Putnam's Conception of Truth

After stressing how the attempt to provide a plausible account of
the connection between language and the world was one of
Putnam’s constant preoccupations, this article describes the four
stages his thinking about the concepts of truth and reality went
through. Particular attention is paid to the kinds of problems that
made him abandon each stage to enter the next. The analysis
highlights how all the stages but one express a general non-
epistemic stance towards truth and reality—the right stance,
according to Putnam, in order to develop full-blooded realism.
Since the last stage combines a version of direct realism with a
pluralist conception of truth, the article proceeds by focusing on
Putnam’s alethic pluralism, carefully distinguishing it from alethic
deflationism. Finally a suggestion is made as to where Putnam’s
alethic pluralism may be placed within the constellation of current
pluralist positions about truth.