Hilary Putnam's two functionalisms. A piece of history with a moral (in Polish)

Main Article Content

Witold Hensel

Abstract

The paper reconstructs the evolution of Hilary Putnam’s early, i.e. functionalist, views in the philosophy of mind. It distinguishes between the following two alternatives: weak functionalism, which asserts that traditional ontological questions about the mind are, in fact, pseudo-problems; and strong functionalism, the claim that the nature of mind can be discovered empirically if one acknowledges that mental states are defined relationally, without direct recourse to the properties of the brain. By analyzing Putnam’s reasons for rejecting weak functionalism and type physicalism the author arrives at the conclusion that Putnam was wrong on both counts: (1) weak functionalism was not an unstable position, and (2) if one is willing to make some reasonable assumptions, strong functionalism is reducible to type physicalism. Finally, an attempt is made to isolate the causes of the premature success of strong functionalism.

Article Details

How to Cite
“Hilary Putnam’s Two Functionalisms. A Piece of History With a Moral (in Polish)”. 2011. Diametros, no. 29 (September): 31-49. https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.29.2011.444.
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Articles
Author Biography

Witold Hensel, Centre for Philosophical Research

Witold Hensel, PhD
Centre for Philosophical Research
ul. Stawki 3/20,
00-193 Warszawa
Poland

whensel@poczta.onet.pl

How to Cite

“Hilary Putnam’s Two Functionalisms. A Piece of History With a Moral (in Polish)”. 2011. Diametros, no. 29 (September): 31-49. https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.29.2011.444.
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