The Web of Belief 2nd Edition by W. V. Quine (PDF)

Description

A compact, coherent introduction to the study of rational belief, this text provides points of entry to such areas of philosophy as theory of knowledge, methodology of science, and philosophy of language. The book is accessible to all undergraduates and presupposes no philosophical training.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Many of Quine’s writings are aimed at scholarly readers who are already steeped in the subject-matters he addresses. And, in any event, his readers are usually assumed to be scholars who are interested in this-or-that matter of philosophical or logical esoterica. But not here! THE WEB OF BELIEF is beautifully written for a general audience, especially high schoolers, clearly its “target audience”.The metaphor that Quine uses to explain the nature of science it that of a circular rug, woven from its interior outward, to its, um, uttermost tether. And, being a rug, it is of one piece: unitary, interconnected, complex. Albeit one that gets somewhat frayed at those outermost edges, its periphery, over the decades: one in need of repair there from time to time. In the way that, say, Newton’s rug needed to be repaired where it was frayed – fixed up a bit and extended – by 20th-century master-weavers like Einstein and his ilk.What’s particularly valuable about this book – this clear explication of the nature of science – is the care taken to rid science, and its methods, of random vulgarizations of the technical terms it uses, for example, “theory” to mean “a simple, isolated conjecture or guess”. Again, the “rug” – as explained by Quine and Ullian – is of one piece; thus, each part of it is inextricably connected to every other part…so that a scientific theory, rightly so-called, isn’t akin to, say Jones’s “theory” that the Cubs will win the upcoming World Series!Anyway, I HIGHLY recommend this book. For bright high school students and, indeed, for anyone who wants to learn of the workings and nature of science. And its history. Also on my list of recommendations is A.N. Whitehead’s SCIENCE AND THE MODERN WORLD! That gent is Quine’s next door neighbor, atop Mt. Olympus. And what those gods offer is VERY accessible! To demi-gods and even to mortals like me.

⭐Frankly, I didn’t expect to like this book as much as I do… but I love it.Over the course of time, I have become extraordinarily weary–to the point of annoyance and disgust–with the dismal state of epistemology. It is a very nearly worthless enterprise at this point. There is no value to me in trying to slog through the heady insights of philosophers who are operating at a fourth order perspective about the nature of knowledge, belief, evidence, justification, warrant, and whatever… (beliefs about beliefs about beliefs about beliefs). In contrast with this omphaloskeptic mental masturbation, the human mind is quite pragmatic in how we form beliefs… Yes, it often fails us. We’re often wrong in what we belief, and when it comes down to it, when we look deeply enough, we might find we’re not ultimately able to justify or prove our beliefs… yet despite this, and despite the 2500-year-long failed project of epistemology to provide an answer to what “knowledge” actually represents, and how we acquire it, the human mind keeps chugging merrily along processing information and feeding us beliefs… which are in a state of constant evolution.Quine and Ullian provide as cogent and persuasive an explanation for HOW belief works as I’ve ever read. It is so lucidly written. Each sentence is a gem, especially as compared with most of the turgid fare more typical of this subject matter. (See the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy for abundant examples.) I have to struggle not to highlight EVERY sentence with my yellow highlighter as being worthy of special attention. (This kind of defeats the purpose of a highlighter, but I hope you get the idea.For me, this book has been a complete joy, and I recommend it highly.

⭐I purchased this book for my Logic & Critical Thinking class. It’s required reading but probably the most interested required reading I’ve ever been assigned.For those who do not possess a large vocabulary, a dictionary might come in handy. Also, some of the examples refer to science–physics in particular.Great book, I’ve recommended it to others for leisure reading.

⭐excellent

⭐good

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