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"Becker, Edward F"
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The themes of Quine's philosophy : meaning, reference, and knowledge
\"Willard Van Orman Quine's work revolutionized the fields of epistemology, semantics and ontology. At the heart of his philosophy are several interconnected doctrines: his rejection of conventionalism and of the linguistic doctrine of logical and mathematical truth, his rejection of the analytic/synthetic distinction, his thesis of the indeterminacy of translation and his thesis of the inscrutability of reference. In this book Edward Becker sets out to interpret and explain these doctrines. He offers detailed analyses of the relevant texts, discusses Quine's views on meaning, reference and knowledge, and shows how Quine's views developed over the years. He also proposes a new version of the linguistic doctrine of logical truth, and a new way of rehabilitating analyticity. His rich exploration of Quine's thought will interest all those seeking to understand and evaluate the work of one of the most important philosophers of the second half of the twentieth century\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
The Themes of Quine's Philosophy
Willard Van Orman Quine's work revolutionized the fields of epistemology, semantics and ontology. At the heart of his philosophy are several interconnected doctrines: his rejection of conventionalism and of the linguistic doctrine of logical and mathematical truth, his rejection of the analytic/synthetic distinction, his thesis of the indeterminacy of translation and his thesis of the inscrutability of reference. In this book Edward Becker sets out to interpret and explain these doctrines. He offers detailed analyses of the relevant texts, discusses Quine's views on meaning, reference and knowledge, and shows how Quine's views developed over the years. He also proposes a new version of the linguistic doctrine of logical truth, and a new way of rehabilitating analyticity. His rich exploration of Quine's thought will interest all those seeking to understand and evaluate the work of one of the most important philosophers of the second half of the twentieth century.
eBook
Justice, utility, and interpersonal comparisons
One of the most common objections against utilitarianism is that it cannot account for the claims of distributive justice. This objection can be answered by appeal to the principle of Diminishing Marginal Utility (DMU), which says that the value of a given portion of a commodity tends to increase as a person's supply of the commodity decreases. Several points regarding the principle of DMU are commented upon: (1) the principle is a \"generality rather than a generalization,\" (2) DMU is a \"normative principle, not a psychological one,\" & (3) although DMU's explicit formulation is associated with welfare economics, \"the priciple is firmly grounded in common sense conceptions of value.\" DMU implies that--other things equal--the way to maximize the value of a commodity is to distribute it equally. Some economists have objected to DMU on the ground that it presupposes interpersonal comparisons of utility, but the position taken here is that the arguments they have advanced against the objectivity of such comparisons are unsound. The interpersonal comparisons presupposed by DMU are ordinal, rather than cardinal, & there are reasons to believe that ordinal comparisons, at least, do have an objective basis. Comments are offered on how this relates to the issue of establishing scales for measuring desire, satisfaction, or utility. Modified HA.
Journal Article
Cross-Town Call--Or Cross-Country?
On August 11. I tried to call a friend in the northwestern section of Killing-worth - from the coin-box telephone in the Killing-worth Elementary School - and was told by the operator to deposit 65 cents for three...
Newspaper Article
Savings And Loan Group Reports Sharp 1954 Gain
KEEPING pace with the nation's 6,000 savings and loan associations with assets exceeding 31 billion dollars at the end of 1954: Connecticut's forty-seven institutions completed the year showing record, gains in savings, mortgage loans and total assets.
Newspaper Article