back to ideas for this text


Single Idea 16021

[from 'works' by Willard Quine, in 7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 11. Ontological Commitment / c. Commitment of predicates ]

Full Idea

The highly intuitive methodological programme enunciated by Quine says that as our knowledge expands we should unhesitatingly expand our ideology, our stock of predicables, but should be much more wary about ontology, the name variables.

Gist of Idea

Quine says we can expand predicates easily (ideology), but not names (ontology)

Source

report of Willard Quine (works [1961]) by Harold Noonan - Identity §3

Book Reference

'Stanford Online Encyclopaedia of Philosophy', ed/tr. Stanford University [plato.stanford.edu], p.5


A Reaction

I suddenly embrace this as a crucial truth. This distinction allows you to expand on truths without expanding on reality. I would add that it is also crucial to distinguish properties from predicates. A new predicate isn't a new property.