Linguistique de l’écrit

Revue internationale en libre accès

Revue | Volume | Article

236456

Indeterminacy and the analytic/synthetic distinctions

a survey

Peter Pagin

pp. 1-18

Résumé

It is often assumed that there is a close connection between Quine’s criticism of the analytic/synthetic distinction, in ‘Two dogmas of empiricism’ and onwards, and his thesis of the indeterminacy of translation, in Word and Object and onwards. Often, the claim that the distinction is unsound (in some way or other) is taken to follow from the indeterminacy thesis, and sometimes the indeterminacy thesis is supported by such a claim. However, a careful scrutiny of the indeterminacy thesis as stated by Quine, and the varieties of the analytic/synthetic distinction, reveals that the two claims are mutually independent. Neither does the claim that the distinction is unsound follow from the indeterminacy thesis, nor that thesis from unsoundness claim, under any of the common interpretations of the analytic/synthetic distinction.

Détails de la publication

Publié dans:

(2008) Synthese 164 (1).

Pages: 1-18

DOI: 10.1007/s11229-007-9213-6

Citation complète:

Pagin Peter, 2008, Indeterminacy and the analytic/synthetic distinctions: a survey. Synthese 164 (1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-007-9213-6.