Quintessence: Basic Readings from the Philosophy of W.V. Quine

by Willard Van Orman Quine, Roger F. Gibson Jr. (Editor)

Through the first half of the twentieth century, analytic philosophy was dominated by Russell, Wittgenstein, and Carnap. Influenced by Russell and especially by Carnap, another towering figure, Willard Van Orman Quine (1908–2000) emerged as the most important proponent of analytic philosophy during the second half of the century. Yet with twenty-three books and countless articles to his credit—including, most famously, Word and Object and "Two Dogmas of Empiricism"—Quine remained a philosopher's philosopher, largely unknown to the general public. Quintessence for the first time collects Quine's classic essays (such as "Two Dogmas" and "On What There Is") in one volume—and thus offers readers a much-needed introduction to his general philosophy. Divided into six parts, the thirty-five selections take up analyticity and reductionism; the indeterminacy of translation of theoretical sentences and the inscrutability of reference; ontology; naturalized epistemology; philosophy of mind; and extensionalism. Representative of Quine at his best, these readings are fundamental not only to an appreciation of the philosopher and his work, but also to an understanding of the philosophical tradition that he so materially advanced.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Metaphysics, Logic, Mathematics

432 pages, Hardcover

First published May 27, 2004

About the author

"Willard Van Orman Quine (June 25, 1908 Akron, Ohio – December 25, 2000) (known to intimates as "Van"), was an American analytic philosopher and logician. From 1930 until his death 70 years later, Quine was affiliated in some way with Harvard University, first as a student, then as a professor of philosophy and a teacher of mathematics, and finally as an emeritus elder statesman who published or revised seven books in retirement. He filled the Edgar Pierce Chair of Philosophy at Harvard, 1956-78. Quine falls squarely into the analytic philosophy tradition while also being the main proponent of the view that philosophy is not conceptual analysis. His major writings include "Two Dogmas of Empiricism", which attacked the distinction between analytic and synthetic propositions and advocated a form of semantic holism, and Word and Object which further developed these positions and introduced the notorious indeterminacy of translation thesis." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willard_...

Reviews

[Seyed · Rating 4 out of 5]

First pass through this collection of some of Quine's most famous essays.

I re-read Two Dogmas of Empiricism and whilst much attention has been paid to the refutation of analytic/synthetic distinction, I got more out of the critique of reductionism.

I found Translation and Meaning heavy going and I am unsure where I end up on it.

On What There Is a classic essay on a deflationary metaphysics. I share Quine's aesthetic sentiments for fewer entities. On ontology in general, I found myself agreeing with Quine against Carnap but I have to read more about Carnap's view to give it its due.

On Extensionalism, which is perhaps the core of Quine's philosophy, I found myself very sympathetic to the aims and criteria which he develops.

This is a book I will have to return to as my main research priorities are on the essays around Philosophy of Mind but there is only so much Quine one can read in one go.

[(_____) (____) · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as I know, this is the best anthology of Quine's best work. It contains classics like "On What There Is" and "Two Dogmas of Empiricism", along with other brilliant essays including "Carnap and Logical Truth" and "Truth by Convention", which do a much better job of refuting the analytic/synthetic distinction than the more famous "Two Dogmas", and "On Simple Theories of a Complex World", a short and convincing defense of the often asserted but rarely supported claim that it's better for scientific theories to be simple rather than complex.
There are no essays on logic, though a substantial amount of logic is used in the section on extensionalism and propositional attitudes.
My only complaint about this book is that it's too convenient- all the pieces in it were published in other works, so it makes it quite likely that if you have this book and purchase another anthology of Quine's essays, you'll find that at least some of its best parts were already here.

[Taryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read pieces of this and i have to say that Quine is really interesting. Pretty standard thought on him, but I definitely would recommend this to anyone interested in philosophy, especially if they liked Russel/Wittgenstein.

[Matt Marro · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of important works by W.V.O. Quine. Includes the class "Two Dogma's of Empiricism." A must read.