Twenty-seven chapters appraising Hilary Putnam's full intellectual legacy

Hilary Putnam's contributions span philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, mathematics, quantum mechanics, computer science, and ethics. A Companion to Hilary Putnam comprises twenty-seven chapters that analyse and extend his theories across these domains, tracing his philosophical development from 1951 to 2016. The volume moves beyond summary to cultivate Putnam's ideas into new directions in philosophy and science.

Contributors engage directly with Putnam's paradigm-shifting arguments, including the Brain-in-a-Vat and Twin Earth thought experiments, his work solving Hilbert's Tenth Problem, his philosophical treatment of Quantum mechanics, and his approach to ethics without ontology. Each chapter appraises specific dimensions of his moving-target thinking, offering original analysis rather than retrospective overview alone.

Readers will also find:

• Detailed examination of Putnam's contributions to computer science and his lasting influence on computational theory and artificial intelligence research
• Analysis of Putnam's turn toward analytical philosophy and the evolving trajectory of his positions across six decades of sustained inquiry
• Critical engagement with semantic externalism, internal realism, and the philosophical frameworks that defined Putnam's approach to meaning and reference
• Exploration of Putnam's ethical philosophy, including his arguments for ethics without ontology and their implications for contemporary moral discourse
• Original essays that extend Putnam-inspired thinking into current philosophical debates, serving as both scholarly tribute and forward-looking inquiry

Designed for university libraries and advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in philosophy, linguistics, science, computer science, and mathematics, this companion supports coursework in philosophy of science, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind. It provides sustained scholarly engagement with one of the twentieth century's most wide-ranging philosophical minds.

Sanjit Chakraborty is an Assistant Professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the National Institute of Science Education and Research (Department of Atomic Energy). He previously served on the teaching faculties of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, the Indian Institute of Management Indore, the University of Hyderabad, and VIT-AP University. Chakraborty is the author or editor of several books, including Human Minds and Cultures (Springer, 2024), Engaging Putnam (De Gruyter, 2022) and The Labyrinth of Mind and World: Beyond Internalism-Externalism (Routledge, 2020).