Quiddities - An Intermittently Philosophical Dictionary

Preface This is one of a loosely linked series of loose-knit books inspired by Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary. As Voltaire remarked of the Holy Roman Empire, mutatis mutandis, his was neither philosophical nor a dictionary. Mine is philosophical in part, but lowlier themes occupy more than half the book and afforded me more than half the fun, philosophy being on the whole no laughing matter. The one trait that the book shares with a true dictionary, namely alphabetical order in lieu of structure, brings grateful release from the constraint of linear exposition. Cross-references abound, but they refer forward and backward indiscriminately, there being no presumption that the reader will read the eighty-three pieces in one order rather than another. My thanks to my wife and to Maud Wilcox and Camille Smith of Harvard University Press for helpful criticisms and suggestions. W. V. Q.

The appellation "polymath" is often lightly bestowed, but it can be applied with confidence to the celebrated philosopher Willard Van Orman Quine. Quine's areas of interest are panoramic, as this lively book amply demonstrates.

Moving from A (alphabet) to Z (zero), Quiddities roams through more than eighty topics, each providing a full measure of piquant thought, wordplay, and wisdom, couched in easy and elegant prose—"Quine at his unbuttoned best," in Donald Davidson's words. Philosophy, language, and mathematics are the subjects most fully represented; tides of entries include belief, communication, free will, idiotisms, longitude and latitude, marks, prizes, Latin pronunciation, tolerance, trinity. Even the more technical entries are larded with homely lore, anecdote, and whimsical humor.

Quiddities will be a treat for admirers of Quine and for others who like to think, who care about language, and who enjoy the free play of intellect on topics large and small. For this select audience, it is an ideal book for browsing.

Hilary Putnam - London Review of Books

Quine is not only a great philosopher, but also a master of the English language and a genuine polymath...Anyone who wants to encounter a great philosophical mind in a less technical mood, and to get some feeling for Quine as a peerless companion, raconteur, and amused commentator on the passing show...cannot do better than to read this book.

Contents 10 A 14 Alphabet 14 Altruism 16 Anomaly 18 Artificial Languages 21 Atoms 25 B 30 Beauty 30 Belief 31 C 35 Classes versus Properties 35 Classes versus Sets 37 Communication 40 Complex Numbers 42 Consonant Clusters 44 Constructivism 46 Copula 49 Creation 50 D 53 Decimals and Dimidials 53 Definition 56 Discreteness 58 E 62 Etymology 62 Euphemism 66 Excluded Middle 68 Extravagance 70 F 73 Fermat’s Last Theorem 73 Formalism 76 Freedom 80 Free Will 82 Functions 85 Future 86 G 89 Gambling 89 Gender 91 Gödel’s Theorem 95 I 100 Ideas 100 Identity 102 Idiotisms 105 Impredicativity 106 Infinite Numbers 109 Inflection 112 Information 116 K 118 Kinship of Words 118 Knowledge 121 L 124 Language Drift 124 Language Reform 127 Latin Pronunciation 130 Lines 132 Longitude and Latitude 134 M 138 Marks 138 Mathematosis 140 Meaning 143 Mind versus Body 145 Misling 147 N 150 Natural Numbers 150 Necessity 152 Negation 155 P 158 Paradoxes 158 Phonemes 162 Plurals 165 Predicate Logic 169 Prediction 172 Prefixes 175 Prizes 178 Pronunciation 179 R 183 Real Numbers 183 Recursion 186 Redundancy 190 Reference, Reification 193 Rhetoric 196 S 199 Semantic Switch 199 Senses of Words 202 Singular Terms 205 Space-Time 209 Syntax 212 T 217 Things 217 Tolerance 219 Trinity 223 Truth 225 Type versus Token 229 U 233 Units 233 Universal Library 236 Universals 238 Usage and Abusage 242 Use versus Mention 244 V 249 Variables 249 Z 252 Zero 252 Index 256 Alphabet -- Altruism -- Anomaly -- Artificial Languages -- Atoms -- Beauty -- Belief -- Classes Versus Properties -- Classes Versus Sets -- Communication -- Complex Numbers -- Consonant Clusters -- Constructivism -- Copula -- Creation -- Decimals And Dimidials -- Definition -- Discreteness -- Etymology -- Euphemism -- Excluded Middle -- Extravagance -- Fermat's Last Theorem -- Formalism -- Freedom -- Free Will -- Functions -- Future -- Gambling -- Gender -- Gödel's Theorem -- Ideas -- Identity -- Idiotisms -- Impredicativity -- Infinite Numbers -- Inflection -- Information -- Kinship Of Words -- Knowledge -- Language Drift -- Language Reform -- Latin Pronunciation -- Lines -- Longitude And Latitude -- Marks -- Mathematosis -- Meaning -- Mind Versus Body -- Misling -- Natural Numbers -- Necessity -- Negation -- Paradoxes -- Phonemes -- Plurals -- Predicate Logic -- Prediction -- Prefixes -- Prizes -- Pronunciation -- Real Numbers -- Recursion -- Redundancy -- Reference, Reification -- Rhetoric -- Semantic Switch -- Senses Of Words -- Singular Terms -- Space-time -- Syntax -- Things -- Tolerance -- Trinity -- Truth -- Type Versus Token -- Units -- Universal Library -- Universals -- Usage And Abusage -- Use Versus Mention -- Variables -- Zero. W.v. Quine. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Alphabet 1 Altruism 3 Anomaly 5 Artificial Languages 8 Atoms 12 Beauty 17 Belief 18 Classes versus Properties 22 Classes versus Sets 24 Communication 27 Complex Numbers 29 Consonant Clusters 31 Constructivism 33 Copula 36 Creation 37 Decimals and Dimidials 40 Definition 43 Discreteness 45 Etymology 49 Euphemism 53 Excluded Middle 55 Extravagance 57 Fermat's Last Theorem 60 Formalism 63 Freedom 67 Free Will 69 Functions 72 Future 73 Gambling 76 Gender 78 Godel's Theorem 82 Ideas 87 Identity 89 Idiotisms 92 Impredicativity 93 Infinite Numbers 96 Inflection 99 Information 103 Kinship of Words 105 Knowledge 108 Language Drift 111 Language Reform 114 Latin Pronunciation 117 Lines 119 Longitude and Latitude 121 Marks 125 Mathematosis 127 Meaning 130 Mind versus Body 132 Misling 134 Natural Numbers 137 Necessity 139 Negation 142 Paradoxes 145 Phonemes 149 Plurals 152 Predicate Logic 156 Prediction 159 Prefixes 162 Prizes 165 Pronunciation 166 Real Numbers 170 Recursion 17 3 Redundancy 177 Reference, Reification 180 Rhetoric 183 Semantic Switch 186 Senses of Words 189 Singular Terms 192 Space-Time 196 Syntax 199 Things 204 Tolerance 206 Trinity 210 Truth 212 Type versus Token 216 Units 220 Universal Library 223 Universals 225 Usage and Abusage 229 Use versus Mention 231 Variables 236 Zero 239 Index 243 The appellation polymath is often lightly bestowed, but it can be applied with confidence to the celebrated philosopher Willard Van Orman Quine. Quines areas of interest are panoramic, as this lively book amply demonstrates. Moving from A ( alphabet ) to Z ( zero ), Quiddities roams through more than eighty topics, each providing a full measure of piquant thought, wordplay, and wisdom, couched in easy and elegant proseQuine at his unbuttoned best, in Donald Davidsons words. Philosophy, language, and mathematics are the subjects most fully represented; tides of entries include belief , communication , free will , idiotisms , longitude and latitude , marks , prizes , Latin pronunciation , tolerance , trinity . Even the more technical entries are larded with homely lore, anecdote, and whimsical humor. Quiddities will be a treat for admirers of Quine and for others who like to think, who care about language, and who enjoy the free play of intellect on topics large and small. For this select audience, it is an ideal book for browsing. Discusses eighty topics in philosophy, language, and mathematics ranging from alphabet and anomaly to usage and zero