1908 – 2000
Willard Van Orman Quine was one of the most influential analytic philosophers of the 20th century, known for his work in logic, philosophy of language, and epistemology. He challenged the analytic-synthetic distinction and defended a form of naturalized epistemology and ontological relativity.
Argued against the analytic-synthetic distinction in 'Two Dogmas of Empiricism'
Developed the thesis of the indeterminacy of translation
Formulated the criterion of ontological commitment ('To be is to be the value of a bound variable')
Advanced naturalized epistemology
Defended holism about meaning and confirmation (Quine-Duhem thesis)