Quines Physicalist Epistemology :: Philosophy Theories Papers

Quines Physicalist EpistemologyQuine, in his article In acclaim of the observational Sentence, claims to establish naturalized epistemology and the work of science as a realist mapping of the world. Invoking Rortys criticisms of foundationalism from doctrine and the Mirror of Nature, this paper analyzes Quines observational sentence by discussing the unresolved issue of confession. It discusses whether a causal explanation can be a justified true belief and adequate grounding of knowledge. I suggest that the criticisms of Quine bypass similarities between Rortys position and Quines. Such polemic positions - symptomatic of the postmodern/modern debate - imply a false dichotomy. These criticisms of justification and grounding are best understood as a core to argue for eclectic viewpoints of human beings understanding. I conclude that Wittgensteins idea of human life form, or world-picture, provides further context for insisting upon interdisciplinary communication in lieu of an assumed hierarchy of specialized sciences. In his Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature, Richard Rorty argues that Quines doctrines of indeterminacy of translation and ontological relativity call for the ratiocination of epistemology. Nonetheless, Rorty criticizes Quines physicalist stance. According to Rorty, Quines claim that observation sentences are a foundation for sensationalism contains a at odds(p) ontological bias. In a more new-fashioned article In Praise of the Observation Sentence (1993), Quine allegedly clarifies his physicalist epistemology addressing criticisms equivalent to Rortys. Quine states that naturalized epistemology is not a theory about an internal firmament of qualia it is an arbitrate position between what Quine calls old phenomenalism and anti-epistemology. (1) He argues that observation sentences entail observations of the world itself that are not entirely subjective. Consequently, in comparison to old, that is, uninflected phenomenalism, Quine c laims that his use of language and logic is a more realistic clear-sighted reconstruction of knowledge. (2) In this paper, I examine Rortys challenge that Quines physicalist claims are contradictory and Quines recent defense. I conclude that Quines position is not inconsistent although his intermediate position within epistemology remains controversial.Overview of Quines Intermediate Position on ObservationFor Quine, classical epistemology has its most recent roots in British Empiricism. Consequently, gibe to Quine, epistemologys primary concern has been to clarify how we derive natural knowledge from reek data. The link between observation and the natural world is allegedly a resource for privileged access to such natural knowledge. Quine in twin to classical epistemology asserts that perceptual similarity is the basis of all learning, all robes formation, and it is testable in people and other animals by the reinforcement and extinction of qualified response.