Full Idea
Conceivability is no proof of possibility.
Gist of Idea
Conceivability is no proof of possibility
Source
Hilary Putnam (Meaning and Reference [1973], p.159)
Book Reference
'Meaning and Reference', ed/tr. Moore,A.W. [OUP 1993], p.159
A Reaction
This strikes me as a really basic truth which all novice philosophers should digest. It led many philosophers, especially rationalists, into all sorts of ill-founded claims about what is possible or necessary. Zombies, for instance…