Dummett, Michael

"Identity is not an absolute relation but depends on our sortal classifications."

"Vagueness in language reflects vagueness in reality, not merely in our concepts."

"The principle of charity requires that we interpret others charitably to find them true."

"Meaning is holistic; a single word cannot be meaningful in isolation."

"The laws of thought are not laws of reality but principles governing language."

"Abstract objects pose a special difficulty for causal theories of reference."

"Our access to meaning is through understanding the use of expressions in context."

"Essentialism about natural kinds assumes a mind-independent structure to nature."

"The distinction between appearance and reality is not absolute but relative to interests."

"To philosophize is to reconsider what we thought we already understood."

"Logical truth is conventional; different logics are possible and sometimes preferable."

"The meaning of a sentence is determined by the conditions under which it is true."

"Private experience cannot determine public meaning; language is fundamentally social."

"Nominalism about abstract objects runs into difficulties with the semantics of mathematics."

"A truly adequate philosophy of language must be integrated with metaphysics."

"The verification principle, though not without difficulties, captures something essential."

"Realism in ethics implies that moral facts constrain what we ought to believe."

"The study of conditionals reveals deep truths about the structure of thought."

"Our everyday language encodes metaphysical commitments we often fail to notice."

"To solve a philosophical problem is often to dissolve it through careful analysis."

"The principle of bivalence applies only within limited, well-defined domains."

"Understanding presupposes mastery of the relevant conventions within a language-community."

"Platonism about properties multiplies entities beyond necessity or clarity."

"The growth of knowledge proceeds not by accumulation but by revision and reinterpretation."

"Linguistic meaning is neither purely objective nor purely subjective but intersubjective."

"Philosophical method requires clarity of thought expressed in clear language."

"The analytic tradition's greatest gift is the method of philosophical analysis itself."

"Reference is not a simple relation between words and objects but depends on conventions."

"Reality has no absolute structure; structure emerges relative to our conceptual schemes."

"The foundations of logic are not self-evident but open to rational questioning."