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7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 11. Ontological Commitment / d. Commitment of theories

[ontological commitment of serious theories]

11 ideas
Express a theory in first-order predicate logic; its ontology is the types of bound variable needed for truth [Quine, by Lowe]
Ontological commitment of theories only arise if they are classically quantified [Quine]
Fictional quantification has no ontology, so we study ontology through scientific theories [Quine, by Orenstein]
An ontology is like a scientific theory; we accept the simplest scheme that fits disorderly experiences [Quine]
Ontology is relative to both a background theory and a translation manual [Quine]
For Quine everything exists theoretically, as reference, predication and quantification [Quine, by Benardete,JA]
If the best theory of adverbs refers to events, then our ontology should include events [Davidson, by Sider]
Fundamental ontology aims at the preconditions for any true theory [Heil]
Accept the ontology of your best theory - and also that it carves nature at the joints [Sider]
To get an ontology from ontological commitment, just add that some theory is actually true [Maudlin]
Theories do not avoid commitment to entities by avoiding certain terms or concepts [Thomasson]