Single Idea 10800

[catalogued under 5. Theory of Logic / G. Quantification / 4. Substitutional Quantification]

Full Idea

Ryle objected somewhere to my dictum that 'to be is to be the value of a variable', arguing that the values of variables are expressions, and hence that my dictum repudiates all things except expressions.

Gist of Idea

The values of variables can't determine existence, because they are just expressions

Source

report of Gilbert Ryle (works [1950]) by Willard Quine - Reply to Professor Marcus p.183

Book Reference

Quine,Willard: 'Ways of Paradox and other essays' [Harvard 1976], p.183


A Reaction

I have a lot of sympathy with Ryle's view, and I associate it with the peculiar Millian view that we can somehow replace a name in a sentence with the actual physical object. Objects can't be parts of sentences - and maybe they can't be 'values'.