Famous Quotes | English general and singular...

English general and singular terms, identity, quantification, and the whole bag of ontological tricks may be correlated with elements of the native language in any of various mutually incompatible ways, each compatible with all possible linguistic data, and none preferable to another save as favored by a rationalization of the native language that is simple and natural to us. - Willard Van Orman Quine
Attribution: Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908), U.S. philosopher, logician. “Speaking of Objects,” p. 4f, Ontological Relativity and Other Essays (1969). One of numerous avowals of the author’s belief in “indeterminacy of radical translation.”

Categories: Language, Logician, Objects, Philosopher, Translation

Dictionary Tip:

Lookup any word on eNotes with our dictionary. Highlight the word and press SHIFT + D for a definition, or SHIFT + T for a synonym.