"Set theory in sheep's clothing."

Willard van Orman Quine Philosophy See all quotes by Willard van Orman Quine →

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“We cannot stem linguistic change, but we can drag our feet. If each of us were to defy Alexander Pope and be the last to lay the old aside, it might not be a better world, but it would be a lovelier language.”

“No particular experiences are linked with any particular statements in the interior of the field, except indirectly through considerations of equilibrium affecting the field as a whole.”

“Wyman's overpopulated universe is in many ways unlovely. It offends the aesthetic sense of us who have a taste for desert landscapes.”

“A fancifully fancyless medium of unvarnished news.”

“Nonbeing must in some sense be, otherwise what is it that there is not? This tangled doctrine might be nicknamed Plato's beard; historically it has proved tough, frequently dulling the edge of Occam's razor.”

“Implication is thus the very texture of our web of belief, and logic is the theory that traces it.”

Resonant Thoughts

"The state --the machinery and power of the state-- is a potential resource or threat to every industry in the society. With its power to prohibit or compel, to take or give money, the state can and do…"

— George Stigler

economics1911–1991

#science

"We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change."

— Mahatma Gandhi

Politics1869–1948

#science

"Feminists often tried to be men: they cut their hair, did not use makeup, walked like men, hid their breasts, used men's clothing... they became men and we thought that was a dangerous path for femini…"

— Oksana Shachko

Art1987–2018

#life