Single Idea 2352

[catalogued under 1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 5. Aims of Philosophy / a. Philosophy as worldly]

Full Idea

It is the job of the philosopher to distinguish what is fact and what is convention in our theorising about the world.

Gist of Idea

The job of the philosopher is to distinguish facts about the world from conventions

Source

Hilary Putnam (Representation and Reality [1988], §7 p.112)

Book Reference

Putnam,Hilary: 'Representation and Reality' [MIT 1992], p.112


A Reaction

This may well be the entire truth about philosophy. It begins with the Nomos-Physis debate in ancient Athens, and it turns out to be the key issue in almost every area of metaphysics, epistemology, aesthetics and morality.