more from Willard Quine

Single Idea 10667

[catalogued under 7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 11. Ontological Commitment / a. Ontological commitment]

Full Idea

Quine's test of ontological commitment says that anything that can be said truly at all must be capable of being said in a logically perfect language, so there must be a paraphrase of every truth into the language of logic.

Gist of Idea

A logically perfect language could express all truths, so all truths must be logically expressible

Source

report of Willard Quine (works [1961]) by Keith Hossack - Plurals and Complexes 2

Book Reference

-: 'British Soc for the Philosophy of Science' [-], p.414


A Reaction

A very nice statement of the Quinean view, much more persuasive than other statements I have encountered. I am suddenly almost converted to a doctrine I have hitherto despised. Isn't philosophy wonderful?