Single Idea 9379

[catalogued under 12. Knowledge Sources / A. A Priori Knowledge / 2. Self-Evidence]

Full Idea

A sentence is obvious if (a) it is true and (b) any speaker of the language is prepared, for any reason or none, to assent to it without hesitation, unless put off by being asked so obvious a question.

Gist of Idea

A sentence is obvious if it is true, and any speaker of the language will instantly agree to it

Source

Willard Quine (Reply to Hellman [1975], p.206), quoted by Paul Boghossian - Analyticity Reconsidered §III

Book Reference

-: 'Nous' [-], p.17


A Reaction

This comes from someone who is keen to deny a priori knowledge, but what are we to make of the expostulations "It's obvious, you idiot!", and "Now I see it, it's obvious!", and "It seemed obvious, but I was wrong!"?