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    Quine's indeterminacy of reference thesis demonstrates th... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→We must distinguish between the radical empiricist's meaning of 'meaning' (epistemic reduction) and a more common-sensical meaning of 'meaning' (factual reference).

    Quine's indeterminacy of reference thesis demonstrates that no term—observational or theoretical—has a uniquely determinate referent independent of translation schemes.

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    Reasons For

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    • 1.Translation manuals for the same language can be incompatible yet equally consistent with all possible behavioral evidence.
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    • 2.Referential content depends on the entire web of beliefs, not isolated terms, making reference underdetermined by observation alone.
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    • 3.No empirical fact about speaker behavior can distinguish between competing assignments of meanings to words.
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    Reasons Against

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    • 1.Indeterminacy applies only to radical translation; native speakers demonstrably share determinate references within their language.
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    • 2.Causal-historical theories of reference ground determinate content in concrete objects, not just translation schemes.
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    • 3.If reference were truly indeterminate, Quine couldn't meaningfully claim his own thesis has determinate content.
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    Causal-historical theories of reference ground determinate content in concrete o...If reference were truly indeterminate, Quine couldn't meaningfully claim his own...Indeterminacy applies only to radical translation; native speakers demonstrably ...No empirical fact about speaker behavior can distinguish between competing assig...
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    Referential content depends on the entire web of beliefs, not isolated terms, ma...Translation manuals for the same language can be incompatible yet equally consis...We must distinguish between the radical empiricist's meaning of 'meaning' (epist...

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