Abstract
Putnam originally developed his causal theory of meaning in order to support scientific realism and reject the notion of incommensurability. Later he gave up this position and adopted instead what he called ‘internal realism’, but apparently without changing his mind on topics related to his former philosophy of language. The question must arise whether internal realism, which actually is a species of antirealism, is compatible with the causal theory of meaning. In giving an answer I begin with an analysis of the content and metaphysical background of scientific realism. I show that it presupposes metaphysical realism and that Putnam's philosophical conversion is due to his becoming aware of the latter's incoherence. After giving a brief sketch of internal realism I conclude by arguing that within this new theoretical framework the causal theory of meaning loses its force as a weapon against incommensurability.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Boyd, Richard (1973): Realism, Underdetermination and a Causal Theory of Evidence, Nous 8, 1–12.
Burri, Alex (1994): Hilary Putnam,Campus, Frankfurt a.M.
Cartwright, Nancy (1983): How the Laws of Physics Lie, Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Carrier, Martin (1991):What is wrong with the Miracle Argument?, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 22, 23–36.
Cummiskey, D. (1992): Reference Failure and Scientific Realism: a Response to the Meta-Induction, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 43, 21–40.
Devitt, Michael (1981): Designation, Cambridge.
Devitt, Michael (1983): Realism and the Renegade Putnam, Nous 17, 291–301.
Devitt, Michael (1984): Realism and Truth, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
Douven, Igor/Van Brakel, Jaap (1995): Is Scientific Realism an Empirical Hypothesis?, Dialectica 49, 3–13.
Dummett, Michael (1991): The Logical Basis of Metaphysics, Duckworth, London.
Ebbs, Gary (1992): Realism and Rational Inquiry, Philosophical Topics 20, 1–33.
Enfield, Patrick (1991): Realism, Empiricism and Scientific Revolutions, Philosophy of Science 58, 468–85.
Feyerabend, Paul (1993): Wider den Methodenzwang, 4. Auflage, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt a.M.
Field, Hartry (1972): Tarki's Theory of Truth, The Journal of Philosophy 69, 553–67.
Field, Hartry (1982): Realism and Relativism, The Journal of Philosophy 79, 553–67.
Fine, A. (1984): The Natural Ontological Attitude, in: Leplin 1984.
Fodor, Jerry (1990): A Theory of Content, MIT Press, Cambridge.
Franzen, Wilfried (1985): 'Vernunft nach Menschenmaß ' - Hilary Putnams Philosophie als mittlerer Weg zwischen Absolutheitsdenken und Relativismus, Philosophische Rundschau 32, 161–97.
French, P.A., Uehling, T.E. and Wettstein, H.K. (Eds.), (1986): Studies in Essentialism, Midwest Studies in Philosophy, Vol XI, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.
Gombocz, Wolfgang L., Rutte, H. and Sauer, W. (Hrsg.) (1989): Traditionen und Perspektiven der analytischen Philosophie. Festschrift für Rudolf Haller, Hölder-Pichler-Tempski, Wien.
Goodman, Nelson (1978): Ways of Worldmaking, Hackett, Indianapolis.
Hobbs, Jesse (1994): A Limited Defense of the Pessimistic Induction, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 45, 171–91.
Hoyningen-Huene, Paul (1989): Die Wissenschaftsphilosophie Thomas S. Kuhns, Vieweg, Braunschweig/Wiesbaden.
Hoyningen-Huene, Paul (1990): "Kuhn's Conception of Incommensurability", Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 21, (3), 481–492.
Hacking, Ian (1993): Representing and Intervening, CUP, Cambridge.
Hägler, Rudolf-Peter (1994): Kritik des neuen Essentialismu, Schöningh, Paderborn.
Hylton, Peter (1993): Hegel and Analytic Philosophy, Frederick C. Beiser, (Ed.) (1993): The Cambridge Companion to Hegel. CUP, Cambridge.
Kemmerling, Andreas (1987): Rezension von 'Vernunft, Wahrheit und Geschichte', Erkenntnis 26, 131–47.
Kripke, Saul (1981): Naming and Necessity, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
Kuhn, Thomas S. (1970): The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2. ed. CUP, Cambridge.
Kuhn, Thomas S. (1990): Dubbing and Redubbing: The Vulnerability of Rigid Designation, Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science XIV, 198–218.
Laudan, Larry (1977): Progress and its Problems, University of California Press, Berkeley.
Laudan, Larry (1984): Science and Values, University of California Press, Berkeley.
Leplin, Jarrett, (Ed.), (1984): Scientific Realism, University of California Press, Berkeley.
Newton-Smith, William H. (1981): The Rationality of Science, Routledge, London.
Putnam, Hilary (1975): Mathematics, Matter and Method, Philosophical Papers, Volume 1, CUP, Cambridge.
Putnam, Hilary (1975): Mind, Language and Reality, Philosophical Papers, Volume 2, CUP, Cambridge.
Putnam, Hilary (1978): Meaning and the Moral Sciences, Routledge, London.
Putnam, Hilary (1981): Reason, Truth and History, CUP, Cambridge.
Putnam, Hilary (1987): The Many Faces of Realism, Open Court, La Salle.
Putnam, Hilary (1990): Realism with a Human Face, CUP, Cambridge.
Putnam, Hilary (1992): Replies, Philosophical Topics 20, 347–408.
Putnam, Hilary (1994a): Interview mit Hilary Putnam, in: Burri, 1994.
Putnam, Hilary (1994b): Words and Life, HUP, Cambridge.
Recanati, Francois (1993): Direct Reference, Blackwell, Oxford.
Rescher, Nicholas (1987): Scientific Realism. A Critical Reappraisal. Kluwer, Dordrecht.
Rorty, Richard (1979): Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature, Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Runggaldier, Edmund (1985): Zeichen und Bezeichnetes, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin-New York.
Salmon, Nathan U. (1982): Reference and Essence, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
Schurz, Gerhard (1989): Die pragmatischeWiderlegung des semantischen Realismus. Eine Rekonstruktion von Putnams antirealistischer Wende', in: Gombocz/Rutte/Sauer 1989.
Schüß ler, Rudolf (1995): Undersuchungen zur semantischen Unbestimmtheit, unveröffentlichte Habilitationsschrift, Duisburg.
Stegmüller, Wolfgang (1979): Hauptströmungen der Gegenwartsphilosophie, Band II, 6. erweiterte Auflage, Kröner, Stuttgart.
Tuomela, Raimo (1979): Putnams Realisms, Theoria XIV, 114–26.
Van Fraassen, Bas (1980): The Scientific Image, Clarendon, Oxford.
Vollmer, Gerhard (1983): Wissenschaftstheorie im Einsatz. Beiträge zu einer selbstkritischen Wissenschaftsphilosophie. Hirzel, Stuttgart.
Wendel, Hans Jürgen (1987): Benennung, Sinn, Notwendigkeit. Eine Untersuchung über die Grundlagen kausaler Theorien des Gegenstandsbezugs, Athenäum, Frankfurt a.M.
Wiggins, David (1980): Sameness and Substance, HUP, Cambridge. 19 D-47199 Duisburg
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ambrus, V. Is Putnam's Causal Theory of Meaning Compatible with Internal Realism?. Journal for General Philosophy of Science 30, 1–16 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008240206638
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008240206638