Ontological Relativity
Philosopher W.V. Quine talks about ontological relativity, which says that the objects a theory deals with or talks about--the objects that are values of its variables or referred to by its essential pronouns--can be changed arbitrarily. The only ca...
Ontology
Philosopher W.V. Quine explains the concept of ontology, which is something he wrote about extensively. He states that in general terms it is the science of being, the science of existence. Professor Quine observes that when tracking "things" (objec...
Observation Sentences
Philosopher W.V. Quine explains observation sentences, noting that they are also occasion sentences. By this he means they are sentences which may be true now, but false a little later. As an example, he offers the sentence, "It's raining." Professo...
Philosophy and Science
Philosopher W.V. Quine talks about what philosophy means to him and what philosophers do. He states that philosophy is very closely related to science and that there isn't a clear boundary between them.
How A Child Learns Language (Part 2)
Philosopher W.V. Quine continues his discussion of how children learn language. He re-asserts the importance of instinct in the learning process, linking it to what he calls perceptual similarities associated with things to be avoided or pursued.
How A Child Learns Language (Part 1)
Philosopher W.V. Quine talks about how children learn language. He equates learning with conditioning, which is based on the instinct of induction--that is, the instinct to expect similar events to be followed by events which are in turn similar to ...
Language, Meaning and Truth
Philosopher W.V. Quine explores what he calls "the meaning of meaning." Using the formula for momentum as an example, he talks about the temporal nature of supposed statements of truth, arguing that what appears to be "true" today may not be conside...
Behaviorism
Philosopher W.V. Quine talks about behaviorism, stressing that the explanation of an event has always got to be expressed in physical terms. As part of this discussion, he touches on how children learn language, noting that they do so by viewing som...
Truth
Philosopher W.V. Quine talks about truth, pointing out paradoxes that often crop up in such discussions. As an example, he cites the contradiction inherent in the sentence, "This sentence is false."