W.V.O. Quine - Epistemology Naturalized

Notes on Quine

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W.V.O. Quine

Epistemology Naturalized, pp. 916-925.

The Bifurcation of Theories of Knowledge

Conceptual Side

What are the natures of the fundamental relationships and concepts of the area of study?

Doctrinal Side

What are the actual particular relationships and objects in our area of study?

Mathematics

Conceptual Side

Basic logical relationships that all mathematical systems must follow.

Doctrinal Side

The particular rules of a mathematical system that do not come from logic nor are proved from some clearer, more fundamental axiom or postulate.

Hume and Natural Science

Conceptual Side

Bodies (what we would like to call physical objects) are merely a collection of present sense impressions. There is a mass of bodies, and we do not distinguish them on reason alone, but on the habit of constant conjunction.

Doctrinal Side

There seems to be no general statements about bodies or particular knowledge about particular bodies that can be established.

Two possible solutions to Hume-like problems: contextual definition and embracing set-theory.

Contextual Definition

We do not need to relate the objects of our discussion directly to particular words and their relationships in our sentences. It is perfectly fine to translate entire sentences to entire sentences.

Thus our sentences can be meaningful, even if there is no way to separate out components of those sentences and analyze them alone. The way to analyze to components of a sentence is to pay attention to the sentence housing the components. One should also look at the relationship between the sentence and other sentences in the part of language in which the sentence belongs.

This solves the Hume-like problems because it cannot be denied that our sentences have meaning merely because we have problems with linguistic components in isolation. We do not need to focus on the properties of individual objects as they relate to individual words.

Set Theory

A semi-mathematical or semi-logical theory of groups or classes of objects.

Determines the relationships between sets of objects and sets of sets.

Some philosophers think that epistemological problems can be solved by relying on set theory. But why should the universe obey set theory? If set theory is the answer, then sets and the possible relations between them must exist in some way in the universe, they must be real in some way. Not everyone thinks this is a good solution.

Rudolph Carnap

Conceptual Side

Logic and set theory determine objects and relations

Doctrinal Side

All knowledge of the world arises from sense experience. Logic and set theory lead from observations to scientific theory.

Problem: No amount of logic (or set theory) can show that your scientific theory is proven from your observation. (Hempel, Popper.)

Quine: Epistemologists gave up on the Doctrinal side, but continued on the Conceptual side.

Two tenets remained in empiricist epistemology:

Whatever evidence there is for science is sensory evidence.

Any meaning that there is in words arises from sensory evidence.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a logical structure of theories in which the role of sensory experience was nicely spelled out? But if you had one, how would you know that it was the right one?

If we represent a theory in terms of sense information and logic, what happens when there is an observation that goes against the theory? Do we throw the entire theory out or just a part of the theory? Which part of the theory? Finding the observational consequences of a sentence is important, but it is not the whole story.

The New Epistemology: Epistemology in a psychological setting.

Quine recasts observation sentences as those sentences that a community intersubjectively agrees upon. In order to have an observation there must be a community of language speakers.

The study of epistemology becomes the study of the relationships of a community of language speakers. Epistemology covers the way that the language is agreed upon, changes and evolves over time. IT covers the scope of communities, whether or not we are talking about small communities of experts or larger societies of interested parties or states.

Like in the work of Code, the nature of the individual knower and his or her community become central to investigations into epistemology. This look at the community is not meant to reject all objective knowledge wholesale. Rather, it is to carefully analyze the nature of intersubjective agreement.

Code offers moral and political considerations as means to determine the right way for knowledge gathering to evolve. What does Quine offer?

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Notes on Quine
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s	W.V.O. Quine Epistemology Naturalized, pp. 916-925. The Bifurcation of Theories of Knowledge Conceptual Side What are the natures of the fundamental relationships and concepts of the area of study? Doctrinal Side What are the actual particular relationships and objects in our area of study? Mathematics Conceptual Side Basic logical relationships that all mathematical systems must follow. Doctrinal Side The particular rules of a mathematical system that do not come from logic nor are proved from some clearer, more fundamental axiom or postulate. Hume and Natural Science Conceptual Side Bodies (what we would like to call physical objects) are merely a collection of present sense impressions. There is a mass of bodies, and we do not distinguish them on reason alone, but on the habit of constant conjunction. Doctrinal Side There seems to be no general statements about bodies or particular knowledge about particular bodies that can be established. Two possible solutions to Hume-like problems: contextual definition and embracing set-theory. Contextual Definition We do not need to relate the objects of our discussion directly to particular words and their relationships in our sentences. It is perfectly fine to translate entire sentences to entire sentences. Thus our sentences can be meaningful, even if there is no way to separate out components of those sentences and analyze them alone. The way to analyze to components of a sentence is to pay attention to the sentence housing the components. One should also look at the relationship between the sentence and other sentences in the part of language in which the sentence belongs. This solves the Hume-like problems because it cannot be denied that our sentences have meaning merely because we have problems with linguistic components in isolation. We do not need to focus on the properties of individual objects as they relate to individual words. Set Theory A semi-mathematical or semi-logical theory of groups or classes of objects. Determines the relationships between sets of objects and sets of sets. Some philosophers think that epistemological problems can be solved by relying on set theory. But why should the universe obey set theory? If set theory is the answer, then sets and the possible relations between them must exist in some way in the universe, they must be real in some way. Not everyone thinks this is a good solution. Rudolph Carnap Conceptual Side Logic and set theory determine objects and relations Doctrinal Side All knowledge of the world arises from sense experience. Logic and set theory lead from observations to scientific theory. Problem: No amount of logic (or set theory) can show that your scientific theory is proven from your observation. (Hempel, Popper.) Quine: Epistemologists gave up on the Doctrinal side, but continued on the Conceptual side. Two tenets remained in empiricist epistemology: Whatever evidence there is for science is sensory evidence. Any meaning that there is in words arises from sensory evidence. Wouldn't it be nice to have a logical structure of theories in which the role of sensory experience was nicely spelled out? But if you had one, how would you know that it was the right one? If we represent a theory in terms of sense information and logic, what happens when there is an observation that goes against the theory? Do we throw the entire theory out or just a part of the theory? Which part of the theory? Finding the observational consequences of a sentence is important, but it is not the whole story. The New Epistemology: Epistemology in a psychological setting. Quine recasts observation sentences as those sentences that a community intersubjectively agrees upon. In order to have an observation there must be a community of language speakers. The study of epistemology becomes the study of the relationships of a community of language speakers. Epistemology covers the way that the language is agreed upon, changes and evolves over time. IT covers the scope of communities, whether or not we are talking about small communities of experts or larger societies of interested parties or states. Like in the work of Code, the nature of the individual knower and his or her community become central to investigations into epistemology. This look at the community is not meant to reject all objective knowledge wholesale. Rather, it is to carefully analyze the nature of intersubjective agreement. Code offers moral and political considerations as means to determine the right way for knowledge gathering to evolve. What does Quine offer? Back to top.	s
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