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Rafts, Boats, and Cruise Ships Verhaegh, Sander

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Download date: 11-02-2018 RAFTS, BOATS, AND CRUISE SHIPS Naturalism and Holism in Quine’s Philosophy

SANDER VERHAEGH

RAFTS,BOATS,ANDCRUISESHIPS © Sander Verhaegh, Groningen, 2015

Cover design: Anne Jansen. Typesetting: This document was typeset using (a modified ver- sion of) classicthesis, a style developed by André Miede and inspired by Robert Bringhurst’s The Elements of Typographic Style. Printed by *studio Michał Sławi´nski.

This research was funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), Grant 322-20-001.

ISBN: 978-90-367-8255-5 ISBN: 978-90-367-8254-8 (e-book)

Rafts, Boats, and Cruise Ships

Naturalism and Holism in Quine’s Philosophy

Proefschrift

ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen op gezag van de rector magnificus prof. dr. E. Sterken en volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties.

De openbare verdediging zal plaatsvinden op

donderdag 19 november 2015 om 16.15 uur

door

Alexander Alfons Verhaegh

geboren op 18 maart 1986 te Helden

Promotor Prof. dr. A.J.M. Peijnenburg

Copromotor Dr. A.M. Tamminga

Beoordelingscommissie Prof. dr. G. Ebbs Prof. dr. H.J. Glock Prof. dr. L.B. Decock

CONTENTS list of abbrevations xiii acknowledgments xxiii list of publications xxvii

1 introduction1 1.1 Historical background ...... 1 1.2 Naturalism and holism ...... 10 1.3 Reading Quine in context ...... 11 1.4 Plan ...... 14 i immanent and transcendent 19

2 quine’s argument from despair 21 2.1 Introduction ...... 21 2.2 From to straight psychology ...... 26 2.3 Two strategies ...... 35 2.4 Self-sufficient sensory ...... 37 2.5 Quine’s response to the sceptic ...... 42 2.6 Taking holism seriously ...... 45 2.7 Theory vs. ...... 48 2.8 Reinterpreting “ Naturalized” . . . 52

3 internal and external questions 57 3.1 Introduction ...... 58 3.2 Internal and external claims ...... 62 3.3 Two distinctions ...... 68 3.4 Quine on metaphysical existence claims ...... 74 3.5 Rabbits and -rabbits ...... 80 3.6 The ideal of pure reason ...... 85 3.7 Conclusion ...... 89

ix x contents

4 boarding neurath’s boat 91 4.1 Introduction ...... 91 4.2 Quinean naturalism decomposed ...... 93 4.3 Commitment 1: ...... 95 4.4 Commitment 2: holism ...... 98 4.5 Commitment 3: realism ...... 100 4.6 Early empiricism and bold ...... 102 4.7 Quine’s naturalism in the early 1940s ...... 105 4.8 Narrow and wide holism ...... 111 4.9 Unregenerate realism ...... 119 4.10 From to realism ...... 121 4.11 From to realism ...... 125 4.12 Conclusion ...... 130

ii naturalism and holism 133

5 varieties of holism 135 5.1 Introduction: the ‘discovery’ of Vulcan ...... 135 5.2 Evidential holism ...... 142 5.3 Falsification and scientific practice ...... 144 5.4 Grünbaum’s argument ...... 148 5.5 The whole of ? ...... 151 5.6 revisability ...... 157 5.7 holism ...... 164 5.8 Conclusion ...... 170

6 science, , and sets 173 6.1 Introduction ...... 173 6.2 Justifying the of theory ...... 176 6.3 Realism and naturalism ...... 180 6.4 Pure mathematics vs. pure astrology ...... 185 6.5 Mad mathematics ...... 189 6.6 Open-minded naturalism ...... 195 6.7 Haack’s argument ...... 196 6.8 Aposteriorism vs. scientism ...... 199 contents xi

6.9 Quine’s replies ...... 205 6.10 SCIENCE vs. science ...... 208 6.11 A deflationary theory of justification ...... 211 6.12 ‘Traditional epistemology’ revisited ...... 213

7 conclusion 219 bibliography 225 samenvatting 269 index 273

LISTOFABBREVIATIONS

This section provides a list of abbreviations used in this disserta- tion to refer to W. V. Quine’s (published and unpublished) work. Detailed references can be found in the Bibliography. A com- plete list of Quine’s publications up to 1993 (including reprints and translations) can be found in Yeghiayan( 2009). For an over- view of papers, books, reprints, and translations after 1993, see Douglas B. Quine’s website http://wvquine.org. The unpub- lished papers, letters, lectures, and notebooks listed below (marked with an asterisk) are stored at the Harvard Deposi- tory and can be accessed at Houghton Library. The documents’ call numbers, box numbers, and item numbers are provided in the Bibliography. A catalogue of much of Quine’s unpublished work is provided by Houghton Library at http://oasis.lib. harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/~hou01800.

ANM Animadversion on the of Meaning (1949)

AT* Afterthoughts (1987)

AWVQ Autobiography of W.V. Quine (1986)

BTJ* The Behavioristic Treatment of James’ Theory of (1930)

CA Carnap (1987)

CB Comment on Berger (1990)

CCE Confessions of a Confirmed Extensionalist and Other Essays (2008)

xiii xiv abbreviations

CD Contextual Definition (1995)

CGC A Comment on Grünbaum’s Claim (1962)

CH Comment on Haack (1990)

CK Comment on Koppelberg (1990)

CLT Carnap and Logical (1954)

CP Comment on Parsons (1990)

CPT Carnap’s Positivistic Travail (1984)

CNT Comments on Neil Tennant’s “Carnap and Quine” (1994)

CVO Carnap’s Views on (1951)

CWH* and Working Hypotheses (1931)

DE Designation and Existence (1939)

EBDQ Exchange Between Donald Davidson and W. V. Quine Following Davidson’s Lecture (1994)

EESW On Empirically Equivalent Systems of the World (1975)

EJ* Early Jottings on Philosophy of (1937-1944)

EN Epistemology Naturalized (1969)

ENP* Epistemology Naturalized; or, the case for psychologism (1968)

EQ Existence and Quantification (1969)

FLM* Foundations of a Linguistic Theory of Meaning (1943) abbreviations xv

FLPV From a Logical Point of View (1953/1961)

FM of the (1977)

FME Five Milestones of Empiricism (1975)

FSS From Stimulus to Science (1995)

GML The Growth of and Language (1997)

GQW , W. V. Quine and : A Triangular Correspondence (1947)

GT Grades of Theoreticity (1970)

HO* Holism (1987)

ICQ* In Conversation: Professor W. V. Quine. Interviews by R. Fara (1993)

IKL* The Lectures: Science and Sensibilia (1980)

ILP The Importance of for Philosophy (1950)

IOH , Ostension, Hypostasis (1946)

IPOS In Praise of Sentences (1993)

IQJ* Interview with Quine for “La Janguardia” (1990)

IV Immanence and Validity (1991)

IWVQ Interview with . Interview by L. Bergström and D. Føllesdal (1994)

LAOP A Logistical Approach to the Ontological Problem (1939) xvi abbreviations

LC Lectures on Carnap (1934)

LDHP Lectures on ’s Philosophy (1946)

LMAP Let Me Accentuate the Positive (1990)

LSQ* Levine Seminar Questions for Quine (1982)

ME* Mathematical Entities (1950)

ML1 Methods of Logic. First edition (1950)

ML4 Methods of Logic. Fourth edition (1982)

MMT* Mathematics as a Mode of (1930)

MSLT Mr. Strawson on Logical Theory (1953)

MVD Mind and Verbal Dispositions (1975)

N1* Nominalism (1937)

N2 Nominalism (1946)

NDL* The Notre Dame Lectures (1970)

NEN Notes on Existence and Necessity (1943)

NK Natural Kinds (1969)

NLOM Naturalism; Or, Living within One’s Means (1995)

NNK The of Natural (1975)

NR* Notes on Reading (undated)

OAM On Austin’s Method (1969)

OE* Ontology and Epistemology (1944)

OK* On the Organization of Knowledge (1927) abbreviations xvii

OLPL* Oxford Lecture: (1953)

OM* Ontology, , etc... (1944-1951)

OME On Mental Entities (1953)

ON* Ontology Notes (1944)

ONAS On the Notion of an Analytic (1946)

OR Ontological Relativity (1968)

OR67* Ontological Relativity (1967)

ORE Ontological Relativity and other essays (1969)

ORWN Ontological Reduction and the World of Numbers (1964)

OW Otherworldly (1978)

OWTI On What There Is (1948)

PIP* A Pragmatic Interpretation of Posivitism (1937)

PL Philosophy of Logic (1970/1986)

PML The Problem of Meaning in (1953)

PPE The Pragmatists’ Place in Empiricism (1975)

PPLT Philosophical Progress in Language Theory (1970)

PR Posits and (1955)

PT Pursuit of Truth (1990/1992)

PTE* The Place of a Theory of Evidence (1952)

PTF Progress on Two Fronts (1996) xviii abbreviations

QBC* The Quine-Bergström Correspondence (1988-1996)

QCC The Quine-Carnap Correspondence (1932-1970)

QCC* The Quine-Church Correspondence (1935-1994)

QD Quine in Dialogue (2008)

QGC* The Quine-Goodman Correspondence (1935-1994)

QHC* The Quine-Haack Correspondence (1975-1997)

QHWC* The Quine-Hookway Correspondence (1988)

QKC* The Quine-Koppelberg Correspondence (1981-1994)

QQN* Questions for Quine by (1986)

QSM Quine Speaks His Mind. An interview by E. Pivcevic (1988)

QU Quiddities (1987)

QWC* The Quine-Woodger Correspondence (1938-1982)

QWVO Quine/’kwain/, Willard Van Orman (b. 1908) (1996)

RA Responses to Articles by Abel Bergström, Davidson, Dreben, Gibson, Hookway, and Prawitz (1994)

RAB and Absolutism (1984)

RCP Reply to Charles Parsons (1986) abbreviations xix

RE Reactions (1995)

RES Responses to Szubka, Lehrer, Bergström, Gibson, Miscevic, and Orenstein (1999)

RGH Reply to Geoffrey Hellman (1986)

RHP Reply to (1986)

RHW Reply to (1986)

RJV Reply to (1986)

RMW Reply to Morton White (1986)

ROD Russell’s Ontological Development (1966)

RPR Reply to Professor Riska’s Eight Questions (1992)

RR (1973)

RRG Reply to Roger F. Gibson, Jr. (1986)

RRN Reply to (1986)

RWA Reply to William P. Alston (1986)

RS1 Reply to Stroud (1968)

RS2 Reply to Stroud (1981)

RTE Responses to Essays by Smart, Orenstein, Lewis and Holdcroft, and Haack (1997)

SBLM Sellars on Behaviorism, Language and Meaning (1980)

SCN Steps toward a Constructive Nominalism (1947)

SID Soft Impeachment Disowned (1980) xx abbreviations

SLP Selected Logic Papers (1966/1995)

SLS The Scope and Language of Science (1954)

SM Stimulus and Meaning (1965)

SN Structure and Nature (1992)

SO* and ; or, The of (1944)

SSE Sticks and Stones; or, The Ins and Outs of Existence (1984)

SSS The Sensory Support of Science (1986)

STCW On Simple Theories of a Complex World (1960)

STL and its Logic (1963/1969)

TC Truth by Convention (1936)

TCL Twentieth-Century Logic. An interview by G. Borradori (1994)

TDE Two of Empiricism (1951)

TDR Two Dogmas in Retrospect (1991)

TH* Things (1943)

TI Three Indeterminacies (1990)

TML The of My Life (1985)

TO* A Tentative Ontology (1941)

TR Truth (1994)

TT Theories and Things (1981)

TTPT Things and Their Place in Theories (1981) abbreviations xxi

VD Vagaries of Definition (1972)

VITD On the Very of a Third (1981)

WB The Web of (1970/1978)

WDWD Where Do We Disagree (1999)

WIB What I Believe (1984)

WMB* What it Means to Be (1944)

WO (1960)

WP The Ways of and other essays (1966/1976)

WPB What Price Bivalence? (1981)

WWI The Way the World Is (1986)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Although people often respond with an incredulous stare when I tell them that I cannot imagine any job more stimulating and rewarding than writing a dissertation, I truly consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to write this book and to do so in such an inspiring environment. Here, I would like to thank the people who have contributed to this environment. First and foremost, I would like to thank Jeanne Peijnenburg, without whom I would never have been able to complete this dissertation in such an untroubled way. In , without Jeanne I would not have written this book in the first place, as she has invested an enormous amount of time in helping me turn my into a successful grant proposal and has sparked my enthusiasm for the history of with her ex- citing lectures on the . In her role as my supervisor, Jeanne has also been an incredibly warm person and tremen- dously generous with her time. Her helpful and constructive comments and her insightful lessons have contributed to my de- velopment in ways that cannot be overestimated. Jeanne some- how managed to give me all the freedom I needed to follow my own ideas while making sure that everything was headed in the right direction. Thank you, Jeanne, for all your help. I am also greatly indebted to Allard Tamminga. I have learned a lot while writing a paper with him and I am grateful that he suggested that I go to Harvard to study Quine’s archives. I ad- mire Allard’s decisiveness as well as his astonishing precision; when Allard gives you feedback, not even a misplaced comma in your bibliography is safe. Thank you for all your help as co-supervisor.

xxiii xxiv acknowledgments

Many others have also contributed to this dissertation. Be- sides those who are thanked in the coming chapters for their feedback on particular papers, arguments, and presentations, I would like to thank David Atkinson, Benjamin Bewersdorf, Patryk Dziurosz-Serafinowicz, Rohan French, Leon Geerdink, Ronnie Hermens, Fred Keijzer, Franziska Köder, Barteld Kooi, Bouke Kuijer, Theo Kuipers, Jan Albert van Laar, Yanjun Li, Emar Maier, Catarina Dutilh Novaes, Jan-Willem Romeijn, Mar- ta Sznajder, the members of the PCCP, and the members of the Work in Progress group for their helpful comments and suggestions. For their help with numerous technical and finan- cial issues, I would like to thank Siepie Blom, Trijnie Hekman, Marga Hids, Jorine Janssen, Fré Morrees, Hauke de Vries, and Anita Willems-Veenstra. Finally, I would like to thank Karolina Krzyzanowska˙ for being a marvellous office companion, the epistemology reading group for the inspiring discussions, and Coos Engelsma, Job de Grefte, Pieter van der Kolk, and Tom Sterkenburg for the entertaining dinners and drinks, and for the countless we went dancing afterwards. Outside Groningen’s Faculty of Philosophy, I would like to thank Lieven Decock, Gary Ebbs, and Hans-Johann Glock for their willingness to participate in the assessment committee; the NWO for supporting my research; the anonymous referees who have reviewed the papers on which this book is based for their helpful comments; John Christ, Rebecca Faulkner, Mark Richard, and the staff at the Houghton Library for their help in making my stay at Harvard easier and more productive; and Anne Jansen for designing such a beautiful cover. Finally, I would like both to thank my parents and my brother for their support and apologize to them for all the occasions on which they had to try and explain to others what my disserta- tion is about; to thank Boudewijn Dekker and Michiel Ghijsen for preparing me for an environment in which everything is up for debate; to thank Steef Engels, Myrna Eppings, Boy Joosten, acknowledgments xxv

Tim Vaessen, and the members of the Jaegers for tolerating a in their midst; and to thank Emily Miltenburg and Pandora for their loving and furry support respectively.

LISTOFPUBLICATIONS

Parts of this dissertation have been published or are currently under review for publication elsewhere:

Verhaegh, S. (2014). Quine’s Argument from Despair. The British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 22(1):150-173 (chapter 2).

Verhaegh, S. (under review-a), Electrons, Elephants, and Empty Sets: Quine on Metaphysics and the Internal-External Dis- tinction (chapter 3).

Verhaegh, S. (under review-b), Boarding Neurath’s Boat: The Early Development of Quine’s Naturalism (chapter 4).

Tamminga, A. and Verhaegh, S. (2013). Katz’s Revisability Para- dox Dissolved. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 91(4):771- 784 (section 5.6).

Verhaegh, S. (under review-c), Quine: Philosophy of Logic (sec- tion 5.6).

Verhaegh, S. (2013). Quine, Putnam, and the Naturalization of Metaphysics. In Baumgartner, S., Heisenberg, T., and Krebs, S. (eds.). Metaphysics or Modernity? (pp. 249-269). Uni- versity of Bamberg Press, Bamberg (section 6.6).

Verhaegh, S. (under review-d), Rafts and Cruise Ships: Quine’s Naturalism Disambiguated (sections 6.7-6.12).

xxvii