Truth in Putnam's Internal Realism

Jan-Erik Jones

I examine Putnam's internal realist arguments against metaphysical realism cum correspondence truth. He argues that if the truth of a proposition is determined by the way the unconceptualized world is then we are in no position to know what is true-truth for the realist is transcendent. On his view, truth is what would be justifiably believed under ideal epistemic conditions. I argue that Putnam's idealization of truth commits him to a transcendent notion of truth as well. I argue further that even a very naive version of alethic realism is able to withstand Putnam's criticisms.