Single Idea 9763

[catalogued under 1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 6. Hopes for Philosophy]

Full Idea

Our traditional introspective notions - of meaning, idea, concept, essence, all undisciplined and undefined - afford a hopelessly flabby and unmanageable foundation for a theory of the world. Control is gained by focusing on words.

Gist of Idea

For a good theory of the world, we must focus on our flabby foundational vocabulary

Source

Willard Quine (Has Philosophy Lost Contact with People? [1979], p.192)

Book Reference

Quine,Willard: 'Theories and Things' [Harvard 1981], p.192


A Reaction

A very nice statement of the aim of modern language-centred philosophy, though the task offered appears to be that of an under-labourer, when the real target, even according to Quine, is supposed to be a 'theory of the world'.