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L. Bergstrm, PutnamontheFact-ValueDichotomy 1
CroatianJournalofPhilosophy
Vol. II, No. 5, 2002
PutnamontheFact-ValueDichotomy
LARSBERGSTRMStockholm University
InReason,
TruthandHistoryandcertainrelatedwritings,HilaryPutnamattacksthefact-valuedistinction.
Thispapercriticizeshisargumentsand
defendsthedistinction.
Putnamclaimsthatfactualstatementspresuppose
values,
thattheempiricalworlddependsuponourcriteriaofrational
acceptability,andthatwemusthavecriteriaofrationalacceptabilityto
evenhaveanempiricalworld.Thepresentpaperarguesthattheseclaims
aremistaken.
Itiswidelythoughtthatfactsandvaluesare distinct,
andthattheyare
differentinphilosophicallyimportantrespects.
HilaryPutnamishighlycriticalofthisdistinctioninseveralofhiswritings.1Inthispaper,
Ishalldiscusshisargumentsagainstthe fact-value dichotomy,
andIshalltrydefendthe dichotomyagainstthose arguments.
My initial task, then, is to identifymore precisely the view
thatPutnamattacks. Inone place, he saysthatone
particularanswertothequestionoffactandvalue hasassumedthe
statusofaculturalinstitu-tion, namely, the answerthatfactandvalue
are totallydisjointrealms,thatthe dichotomystatementoffactorvalue
judgmentisanabsoluteone.2PerhapsthisistheviewPutnamwantstoattack.
Buttherearealsootherclues.
PerhapsPutnamobjectstooneormoreofthefollowingtheses:
(1) Nostatementis both evaluative andfactual.(2)There
isnologicalconnection between evaluative andfactualstate-ments.
1 See, for example, Reason, TruthandHistory(Cambridge:Cambridge
UniversityPress, 1981), TheManyFacesofRealism(LaSalle,
Ill.:OpenCourt, 1987), andReal-ism withaHumanFace(Cambridge, Mass.:
Harvard UniversityPress, 1990).
Inthispaperwhichwaswrittensomeyearsago,
inthemid-1990sIammainlyconcernedwithPutnamswork inthe 1980sand
early 1990s. Itshould be noted, however, thatinrecentyearsPutnam
haschanged hisviews incertainrespects. In particular,
hehaschangedhisviewsontruth. Notwithstanding, I believe
thathisviewsonthe fact-value distinctionremain muchthe same.
2Reason, TruthandHistory, 127.
