Single Idea 17738

[catalogued under 6. Mathematics / C. Sources of Mathematics / 4. Mathematical Empiricism / a. Mathematical empiricism]

Full Idea

Quine cannot deal with the intuition that there is a difference in kind between our knowledge of arithmetic and our knowledge of physics.

Gist of Idea

Quine blurs the difference between knowledge of arithmetic and of physics

Source

comment on Willard Quine (Two Dogmas of Empiricism [1953]) by Carrie Jenkins - Grounding Concepts 7.5

Book Reference

Jenkins,Carrie: 'Grounding Concepts' [OUP 2008], p.214


A Reaction

The endorses this criticism, which she says is widespread. I'm not convinced that there is a clear notion of 'difference in kind' here. Jenkins gets arithmetic from concepts and physics from the world. Is that a sharp distinction?