Abstract

Hilary Putnam developed a distinctive way of seeing and answering every self’s existential question: What, if anything, gives life meaning? Engaging with issues of meaning over the course of his intellectual and life journey led Putnam to a deeper appreciation of the distinctive character of the practices of philosophy and religious faith as well as the long history of their dynamic interaction. By sharing an account of his own personal journey, most explicitly in Jewish Philosophy as a Guide to Life,1 Putnam generously offered us an aid to reflection on a topic of universal personal concern.The first part of this article acknowledges the plurality of pragmatist views on religious faith. The second part...