FROM SHARED STIMULI TO PREESTABLISHED HARMONY: THE DEVELOPMENT OF QUINE’S THINKING ON INTERSUBJECTIVITY AND OBJECTIVE VALIDITY
Journal
HOPOS: The Journal of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2019-10
Author(s)
Abstract
W. V. O. Quine is generally seen as one of the foremost empiricists of the twentieth
century. For large parts of his career, the label “empiricist” is accurate; in his mature
work, however, he integrated decidedly antiempiricist elements in his epistemology. From
The Roots of Reference onward, he enlists natural selection and innate cognitive structures
to ensure that scientific concepts have a “degree of objective validity.” From From
Stimulus to Science onward, he also explains the very possibility of communication via a
preestablished harmony of innate cognitive structures that is guaranteed by natural selection.
This article reconstrues the reasons that compelled Quine to these commitments,
and it details the development of Quine’s thinking on these topics across more
than 3 decades; in particular, the article argues that recognizing that so-called stimulus
meanings are private decisively shaped Quine’s views. By means of a critical evaluation,
the article argues that natural selection can make plausible that scientific concepts have
a degree of objective validity—if this Quinean claim is properly understood; in contrast,
the article suggests, with recourse to research by Robert C. Richardson, that it is
doubtful whether natural selection can underpin the preestablished harmony that Quine
requires to explain communication.
century. For large parts of his career, the label “empiricist” is accurate; in his mature
work, however, he integrated decidedly antiempiricist elements in his epistemology. From
The Roots of Reference onward, he enlists natural selection and innate cognitive structures
to ensure that scientific concepts have a “degree of objective validity.” From From
Stimulus to Science onward, he also explains the very possibility of communication via a
preestablished harmony of innate cognitive structures that is guaranteed by natural selection.
This article reconstrues the reasons that compelled Quine to these commitments,
and it details the development of Quine’s thinking on these topics across more
than 3 decades; in particular, the article argues that recognizing that so-called stimulus
meanings are private decisively shaped Quine’s views. By means of a critical evaluation,
the article argues that natural selection can make plausible that scientific concepts have
a degree of objective validity—if this Quinean claim is properly understood; in contrast,
the article suggests, with recourse to research by Robert C. Richardson, that it is
doubtful whether natural selection can underpin the preestablished harmony that Quine
requires to explain communication.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Volume
9
Start page
343
End page
370
Pages
28
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
266270
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Name
hopos_published.pdf
Size
182.69 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
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