W. V. O. Quine

W. V. O. Quine (1908-2000), American philosopher, known for his work in mathematical logic and his contributions to pragmatism as a theory of knowledge. Born in Akron, Ohio, Quine was educated at Oberlin College and at Harvard University, where he became a member of the faculty in 1936.

Quine was noted for his claim that the way one uses language determines what kinds of things one is committed to saying exist. Moreover, the justification for speaking one way rather than another, just as the justification for adopting one conceptual system rather than another, was a thoroughly pragmatic one for Quine. He was also known for his criticism of the traditional distinction between synthetic statements (empirical, or factual, propositions) and analytic statements (necessarily true propositions). Quine made major contributions to set theory, a branch of mathematical logic concerned with the relationship between classes, and to the wider debate on the relationship between existence and meaning. His works include Mathematical Logic (1940); From a Logical Point of View (1953); Word and Object (1960); Set Theory and Its Logic (1963); Philosophy of Logic (1970); Quiddities: An Intermittently Philosophical Dictionary (1987); Pursuit of Truth (1990); and From Stimulus to Science (1995). He also published an autobiography, The Time of My Life (1985). A prolific writer, he was viewed in the world of philosophy as one of the most influential figures of his time, partly as a result of the discussion he generated through his radical theses and also for his questioning of traditional theories.