W.V.O Quine: On What There Is - Existence and Ontology
W.V. Quine's influential essay "On What There Is," focusing on his critique of non-existent entities and the distinction between actual and potential existence. Quine introduces "Plato's beard," the paradox of referring to what does not exist, and proposes his criterion of ontological commitment: "To be is to be the value of a variable." He utilises Russell's Theory of Descriptions to analyse seemingly non-existent objects like Pegasus, rejecting the idea of "unactualized possibles" due to issues of individuation and ontological parsimony, advocating for a "desert landscape" ontology. The texts also touch upon Quine's skepticism towards possible worlds and acknowledge scholarly interpretations and critiques of his enduring arguments.
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