Putnam, Dennett, and Others: Philosophical Resources for the World Historian

Abstract

This article presents resources for thinking straight about the global history enterprise that have not been widely recognized or discussed by practitioners. Several important philosophers are discussed briefly; fuller attention is given to two. Hilary Putnam presents a nuanced account of human reason and flourishing that goes beyond the factvalue dichotomy that often bedevils our work. Daniel Dennett does much to clarify the nature of the evolutionary processes—natural, social, and cultural—we discuss and the elements of cultural interaction and learning, sometimes called “memes.”