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Full Idea
A theory does not avoid commitment to any entities by avoiding use of certain terms or concepts.
Gist of Idea
Theories do not avoid commitment to entities by avoiding certain terms or concepts
Source
Amie L. Thomasson (Ordinary Objects [2007], 09.4)
Book Ref
Thomasson,Amie L.: 'Ordinary Objects' [OUP 2010], p.167
A Reaction
This is a salutary warning to those who apply the notion of ontological commitment rather naively.
Related Idea
Idea 14490 You can be implicitly committed to something without quantifying over it [Thomasson on Quine]
| 4216 | Express a theory in first-order predicate logic; its ontology is the types of bound variable needed for truth [Quine, by Lowe] |
| 18966 | Ontological commitment of theories only arise if they are classically quantified [Quine] |
| 8459 | Fictional quantification has no ontology, so we study ontology through scientific theories [Quine, by Orenstein] |
| 8497 | An ontology is like a scientific theory; we accept the simplest scheme that fits disorderly experiences [Quine] |
| 18964 | Ontology is relative to both a background theory and a translation manual [Quine] |
| 3325 | For Quine everything exists theoretically, as reference, predication and quantification [Quine, by Benardete,JA] |
| 15002 | If the best theory of adverbs refers to events, then our ontology should include events [Davidson, by Sider] |
| 18505 | Fundamental ontology aims at the preconditions for any true theory [Heil] |
| 14983 | Accept the ontology of your best theory - and also that it carves nature at the joints [Sider] |
| 16258 | To get an ontology from ontological commitment, just add that some theory is actually true [Maudlin] |
| 14489 | Theories do not avoid commitment to entities by avoiding certain terms or concepts [Thomasson] |