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Single Idea 11099
[filed under theme 8. Modes of Existence / E. Nominalism / 4. Concept Nominalism
]
Full Idea
No more need be demanded of 'is square' than that our listener learn when to expect us to apply it to an object and when not; there is no need for the phrase itself to be the name in turn of a separate object of any kind.
Gist of Idea
Understanding 'is square' is knowing when to apply it, not knowing some object
Source
Willard Quine (Identity, Ostension, and Hypostasis [1950], 4)
Book Ref
Quine,Willard: 'From a Logical Point of View' [Harper and Row 1963], p.75
The
12 ideas
from 'Identity, Ostension, and Hypostasis'
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17595
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To unite a sequence of ostensions to make one object, a prior concept of identity is needed
[Quine]
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11092
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A river is a process, with stages; if we consider it as one thing, we are considering a process
[Quine]
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11093
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We don't say 'red' is abstract, unlike a river, just because it has discontinuous shape
[Quine]
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11095
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We should just identify any items which are indiscernible within a given discourse
[Quine]
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11096
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Discourse generally departmentalizes itself to some degree
[Quine]
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11094
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'Red' is a single concrete object in space-time; 'red' and 'drop' are parts of a red drop
[Quine]
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11097
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Red is the largest red thing in the universe
[Quine]
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11101
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General terms don't commit us ontologically, but singular terms with substitution do
[Quine]
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11099
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Understanding 'is square' is knowing when to apply it, not knowing some object
[Quine]
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11103
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We aren't stuck with our native conceptual scheme; we can gradually change it
[Quine]
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11104
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Concepts are language
[Quine]
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11102
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Apply '-ness' or 'class of' to abstract general terms, to get second-level abstract singular terms
[Quine]
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