Full Idea
According to Quine, we find the ontological commitments of a theory by expressing it in first-order predicate logic, then determining what kind of entities must be admitted as bound variables if the theory is true.
Gist of Idea
Express a theory in first-order predicate logic; its ontology is the types of bound variable needed for truth
Source
report of Willard Quine (Existence and Quantification [1966]) by E.J. Lowe - A Survey of Metaphysics p.216
Book Reference
Lowe,E.J.: 'A Survey of Metaphysics' [OUP 2002], p.216
A Reaction
To me this is horribly wrong. The ontological commitments of our language is not the same as ontology. What are the ontological commitments of a pocket calculator?