Hilary Putnam’s liberal naturalism about language use, reference, and truth

Abstract

In his classic papers in the philosophy of language Hilary Putnam points out that even if one cannot tell an elm tree from a beech tree, one may use the word “elm” to make assertions and ask questions about elm trees. Putnam also observes that scientists may be able to raise fruitful research questions about a given topic despite not having any beliefs that accurately describe it. These compelling observations discredit some of our ordinary and philosophical assumptions about what it is to use and to understand language. The observations therefore prompt Putnam to ask what it is for a speaker to “use” a word to make assertions and ask questions, and how “use” in that sense, whatever it is, is related to what we call “language understanding.”