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PARTISAN REVIEW
refute scientific realism but on which Putnam relies very lighdy.
Besides G5del, Putnam relies heavily on a doctrine of "meaning
holism," made famous by Quine, which involves interrelations not only
among the meanings of the various words in a language but also be–
tween meanings and beliefs. Meanings, therefore, cannot be isolated from
changes and challenges (as Plato and Kant thought); they depend on our
evolving physical and social environment. These considerations demolish
the mentalism (all meaning being reduced to thoughts) that forms part of
scientific realism.
The relativism entailed by our having different physical and social
environments threatens every sort of realism; but Putnam does not give
in. He proposes a pragmatic (or "internal") realism in which relativity of
meaning and cognition is compatible with objectivity. The objectivity
can, of course (because of G5del), no longer be defined in scientific
terms - not even those of any forseeable science. This view therefore
stands in sharp contrast to the scientific realism still fashionable in the
universities as well as to the antirealism ofRorty. Quite an achievement.
NEWTON GARVER
Writers on Art
REPORTED SIGHTINGS: ART CHRONICLES, 1957-1987. By John
Ashbcry. Alfred
A.
Knopf $35.00.
JUST LOOKING: ESSAYS ON ART. By John Updike. Alfred A. Knop£
$35.00.
In 1984, the exhibition "Van Gogh in Arles" at the Metropolitan Mu–
seum of Art was all the rage. Painter Trevor Winkfield told me that he
ran into John Ashbery soon after and had asked how he had liked the
show. "It's okay, if you like great art," said the poet in a char–
acteristically droll style. His drollery, however, is as innocent as three–
dimensional chess.
With humor that put distance between himself and major cultural
institutions, Ashbery revealed an aspect of his personality that remains true
of his writing on art. He is positively attracted by modest, even minor,
talent. To be acquainted with Ashbery himself is to learn that while his
poetry is often ambitious and his lifetime achievement great, he professes
nonchalance in his own creative life and is most comfortable with un–
heroic stances in others. When it comes to art writing, a field that
