Hilary Putnam was Cogan University Professor, Emeritus, at Harvard University. Ruth Anna Putnam was Professor Emerita of Philosophy at Wellesley College. David Macarthur is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sydney. With Mario De Caro, he edited Naturalism in Question, Naturalism and Normativity, and Hilary Putnam’s Philosophy in an Age of Science. He also edited Hilary and Ruth Anna Putnam’s Pragmatism as a Way of Life.
Pragmatism as a Way of Life is, among other things, an argument for
the value of philosophy. As the Putnams see it, pragmatism means
thinking about the world ‘in ways that are relevant to the real
problems of real human beings.’ It’s an approach to philosophy that
manages to be humble and hopeful while, for the most part, keeping
its feet firmly on the ground…The language of the Putnams tends to
be blessedly lucid and conversational, even when dealing with
fairly knotty quandaries. The book isn’t hammock reading, or
Metaphysics for Morons, but it is a reminder of why philosophy
might be useful to people who don’t park in the faculty-only
lot.
*Chronicle of Higher Education*
Clarifies our understanding of the development of Hilary’s thought
in the late twentieth century, and, as Hilary put it, his
‘conversion’ to pragmatism under Ruth Anna’s
influence…Philosophical marriages are rare enough; this one
affected the development of philosophy in America…Macarthur has
produced the best record of Hilary and Ruth Anna’s collaboration.
American philosophy was indeed changed at the Putnams’ breakfast
table.
*Metaphilosophy*
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