Ideas from 'Ontological Relativity' by Willard Quine [1968], by Theme Structure
[found in 'Ontological Relativity and Other Essays' by Quine,Willard [Columbia 1969,0-231-08357-2]].
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5. Theory of Logic / G. Quantification / 4. Substitutional Quantification
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If quantification is all substitutional, there is no ontology
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7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 6. Criterion for Existence
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Absolute ontological questions are meaningless, because the answers are circular definitions
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7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 11. Ontological Commitment / d. Commitment of theories
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Ontology is relative to both a background theory and a translation manual
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9. Objects / F. Identity among Objects / 1. Concept of Identity
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We know what things are by distinguishing them, so identity is part of ontology
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13. Knowledge Criteria / E. Relativism / 5. Language Relativism
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Two things are relative - the background theory, and translating the object theory into the background theory
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19. Language / B. Reference / 1. Reference theories
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Reference is inscrutable, because we cannot choose between theories of numbers [Orenstein]
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19. Language / F. Communication / 6. Interpreting Language / b. Indeterminate translation
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Indeterminacy translating 'rabbit' depends on translating individuation terms
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