Research Article

WHAT DOES THE CONTINUITY THESIS REALLY MEAN IN QUINE’S PHILOSOPHY?

Number: 35 May 20, 2023
TR EN

WHAT DOES THE CONTINUITY THESIS REALLY MEAN IN QUINE’S PHILOSOPHY?

Abstract

The continuity thesis (CT) does not suggest that the similarities between science, common sense, and philosophy are much more than its opponents might claim. Under its Quinean motivation, CT is used to suggest a normative idea concerning how to do philosophy; it is not a descriptive thesis about the actual relationships between philosophy, common sense, and science, except the historical and developmental origins of them. CT is not primarily a descriptive thesis on the similarities between science and non-science. It is, however, based upon another descriptive, closely related thesis: starting from the middle. All thought, human and animal, scientific or not, begins from an inherited mass of knowledge, assumptions, and a surrounding general framework. There is no cosmic exile, Archimedean point, and “view from nowhere.” This is an observation for Quine and underlies his attack against the analytic and the synthetic distinction; his defense of holism and of empiricism which in combination yields Quinean naturalism. Thus, CT should be considered as the ultimate expression of Quinean naturalism and cannot be invalidated by showing the vast differences, even occasionally outright opposition, between science, common sense, and philosophy. Neither does it imply that philosophy must be assimilated into science without a substantial shift in the present notion of science.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

-

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

May 20, 2023

Submission Date

December 25, 2022

Acceptance Date

April 25, 2023

Published in Issue

Year 2023 Number: 35

Chicago
Tümkaya, Serdal. 2023. “WHAT DOES THE CONTINUITY THESIS REALLY MEAN IN QUINE’S PHILOSOPHY?”. FLSF Felsefe Ve Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, nos. 35: 179-92. https://doi.org/10.53844/flsf.1224220.

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