Theories and Things

by Willard Van Orman Quine

Book Overview

Here are the most recent writings, some of them unpublished, of the preeminent philosopher of our time. Philosophical reflections on language are brought to bear upon metaphysical and epistemological questions such as these: What does it mean to assume objects, concrete and abstract? How do such assumptions serve science? What is the empirical content of a scientific theory? Further essays deal with meaning, moral values, analytical philosophy...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674879260
• ISBN13: 9780674879263
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: Belknap Press
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Penultimate Empiricism, with a Twist

The grand old man of modern-day empricism, Willard van Owen Quine, puts to rest any lingering doubts about whether reality is an indexical in what is yet another example of his fluid prose and unmatched ability to dissect the most profound of questions without spilling his Martini (in fact, Quine gives an excellent recipe for Martinis in this book, but I have to admit, his recommendation for adding "a dash of Ketalar" seems a bit much for me). Quine wants to wipe away persistant skepticism about empiricism with a Bounty paper towel, but this just doesn't wash, and he is left admitting that he's just sick of the whole debate and would rather talk about why we are talking about things, as if there were anything else to talk about. For those who loved _Persuit of Truth_, this book will be nothing to write home about, but for those who rated it up there with Korzybyski's General Semantics, some postage might be in order. In any case, budding philosophers are urged to cut their teeth on something more comprehensible, like Heidegger's _Being and Time_, before moving up to this, lest they wind up searching for clues about ultimate reality in the patterns in bowls of coleslaw. All in all, vaguely recommended.