Full Idea
Quine holds the doctrine of the 'inscrutability of reference', which means there is no fact of the matter about reference.
Gist of Idea
Quine says there is no matter of fact about reference - it is 'inscrutable'
Source
report of Willard Quine (works [1961]) by Paul O'Grady - Relativism Ch.3
Book Reference
O'Grady,Paul: 'Relativism' [Acumen 2002], p.66
A Reaction
Presumably reference depends on conventions like pointing, or the functioning of words like "that", or the ambiguities of descriptions. If you can't define it, it doesn't exist? I don't believe him.