Single Idea 2334

[catalogued under 19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 7. Meaning Holism / b. Language holism]

Full Idea

The doctrine of Quine called "meaning holism" offered arguments refuting logical positivist attempts to show that every term we can understand can be defined using a limited group of "observation terms".

Gist of Idea

Meaning holism tried to show that you can't get fixed meanings built out of observation terms

Source

Hilary Putnam (Representation and Reality [1988], §1 p.08)

Book Reference

Putnam,Hilary: 'Representation and Reality' [MIT 1992], p.8


A Reaction

To seems a rather large jump from saying that sentences come in groups to full-blown 'holism' (involving every sentence).