hilary putnams theory of nature of mental states a 3 page paper discussing philosopher hillary putnams theory of the nature of mental states. He goes on to propose a functional state theory of pain as a superior. Phl100y1 the nature of mental states the nature of mental.
Microsoft word hilary putnam philosophy and our mental life english. Find materials for this course in the pages linked along the left. Hilary putnam psychological predicates university of. Hilary putnam, the nature of mental states philpapers. Full text of putnam, hilary reason, truth and history.
Meaning and reference hilary putnam the journal of. July 31, 1926 march, 2016 was an american philosopher, mathematician, and computer scientist, and a major figure in analytic philosophy in the second half of the 20th century. The nature of mental states professor jeeloo liu the goal. What type of state is pain instead according to putnam in his paper the nature of mental states from 1967 hilary putnam proposes an hypothesis regarding. Multiple realizability stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Hilary putnam psychological predicates university of warwick. Feb 23 the nature of mental states hilary putnam, pp. Functional state identity theory the nature of mental states hilary putnam the typical concerns of the philoso pher of mind might be represented by three questions. Phl100y1 the nature of mental states the nature of. Chapters of books are accompanied by a year of first publication. Hilary putnam, mind, language, and reality philpapers.
Full text of putnam, hilary reason, truth and history see other formats. This is a comprehensive collection that can be used in university courses at all levels introductory, advanced undergraduate, graduate. Hilary putnam, the nature of mental states, originally published as psychological predicates, in w. He is best known for his semantic externalism, according. I do not wish to discuss questions 1 and 3 in this chapter. In hilary putnam s, the nature of mental states, he deals with the question of whether or not pain is a brain state or is the property of having a pain at time t a brain state. In the nature of mental states, putnam advances the hypothesis that pain, or.
Chapters of books are accompanied by a year of first. Bibliography of the writings of hilary putnam compiled and edited by john r. Putnam argues that this question is not an identity claim arising from empirical reduction. The nature of mental states chapter 21 philosophical papers.
The nature of mental states hilary putnam the typical concerns of the philoso pher of mind might be represented by three questions. Hilary putnam, the philosopher of science who didnt mind. Aug 01, 1988 putnam argues that in fact the computational analogy cannot answer the important questions about the nature of such mental states as belief, reasoning, rationality, and hilary putnam, who may have been the first philosopher to advance the notion that the computer is an apt model for the mind, takes a radically new view of his own theory of. Two senses of psychological state putnam distinguishes two different ways of thinking about psychological states. Edited by hilary putnam, harvard university, massachusetts.
In that case the moral of putnam s basic thought for the nature of the mental might be, to put it in his terms, that the mind the locus of our manipulations of meanings is not in the head either. Here we discuss functionalism, whereby mental states are individuated. The nature of mental states chapter 21 philosophical. Putnam argues that these two assumptions cannot be jointly satisfied, and that therefore the traditional concept of meaning is a concept which rests on a false theory p. Putnam compared mental states to the functional or logical states of a. Hilary putnam putnam argues that in fact the computational or functionalist analogy cannot answer the important questions about the nature of such mental states as belief, reasoning, rationality, and knowledge that lie at the heart of the philosophy of mind.
We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. The nature of mental states oxford brookes reading lists. It states that mental states beliefs, desires, being in pain, etc. An analysis of the nature of mental states by hilary putnam. Pdf on aug 1, 2015, hilary putnam and others published mind, body and world in the philosophy of hilary putnam find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Like all branches of philosophy, philosophy of mind is the dis. Putnam begins the nature of mental states by agreeing with a lot of claims that we saw smart making. In that case the moral of putnams basic thought for the nature of the mental might be, to put it in his terms, that the mind the locus of our manipulations of meanings. Putnam argues that in fact the computational analogy cannot answer the important questions about the nature of such mental states as belief, reasoning, rationality, and knowledge that lie at the heart of the philosophy of mind. Meaning and reference hilary putnam the journal of philosophy. Meaning and reference hilary putnam the journal of philosophy, vol. According to functionalists, mental states are identified by what they do rather than by what they are made of.
In hilary putnams, the nature of mental states, he deals with the question of whether or not pain is a brain state or is the property of having a pain at time t a brain state. Professor hilary putnam has been one of the most influential and sharply original of recent american philosophers in a whole range of fields. On hilary putnams the nature of mental states the world is on. What are the ultimate goals of the philosophy of mind. While hilary putnams work on theories of meaning, semantic content, the nature of mental phenomena, interpretations of quantum mechanics, theorychange, logic, and mathematics is crucial to recent and future developments in philosophy, the scope and volume of his writings and his radical rethinking of concepts make it challenging to portray his philosophy accurately. Hilary putnam is part of book title mind, language and. Chapter 10 the nature of mental states hilary putnam. Putnam thinks this is almost certainly false, because in order for all mental states to be brain states, the entire physicalchemical structure of all organisms who experience. Hilary putnam, the nature of mental states 391 daniel dennett, the intentional stance and why it works 397 jerry fodor, three cheers for propositional attitudes 409 thomas nagel, what is it like to be a bat. According to putnams machine state functionalism, any creature with a mind. What distinguishes the philosophy of mind from such fields as neuroscience, cognitive science, and psychology. The multiple realizability thesis about the mental is that a given psychological kind like pain can be realized by many distinct physical kinds. The typical concerns of the philosopher of mind might be represented by three questions. The collapse of the factvalue dichotomy and other essays.
Philosophy of mind is concerned with fundamental issues about the relation between mind and body and mind and world, and with the nature of the diverse variety of. Classical and contemporary readings was published by oxford university press in 2002. A contemporary introduction third edition, routledge, 20, ch. Putnams work on theories of meaning, semantic content, the nature of mental. Hilary putnam, leading american philosopher who made major contributions to metaphysics, epistemology, the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of language, the philosophy of science, the philosophy of mathematics, and the philosophy of logic. Introduction 1 language and philosophy 2 the analytic and synthetic 3 do true assertions correspond to reality. Phenomenal properties, psychophysical laws and the identity theory. Readings minds and machines linguistics and philosophy. Functionalism is the most familiar or received view among philosophers of mind and cognitive science. His most important published work is collected here, together with several new and substantial studies, in two volumes. He was wellgrounded in physics and mathematics but strongly resisted the dominance of. To set a reading intention, click through to any list item, and look for the panel on the left hand side. Putnam argues that in fact the computational analogy cannot answer the important questions about the nature of such mental states as belief, reasoning, rationality, and hilary putnam, who may have been the first philosopher to advance the notion that the computer is an apt model for the mind, takes a radically new view of his own theory of.
Putnam on identity theory university of notre dame. Printed in the united states of america library of congress cataloginginpublication data putnam, hilary the collapse of the fact value dichotomy and other essays hilary putnam. The typical concerns of the philoso a statement of the form. The nature of mental states hilary putnam the typical concerns of the philosopher of mind might be represented by three questions. Hilary putnam, the nature of mental states, in chalmers 2002, 7379.