Quine's Philosophy

Pre-requisites: None

Course objectives: Students will be introduced to basic topics in the philosophy of W.V.O.Quine, one of the most important contemporary philosophers.

Course description: The course covers the following topics: Quine's naturalistic and coherentistic epistemology, holism, the relationship between language, thought and reality, the principle of indeterminacy of translation, the principle of indeterminacy of reference, and ontological commitments. During the practical part of the course, Quine's original texts are analyzed and critically reviewed, relying on the most important commentaries and taking into account relevant traditional and contemporary approaches to the mentioned topics.

Learning Outcomes: Students gain knowledge of Quine's views in philosophy of language, epistemology and ontology.

Literature/Reading:

• Kvajn, Ontološka relativnost; Kvajn, Word and Object; Arrington, Glock, eds., Wittgenstein and Quine; Lazović, "Empirizam, semantika i ontologija u filozofiji V. Kvajna"