Functionalism, realism and levels of being *

The writings of Hilary Putnam have played a leading role in shaping current mainstream conceptions of the mind. ‘Psychological Predicates’ (1967) and the subsequent mass of literature on functionalism, taught us that states of mind are functional states, mental properties functional properties. ¹ From ‘The Meaning of “Meaning”’ (1975b) and Reason, Truth and History (1981) followed by an equally massive outpouring of articles and books by others, we learned that certain states of mind, those with ‘intentional content’, depend on something more than the intrinsic physical character of agents to whom they are ascribed. No one here needs reminding how influential both these doctrines have proven to be.