Quine’s Philosophy

W.V. Quine is one of the leading figures of 20th-century analytic philosophy, and still among the most influential. Yet, his work can be challenging and complex, and indeed, often misunderstood. In this updated introduction to Quine’s thought, Gary Kemp examines his seemingly disparate views as a unified whole and offers a valuable guide for anyone approaching Quine for the first time.

Informed by current debates and updated throughout, this edition now includes:

• Thoroughly revised and expanded text
• More references to commentaries, secondary literature, and works by Quine
• Suggestions for further reading
• Newly introduced material on Empirical Content, Explication, Nominalism, The Purported Third Dogma, Theoreticity, Natural Selection, and Linguistics
• Historical notes on Quine’s relation to his predecessors and contemporaries

Paying close attention to Quine’s seminal works, including Word and Object and Philosophy of Logic, Kemp explains how Quine's philosophy relates to thinkers such as Rudolf Carnap and Wittgenstein, as well as more recent figures like Donald Davidson and Noam Chomsky.

Kemp clearly and accurately emphasizes the systematic nature of Quine’s thought as one of naturalism. He advances our understanding of Quine and attests to his ongoing influence in the philosophy of science, logic, language, ontology, and epistemology. This unique introduction to Quine’s philosophy is recommended for any student interested in Quine and the history of analytic philosophy.