Electric Agora (archive)

Tag: Quine

  • Knowledge of the Past and Knowledge of the World

    by Mark English ___ My intention here is to recapitulate a couple of points arising from recent discussions with a view to clarifying my own position on the nature of the past, before briefly addressing some broader questions relating to realism and culture. Is it acceptable to distinguish between, on the one hand, an account…

  • Kant / Quine / Davidson — Implications for Realism

    My dialogue with Crispin Sartwell of Dickinson College on Kant, Quine, and Davidson. Originally aired on MeaningofLife.TV, May 6, 2019.

  • The Past is [Not] What it is or What it Was

    by Daniel A. Kaufman __ My title is derived from a comment made by our own Mark English, in a recent discussion on his excellent essay on history.  The thought his comment expresses is mistaken, but in the best sort of way, for explaining where it goes wrong helps us to understand something essential –…

  • Mini Symposium on Truth: Sartwell and Kaufman on Theories of Truth

    by Daniel A. Kaufman https://youtu.be/cV8exWNlGUA My discussion with Crispin Sartwell of Dickinson College on theories of truth.  Originally aired on the Sophia program, MeaningofLife.TV, February 12, 2019.

  • A Modest Critique of Quine’s Web of Belief

    By Daniel Tippens Most of W.V.O Quine’s landmark essay, “Two Dogmas of Empiricism” is devoted to a critique of the analytic/synthetic distinction.  Quine defines an analytic statement as either a logical truth – “Bachelors are bachelors” – or a statement that can be turned into a logical truth by exchanging synonyms –“Bachelors are unmarried men.” …