What is the main question of ontology?
Ontology asks: ‘What is there?’
What is the easy answer to the ontological question?
Everything.
What is the Problem of Nonbeing, also known as ‘Plato’s Beard’?
It questions how we can say something does not exist without referring to it as if it does.
Give an example illustrating the Problem of Nonbeing.
‘Pegasus does not exist’ implies we are still referring to Pegasus.
What is McX’s view on the existence of Pegasus?
McX argues that Pegasus exists as an idea in our minds.
How does Quine respond to McX’s view?
Quine states that the Pegasus-idea is not the same as Pegasus itself.
What is Wyman’s view on the existence of Pegasus?
Wyman claims Pegasus exists as an unactualized possible.
What distinction does Wyman make regarding existence?
Existence = actuality, subsistence = possibility.
What is Quine’s criticism of Wyman’s view?
Quine argues it bloats ontology with too many possible entities.
What absurd question does Quine raise regarding possible beings?
How many possible bald men can fit in a doorway, and are they identical or different?
What example illustrates an impossible being?
‘The round square cupola on Berkeley College.’
What is Wyman’s stance on contradictory terms?
He claims contradictory terms are meaningless.
What problem arises from Wyman’s stance on contradictory terms?
It renders logic, such as proof by contradiction, meaningless.
What is Russell’s solution to discussing non-existence?
Russell’s Theory of Descriptions allows us to talk about non-existence without committing to strange entities.
How does Russell’s theory reframe statements about non-existence?
Names like ‘The author of Waverley’ serve as shorthand for logical statements.
What does ‘The author of Waverley does not exist’ mean in Russell’s terms?
It means no such entity exists.
How does Russell’s theory apply to Pegasus?
Treat ‘Pegasus’ as a disguised description, meaning ‘no entity satisfies this description.’
What is Quine’s conclusion regarding entities?
We should only commit to entities required by our best logic and science.
What is Quine’s principle of ontological parsimony?
It suggests favoring simpler explanations (desert landscapes) over bloated ones (slums of possibles).
