In 1975, Harvard philosopher Hilary Putnam published a paper called "The Meaning of `Meaning,'" in which he challenged the orthodox view in the philosophies of language and mind. The article's Twin Earth thought experiment was simple, but the philosophical conclusions deriving from it -- about the nature of meaning and reference, of thought, of knowledge -- were shocking.

Now, Andrew Pessin and Sanford Goldberg have collected the very best of the writing by the leading philosophers on the subject of Twin Earth.

With a new introductory essay by Hilary Putnam, this volume will acquaint novice philosophers with one of the most important debates in twentieth century philosophy and provide seasoned readers with a useful compendium of writing on essential questions in the philosophies of language and mind.