Stephen Law

"…for all its a priori reasonableness, a boundary between the analytic and synthetic statements simply has not been drawn. That there is such a distinction to be drawn at all is an unempirical dogma of empiricists, a metaphysical article of faith." Quine Quine is one of the most influential philosophers of the Twentieth Century. The son of a schoolteacher mother and entrepreneur father, Quine studied mathematics and logic at Oberlin College before winning a scholarship to Harvard. He spent his entire teaching career at Harvard, holding the Edgar Pierce Chair of Philosophy at Harvard University from 1956 to 2000. During WWII, Quine worked for US military intelligence. QUINE’S ATTACK ON ANALYTICITY Two kinds of truth Many philosophers have drawn a distinction between two kinds of truth. Take these two sentences: All bachelors are unmarried males All vixens are female foxes Both are true. But why? It’s tempting to answer: because of what the words “bachelor” and “vixen” mean. Th...