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    Quine's criterion of ontological commitment shows that wh... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→The dispute between fictionalism and paraphrase nominalism is an empirical dispute about ordinary-language semantics, not a purely metaphysical one.

    Quine's criterion of ontological commitment shows that what a theory 'says there is' depends on regimentation, not ordinary-language meaning.

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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Natural language is ambiguous and context-dependent, making ontological claims unclear without formal regimentation.
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    • 2.First-order logic regimentation reveals hidden quantificational structure that ordinary language obscures or leaves implicit.
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    • 3.Different regimentation schemes can be equally adequate empirically, showing meaning doesn't determine ontology uniquely.
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    Reasons Against

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    Reason against
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    • 1.Regimentation choices are constrained by fidelity to original meaning; we cannot arbitrarily assign ontology via notation.
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    • 2.If ontology depends entirely on regimentation, then theoretical ontology becomes conventional rather than truth-tracking about reality.
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    • 3.Ordinary language speakers have genuine referential intentions that determine what their claims commit them to, prior to regimentation.
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    Truth & Knowledge1 linkedPhilosophy of Language1 linked

    Related

    Different regimentation schemes can be equally adequate empirically, showing mea...First-order logic regimentation reveals hidden quantificational structure that o...If ontology depends entirely on regimentation, then theoretical ontology becomes...Natural language is ambiguous and context-dependent, making ontological claims u...
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    Ordinary language speakers have genuine referential intentions that determine wh...Regimentation choices are constrained by fidelity to original meaning; we cannot...The dispute between fictionalism and paraphrase nominalism is an empirical dispu...

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    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
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    1 edit