Brain in a Vat & Other Stories: A Celebration of Hilary Putnam's Philosophy (2016)

Does perception give me any reason to believe in an external world, or could I be a ‘brain in a vat’ that is fed information by a malicious (or benevolent) scientist? And if I were such a brain, could I ever say or think this? This is just one puzzle raised by the Harvard philosopher Hilary Putnam, who died in 2016. Though its origins are in Augustine and Descartes, Putnam revolutionised its implications for our understanding of knowledge, language, and the mind. A distinguished panel here discusses Putnam's work. Hilary Putnam (1926-2016) was an American philosopher, mathematician, and computer scientist who was a central figure in analytic philosophy who made important contributions to many areas.

This is from a 2016 discussion as part of the Forum for European Philosophy at LSE. The speakers in this panel include Professor Julian Baggini, Professor Chris Norris, and Dr Sarah Sawyer.

00:00 Introduction
01:30 Putnam as a Philosopher
10:22 Science & Language
19:58 Twin Earth & Externalism
34:53 Scientific Realism
42:47 Questions
56:02 Brain in a Vat
1:08:47 Politics
1:14:14 Questions

#Philosophy #Epistemology #Putnam