back to ideas for this text


Single Idea 1629

[from 'Two Dogmas of Empiricism' by Willard Quine, in 12. Knowledge Sources / D. Empiricism / 1. Empiricism ]

Full Idea

The outer edge of our empirical system must be kept squared with experience; the rest, with all its elaborate myths and fictions, has as its objective the simplicity of laws.

Gist of Idea

Our outer beliefs must match experience, and our inner ones must be simple

Source

Willard Quine (Two Dogmas of Empiricism [1953], p.45)

Book Reference

Quine,Willard: 'From a Logical Point of View' [Harper and Row 1963], p.45