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Full Idea
Translation is a flimsy notion, unfit to bear the weight of the theories of cultural incommensurability that Davidson effectively and justly criticises.
Gist of Idea
Translation is too flimsy a notion to support theories of cultural incommensurability
Source
Willard Quine (On the Very Idea of a Third Dogma [1981], p.42)
Book Ref
Quine,Willard: 'Theories and Things' [Harvard 1981], p.42
A Reaction
I presume he means that a claim to accurately translate something is false, because there is no clear idea of what a good translation looks like it. I just don't believe him. The practice of daily life belies Quine's theories on this.
| 18285 | All translation loses some content (but language does not create reality) [Carnap] |
| 23489 | We translate by means of proposition constituents, not by whole propositions [Wittgenstein] |
| 19045 | Translation is too flimsy a notion to support theories of cultural incommensurability [Quine] |
| 12591 | Mastery of a language requires thinking, and not just communication [Harman] |
| 4706 | Early Quine says all beliefs could be otherwise, but later he said we would assume mistranslation [O'Grady] |
| 17991 | Holism says language can't be translated; the expressibility hypothesis says everything can [Hofweber] |