Single Idea 13938

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

Full Idea

If someone accepts a framework for a kind of entities, then he must admit the entities as possible designata. Thus the question of the admissibility of entities is reduced to the question of the acceptability of the linguistic framework for the entities.

Gist of Idea

A linguistic framework involves commitment to entities, so only commitment to the framework is in question

Source

Rudolph Carnap (Empiricism, Semantics and Ontology [1950], 4)

Book Reference

Carnap,Rudolph: 'Meaning and Necessity (2nd ed)' [Chicago 1988], p.217


A Reaction

Despite the many differences of opinion between Quine and Carnap, this appears to be a straight endorsement by Carnap of the Quinean conception of ontological commitment.