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The author compares the philosophies of Quine and Wittgenstein, seeing how their holistic views of the world coincide. She argues that though they are allied in their sceptism about the possibilities for the assimilation of semantic and psychological concepts to those of the natural sciences and while they are both hostile to a Platonist conception of meaning, they are divided in their views, because of their different interpretations of holism. The conclusion reached is that Wittgenstein's visions of the interdependence of concepts, interests and activities are superior to Quine's epistemology because Wittgenstein's idea of different "forms of life" can free the reader from the conception of "fact" which is implicit in Quine's work and from the unintelligible scepticism about meaning which that conception brings with it. ... Read more

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W.V.O. Quine is one of the most influential of contemporary philosophers, whose work has ranged broadly across a great number of topics and issues in a career spanning some fifty years. In this collection a group of distinguished philosophers offers a sustained critical evaluation of the full range of Quine's writings. Among the topics addressed are interpretation, epistemology, ontology, modality, and mathematical truth. This is very much a"state of the art" collection that will influence all future discussion of Quine. ... Read more

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This brief text assists students in understanding Quine's philosophy and thinking so that they can more fully engage in useful, intelligent class dialogue and improve their understanding of course content. Part of the "Wadsworth Philosophers Series," (which will eventually consist of approximately 100 titles, each focusing on a single "thinker" from ancient times to the present), ON QUINE is written by a philosopher deeply versed in the philosophy of this key thinker. Like other books in the series, this concise book offers sufficient insight into the thinking of a notable philosopher better enabling students to engage the reading and to discuss the material in class and on paper. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Tedious entry in the Wadsworth Philosophers Series, but at least you get a "taste" of fine Quine.
John V. Karavitis has read this entry in the Wadsworth Philosophers Series and is now reviewing it.I had read that Quine was "THE" most important philosopher of the 20th Century, so I had him on my John V. Karavitis radar to look into and learn about.His claim to fame is that he has allegedly dispensed with the "analytic vs. synthetic" distinction in philosophy.Funny thing about philosophers John V. Karavitis thinks, since most agree with Quine re this issue, but few really truly understand Quine.Quine also appears to be hooked onto the idea that science is the only true way for Man to get knowledge about the world.Thus, Quine's epistomology informs his metaphysics (as opposed to John V. Karavitis favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand, whose metaphysics informs her epistomology).With apologies to "real" philosophers, John V. Karavitis believes that Quine has nothing much to say, but he says it well.On and on and on about the miuntiae and trivialities of his "great ideas".No wonder many colleges are dropping their Philosophy Departments - science has pretty much answered all of our deepest questions.Proof of this?John V. Karavitis says:Look at Quine drone on and on about how science is the true way for Man to get knowledge about the world.This entry in the Wadsworth Philosophy Series is a good start to get exposed to Quine, but, if that's all Quine has to say, well, either Quine is severely over-rated as a philosopher, or this book desperately needs a serious re-write.Three stars - read it, but don't depend on it.John Karavitis. ... Read more

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This is a new and highly original monograph examining Quine's naturalism, an issue central to the work of this hugely influential analytic philosopher.W. V. Quine was the most important naturalistic philosopher of the twentieth century and a major impetus for the recent resurgence of the view that empirical science is our best avenue to knowledge. His views, however, have not been well understood. Critics charge that Quine's naturalized epistemology is circular and that it cannot be normative. Yet, such criticisms stem from a cluster of fundamental traditional assumptions regarding language, theory, and the knowing subject - the very presuppositions that Quine is at pains to reject. Through investigation of Quine's views regarding language, knowledge, and reality, the author offers a new interpretation of Quine's naturalism. The naturalism/anti-naturalism debate can be advanced only by acknowledging and critiquing the substantial theoretical commitments implicit in the traditional view. Gregory argues that the responses to the circularity and non-normativity objections do just that.His analysis further reveals that Quine's departure from the tradition penetrates the conception of the knowing subject, and he thus offers a new and engaging defence of Quine's naturalism. ... Read more

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A must read for anyone interested in philosophy!
This is without a doubt the clearest explanation of Quine's work to date. Gregory takes the dense and misunderstood and delivers it in a clear and concise package. By examining the assumptions implicit in the traditional epistemology, Gregory is able to offer new views on Naturalism that Quine's critics must acknowledge.

Bravo! ... Read more

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Over the course of his life, W. V. Quine, one of the twentieth century’s great philosophers, engaged and inspired, interviewed and critiqued countless scholars, critics, and students. The qualities that distinguished him in any discussion are on clear display in this volume, which features him in dialogue with his predecessors and peers, his critics and students.

The volume begins with a number of interviews Quine gave about his perspectives on twentieth-century logic, science and philosophy, the ideas of others, and philosophy generally. Also included are his most important articles, reviews, and comments on other philosophers, from Rudolf Carnap to P. F. Strawson. The book, which contains many previously unpublished manuscripts, concludes with a selection of small pieces, written for a broader public, that give a glimpse of the philosopher’s wide interests, his sense of humor, and his warm relations to friends. The result is a wide-ranging, in-depth, and finely nuanced portrait of the humanity underlying this great twentieth-century thinker’s philosophy.

Customer Reviews (1)

Lots of interesting bits
This is an excellent example of Quine at his best brought out by the act of dialogue with those most likely to bring out the best.
There is wonderful material on his relationship with B.F. Skinner and who got who interested in what. Nice critique of Rorty's interpretation of Q's own work. Lots of interesting bits like that.
... Read more

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Willard Van Orman Quine was certainly the greatest analytic philosopher of the second half of the twentieth century. Born in 1908, he held the Edgar Pierce Chair of Philosophy at Harvard University from 1956 to 2000. He made highly important contributions to such areas as mathematical logic, set theory, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy of logic. His best known works include From a Logical Point of View, Ontological Relativity and Other Essays, and his most influential Word and Object.

One of Quine's central doctrines is the 'indeterminacy of translation' - the assertion that there is no objective answer to the question of what someone means by any given sentence. This view was first put forward in Word and Object and was shocking enough to draw criticisms from other leading philosophers like Noam Chomsky and Richard Rorty. Eve Gaudet argues that these controversies stem partly from Quine's ambiguities and changes of mind, and partly from his readers' misunderstandings. Gaudet dissipates the confusion by examining afresh Quine's whole concept of 'a fact of the matter', and evaluating the contributions to the debate by Chomsky, Rorty, Friedman, Gibson and Follesdal in the light of her new interpretation.

This is the first book devoted to a defence of Quine's indeterminacy of translation doctrine. Unlike many who conclude in Quine's favour, Gaudet adopts a critical and nuanced approach to Quine's texts, showing that Quine sometimes changed his positions and was not always as clear and consistent as many assume. ... Read more

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These five volumes contain the most essential of the more than 2000 articles which have been written about Quine's work. Chosen for their clarity and brevity, they cover both basic ideas as well as objections to Quine's work. The collection is an ideal resource for students and scholars, containing difficult-to-find material as well as several articles written expressly for this set. ... Read more

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This volume on Quine includes 25 critical essays by contemporary philosophers such as William P.Alston, Ulrich Gahde, Geoffrey Hellman, Hao Wang and Charles Parsons and Quine's answers to these critics. The text also includes a bibliography of Quine's works and discusses his views on the philosophy of logic, methodology, logical theory, theory of language, ontology and epistemology and a biographical essay. ... Read more

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Willard Van Orman Quine (1908-2000) was probably the most influential American philosopher of the twentieth century. In Trading Ontology for Ideology Lieven Decock offers an insightful analysis of the development of Quine's ontological views from his first texts in the early thirties onwards. The importance of Quine's work in logic and set theory for his ontology is highlighted. Decock argues that the tenet of extensionalism is at least as important as naturalism, and assesses the relation between the two. The other focus of the work is the relation between ontology, i.e. what there is, and ideology, i.e. what can be expressed by means of words. Decock shows that the interplay between ontology and ideology is far more complicated and interesting than has generally been assumed. ... Read more

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A new direction in philosophy
Between 1920 and 1940 logical empiricism reset the direction of philosophy of science and much of the rest of Anglo-American philosophy. It began as a relatively organized movement centered on the Vienna Circle, and like-minded philosophers elsewhere, especially in Berlin. As Europe drifted into the Nazi era, several important figures, especially Carnap and Neurath, also found common ground in their liberal politics and radical social agenda. Together, the logical empiricists set out to reform traditional philosophy with a new set of doctrines more firmly grounded in logic and science.

Criticism and decline
Because of Nazi persecution, most of the European adherents of logical empiricism moved to the United States in the late 1930s. During the 1940s, many of their most cherished tenets became targets of criticism from outsiders as well as from within their own ranks. Philosophers of science in the late 1950s and 1960s rejected logical empiricism and, starting in the 1970s, presented such alternative programs such as scientific realism with evolutionary epistemology.

A resurgence of interest
During the early 1980s, philosophers and historians of philosophy began to study logical empiricism as an important movement. Unlike their predecessors in the 1960s-for whom the debate over logical empiricism now seems to have been largely motivated by professional politics-these philosopher no longer have to take positions for or against logical empiricism. The result has been a more balanced view of that movement, its achievements, its failures, and its influence.

Hard-to-find core writings now available
This collection makes available a selection of the most influential and representative writings of the logical empiricists, important contemporary criticisms of their doctrines, their responses, as well as the recent reappraisals. Introductions to each volume examine the articles in historical context and provide important background information that is vital to a full understanding of the issues discussed. They outline prevalent trends, identifying leading figures and summarize their positions and reasoning, as well as those of opposing thinkers. ... Read more

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This unique study brings together for the first time two of the most important philosophers of the twentieh century. Are the views of Wittgenstein and Quine on method and philosophy compatible or radically opposed? Does Wittgenstein's conception of language engender that of Quine, or threaten its philosophical foundations? An understanding of the similarities and differences between the thought of Wittgenstein and Quine is essential if we are to have a full picture of the landscape of recent and contemporary philosophy. This collection of essays offers various and original ways in which to view their relationship. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Revista de Filosofía de la Universidad de Costa Rica, published by Universidad de Costa Rica on January 1, 2003. The length of the article is 3666 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Quine en Haack.
Author: Luis Camacho
Publication: Revista de Filosofía de la Universidad de Costa Rica (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2003
Publisher: Universidad de Costa Rica
Volume: 40Issue: 103Page: 101(5)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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In the past fifteen years, feminist science critics have, for the most part, rejected empiricism because of its identification with positivism. Various assumptions of both empiricists and feminists, including the 'tenet' that individualism is an essential element of empiricism, have led to the belief that feminist science criticism is not a part of science. This view continues the myth that science is an autonomous and apolitical activity. Building on the work of W.V.0. Quine, Lynn Nelson clears away these obstacles and establishes a framework for a much-needed dialogue between feminist science critics and other scientists and scholars about the nature of science. She makes a case for a feminist empiricism that retains a crucial role for experience, but separates empiricism from individualism. Following Quine, Nelson argues that empiricism is a theory of evidence and is distinct from empiricist accounts of science that have been built on it.She urges feminists and empiricists to work together to develop a feminist empiricism, a view of science that can account for its obvious success in explaining and predicting experience and can encompass feminist insights into relationships among gender, politics, and science.Basing her arguments on Quine's non-foundationalist view that theories are bridges of our own construction, the author insists, as does Quine, that the construction of these bridges is constrained by experience. She determines that individualism is inconsistent with key Quinean positions and that empiricism can survive the demise of individualism. Clearly diverging from Quine, Nelson proposes the view that the evolving network of our theories does and should incorporate political views, including those shaped by, and shaping in turn, our experiences of gender. Author note: Lynn Hankinson Nelson is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Glassboro State College. ... Read more

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This work is an introduction to literary stylistics and the study of discourse. Its aim is to introduce students to models and techniques of analysis and to provide a basis for understanding how levels of discourse operate, both in literature and in other, non-literary forms of language. The covers syntax, vocabulary, phonology and social context in relation to different literary conventions, allowing readers to understand style as both a linguistic property and an interactional and social phenomenon. ... Read more

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W. V. Quine is one of the most eminent philosophers alive today. Now in his mid-eighties he has produced a sharp, sprightly book that encapsulates the whole of his philosophical enterprise, including his thinking on all the key components of his epistemological stance--especially the value of logic and mathematics. New readers of Quine may have to go slowly, fathoming for themselves the richness that past readers already know lies between these elegant lines. For the faithful there is much to ponder.

In this short book, based on lectures delivered in Spain in 1990, Quine begins by locating his work historically. He provides a lightning tour of the history of philosophy (particularly the history of epistemology), beginning with Plato and culminating in an appreciative sketch of Carnap's philosophical ambitions and achievements. This leads, in the second chapter, to an introduction to Quine's attempt to naturalize epistemology, which emphasizes his continuities with Carnap rather than the differences between them. The next chapters develop the naturalistic story of the development of science to take account of how our conceptual apparatus is enhanced so that we can view the world as containing re-identifiable objects. Having explained the role of observation sentences in providing a checkpoint for assessing scientific theories, and having despaired of constructing an empirical criterion to determine which sentences are meaningful, Quine in the remaining chapters takes up a variety of important issues about knowledge. He concludes with an extended treatment of his views about reference and meaning and his attitudes toward psychological and modal notions.

The presentation is distinctive, and the many small refinements of detail and formulation will fascinate all who know Quine's philosophy.

Customer Reviews (3)

Blinding as the big bang
Quine traces the path from rudimentary particles impinging on human sensory organs to man's most highly evolved behavior, the construction of strip malls.For those not familiar with postmodernist synchrocyclotronengineering, the going will be virtually impossible, but a basic knowledgeof addition and subtraction will go a long way toward helping the readingbecome totally confused.The ideas are both painful and tasty, but it'simportant to floss your teeth carefully after reading in order to grasp thefull ramifications of Quine's point.For those who were driven psychoticby Quine's other work, this book will prove immensely helpful in whilingaway the hours while waiting for the nurse to bring your Haldol.

A lucid, concise summary of Quine
Faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap corporate bodies of theories in a single bound, Quine stands up for the American way by showing the reader just how silly and utterly unconnected from reality modernanalytic philosophy has become.True to form, Quine has cut and pasted anumber of Martha Stewart's hors d'oeurve recipes into his text, disguisingthem in clever formal logic symbolism.But it is easy to see through thisand one can hardly put the book down without musing on how Quine would havemade a great chef instead of an incomprehensible Harvard philosopher. Indeterminacy of translation?Right.But when one thinks through Quine'slatest reflections on this matter it becomes clear that Quine is reallydescribing a very palatable salad dressing with just the right amount ofbalsamic vineager.Finally, one puts the text down with the clearunderstanding that Hilary Putnam's Representation and Reality is really theconfession of a closet pastry chef who took a wrong turn in life and endedup on the Harvard philosophy faculty.Nice going, Quine.

Tough, dense, but immensely rewarding.
Quine traces the path from simple stimulus to man's most advanced responseto his environment, the pursuit of science. For those not familiar withmathematical logic, the going will be almost impossible, but a knowledge ofthe predicate calculus and standard symbolism will carry you through. Theideas are brilliant and entrancing, but you have to work through themcarefully to catch the full implication. While this is mostly for thosefamiliar with Quine's other work, the general reader can still get quite alot from it. ... Read more

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Quine is one of the twentieth century's most important andinfluential philosophers. The essays in this collection are by some ofthe leading figures in their fields and they touch on the most recentturnings in Quine's work. The book also features an essay by Quinehimself, and his replies to each of the papers. Questions are raisedconcerning Quine's views on knowledge: observation, holism, truth,naturalized epistemology; about language: meaning, the indeterminacyof translation, conjecture; and about the philosophy of logic:ontology, singular terms, vagueness, identity, and intensionalcontexts. Given Quine's preeminent position, this book must be ofinterest to students of philosophy in general, Quine aficionados, andmost particularly to those working in the areas of epistemology,ontology, philosophies of language, of logic, and of science. ... Read more