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    Quine's inscrutability of reference argument shows that w... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Perceptual contact with an object is not necessary for thinking of that object directly, even without appeal to the dthat-operator.

    Quine's inscrutability of reference argument shows that without a determinate anchoring relation, no unique object is singled out, undermining the very directness the claim asserts.

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    Key Terms

    Directness (in reference)(What the argument claims is undermined or weakened)
    The idea that words straightforwardly and clearly point to specific objects without any confusion or ambiguity.
    Inscrutability of reference(the core problem being inherited by the 'believes-true S' schema)
    Quine's idea that we can never definitively pin down what a word or sentence truly refers to or means, because multiple different interpretations could all fit the same observations.
    Quine(as a proper name referring to the philosopher whose theory is being discussed)
    Willard Van Orman Quine was a 20th-century American philosopher who wrote about how we know things and how language works. In this statement, we're discussing one of his specific ideas about observation.
    anchoring relation(as used in philosophy of language)
    A connection or link that ties a word or idea to a real thing in the world, like an anchor holding a boat in place.

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    determinate(Contrasted with determinables; taken to be independently posited in the causal/ontological economy)
    A maximally specific instance of a determinable property (e.g., scarlet as a determinate of red)
    reference(Distinguished from intension in the context of possible worlds semantics)
    The actual-world referent of an expression; what the expression picks out in the actual world.

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    2 topics

    Perception1 linkedPhilosophy of Language1 linked

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    Perceptual contact with an object is not necessary for thinking of that object d...

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